Recycling Of E-Waste Is The Best Option, Says Experts

Experts in the Environment have said recycling of Electronic Waste (E-Waste) is the best option if government at all levels can leverage on it.

Recall that the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu had last week assured that the ministry is making efforts to ensure the safety of the environment and mitigate the impact of electronic wastes in the country.

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Dr. Onu disclosed this when he received the Executive Secretary of E-Waste Producer Responsibility Organization of Nigeria, Mrs. Ibukun Faluyi, who paid a working visit to the Ministry.

Musa Ibrahim, an expert in Environmental Law who spoke exclusively with THE WHISTLER said the system globally is moving from linear economy to a circular economy that entails transforming e-waste to wealth.

Ibrahim said: “I feel the system globally now is to move from Linear Economy to a Circular Economy which entail transforming waste to wealth which is the basis of the recycling of the electronic waste.

“Recycling the e-waste is the best option rather than allowing the e-waste to litter every where.”

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On the number of recycling centres the country has, Ibrahim added that Nigeria does not have many recycling centres, adding that the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency in collaboration with UNEP (GEF) have secured a financial and technical support to start the recycling through an organised body of the collectors and recyclers in Lagos State.

On the impacts it will have on humans, he maintained that if the recyclers continued to do the recycling in a way that is not of international standards then the negative impact would be felt on humans.

“There will be a negative impact on the recyclers if it is continued to be done in a crude manner, ” he said.

Also speaking, Khadijat Abubakar Bobbo, lecturer Human Anatomy at the Gombe State University said one of the major issue with recycling e-waste is the explosive nature of the devices which she said is due to some lithium metals mostly within the battery components.

Bobbo, said she has been into recycling for 2 years though recycling of plastic wastes, added that the e-waste generate heat as well which can be transformed into energy consumption.

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“So what the recyclers of e-waste do is they remove the batteries manually before and other components before  commencing with the actual process of recycling. Most of our recycling centers that I know are locally controlled, ” she said.

The lecturer explained that in Gombe State, the Ministry of Environment just launched a project to identify some of the recycling centres in the state by engaging them on ways of setting up a recycling centres that is of international standards. 

According to her, ” They recommended we get an alternative method of plastic waste melting which we are presently trying to collaborate with iron weldering people in Gombe state.”

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