Electronics treatment centre opens in Kenya

Kenya – Led by European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes, a high-level delegation of EU representatives, corporate supporters and partners have inaugurated the first centre in Central Africa for treatment of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and proper disposition of sensitive materials.

Located in Nairobi, Kenya, the centre is also the first in the East African Community (EAC) to deploy a 12-metre-long, fully-automated cathode ray tube (CRT) cutting machine, acquired and provided by Brussels-based non-governmental organisation Close the Gap. ‘This centre in Nairobi represents an important step towards reducing health and environmental consequences of dumping hazardous electronic trash in the region,’ said Ms Kroes after placing the first CRT screen in the cutter.

Close the Gap already finances a network of regional manual recycling centres for electronic waste in the EAC, operated by its local partner DPA Kenya. The Nairobi centre, to be operated in partnership with DPA Kenya, is said to take e-waste treatment to a much more environmentally-friendly level.

‘In addition to damaging public health and the environment, untreated e-waste hinders the development of ICT projects which are so vital for developing countries,’ said Olivier Vanden Eynde, founder and Managing Director of Close the Gap, at the opening ceremony. His non-profit organisation helps bridge the world’s digital divide by collecting computers and other IT material from companies in Europe, reconditioning them and supplying them to locally-managed projects in developing countries, mainly for use in schools, universities and hospitals.