The Need for an E-waste Management Strategy in Uganda
There is a growing use of electronic and electrical devices world over yet the phenomenon of electronic waste and the dangers it posses to the environment, animal and the human lives has not been widely understood and taken seriously by the policy makers and the general public in the developing world. This means that these Nations are at a risk of serious environmental contamination and health hazards.
Electronic waste also known as Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) refers to discarded, obsolete, faulty or broken electrical and electronic devices.
Common electronic contaminants
In Uganda and many other developing countries, a lot of electronic waste is generated due to lack of formal processing and disposal methods. The most common electronic gadgets in Uganda include used computers, fridges, radios, television sets, electric bulbs, printers and printer cartridges. Some of these electronic components contain contaminants such as lead, cadmium, Chromium, Copper, Nickel, Silver, beryllium, mercury, and brominate flame retardants.
| Source of e-waste | Constituent | Health effects |
| Solder in printed Circuit boards, glass panels and gaskets in Computer monitors | Lead (PB) | It causes damage to central and peripheral nervous systems, circulatory System and renal system. Affects brain/cognitive development of the young. |
| Electric cables | Copper | It irritates the throat and lungs and affects the liver, kidneys and other body systems |
| obsolete computer equipment | Nickel | It can cause cancer when exposed to excess of 0.05 mg/cm³ |
| Computer CPUs | Silver | when handled too frequently, it might cause argyria, a condition that permanently stains your skin a blue-gray shade |
| Chip resistors and semiconductors | Cadmium (CD) | It can lead to irreversible damage to human health. Accumulates in kidney and liver. Neural damage. Has teratogenic effects – foetal deformities and spontaneous miscarriages. |
| Relays and switches, printed circuit boards | Mercury (Hg) | Damage to the brain. Respiratory and skin disorders due to accumulation in food species. |
| Corrosion protection of untreated and galvanized steel plates, decorator or hardener for Steel housings | Hexavalent chromium (Cr) VI | Asthmatic bronchitis and DNA damage. |
| Cabling and computer housing | Plastics Including PVC | Burning produces dioxin. It Causes: reproductive and developmental problems; immune system damage; interference with regulator hormones |
| Plastic housing of electronic equipments and circuit boards. | Brominated flame retardants (BFR) | Disrupts endocrine system functions |
| Front panel of CRTs | Barium (Ba) | Short term exposure causes muscle weakness; damage to heart, liver and spleen. |
| Motherboard | Beryllium (Be) | Carcinogenic (lung cancer) Inhalation of fumes and dust causes chronic beryllium Disease or beryllicosis. Skin diseases such as warts. |
A Pile of Used Electronic Gadgets
The developing countries have continued to be used as ‘dumping sites’ for obsolete technologies by the manufacturing firms in the developed world. Items like computers and many other industrial, electrical and electronic equipment that are deemed unwanted and environmentally unfriendly to the people in the developed countries are either sold cheaply or donated to the Least Developed Countries. These items come to the developing world in form of donations to schools, health facilities, NGO’s and other organisations. This equipment on many occasions is not properly maintained by the recipient nations due to lack of the skilled human resources and sometimes due to high maintenance costs thus accumulation of the e-waste which poses real potential adverse effects on the environment and human lives of our people.
Efforts to regulate E-waste
The government of Uganda has banned the importation of second hand fridges and used computers, raised taxes on used cars all in an effort to control the generation of electronic waste and the its associated dangers and adopted regulations on solid waste management and disposal. Other efforts by the government of Uganda have included drafting the policy and law on e-waste management.
The e-waste management policy and law advocates for the creation of an enabling environment for the establishment of collection, refurbishment and recycling centers in the country. This policy also provides for human capital development, awareness campaigns among other things.
The effectiveness of this policy however will highly depend on the commitment by the Government to mobilize its stake holders to implement the proposed policy.
Conclusion
E-waste is an emerging problem in the developing countries which has caught the countries unprepared and is not about to go away soon unless serious efforts are made to protect the people and the environment from is damaging effects. This will require initiatives not only from governments, but also the private sector and the general public.
There is need to develop institutional policies that will facilitate proper management of electronic waste rather than wait for the national policy which may take a long time to be approved and operationalised. Workplaces and private homes in the developing world have got piles of e-waste that is generated internally in their back yards and stores as they emit dangerous substances that are consumed by both the humans and the environment.
Institutions and individuals need to be sensitized so as to realize and accept that e-waste can be of not only of great danger to human life and the environment but also provides an opportunity for entrepreneurs to set up business enterprises in collection, refurbishment, and recycling. These can in turn contribute to increased incomes, employment.
