Page 29 from: March 2013

29March 2013

E – s c r a p

Record-breaking
IERC 2013
This year’s 12th International Electronics Recycling
Congress (IERC), organised by Swiss company ICM
(International Congress & Marketing), attracted a
record attendance of more than 500 delegates
from 37 countries. In addition, 53 exhibitors were
drawn to the trade show which ran in parallel with
the conference; these included a mix of equipment
manufacturers and service providers.
Over the years, the IERC has become a major
international platform for discussion of the latest
developments and challenges relating to world-
wide waste electrical and electronic equipment
(WEEE). The 13th edition of the IERC is sched-
uled to take place from 22-24 January next year,
once again in Salzburg. Further information on
the event can be obtained by visiting the ICM
website at: www.icm.ch

The IERC 2013 attracted more than 500 delegates from 37 coun-
tries.

rently estimated to be around 990 million, the

total is expected to grow to 1.7 billion by 2020.

In line with the economic boom in a number

of African countries such as Algeria, Angola,

Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Nigeria,

the standard of living – and therefore consum-

erism – is on the increase.

According to a study by consultants at McKinsey,

Africa’s long-term growth will increasingly

reflect interrelated social and demographic

changes, creating new domestic engines of

growth. Key among these will be: urbanisation;

an expanding labour force; and the rise of the

middle-class African consumer. Just 28% of Afri-

cans lived in cities in 1980 compared to nearer

40% today – a proportion similar to that in

China and larger than that recorded by India. By

the year 2030, this share is projected to rise to

50%, with Africa’s top 18 cities expected to boast

a combined spending power of US$ 1.3 trillion.

The economic boom also means accelerating

consumption for the electronics business, result-

ing in high growth rates for new products and a

high market share for second-hand products.

Although Africa is generally characterised as

‘the dumping ground for e-waste’, there are

initiatives in place to create a structured and

environmentally sound e-scrap processing sec-

tor on the continent.

One of these is the E-Waste Solutions Alliance

for Africa, in which leading OEMs such as Dell,

Hewlett-Packard, Nokia, Philips and Reclaimed

Appliances have joined forces, working with

and supported by the United Nations Environ-

mental Programme (UNEP). Jean Cox-Kearns,

director of compliance at Dell Global Takeback,

commented in Salzburg: ‘No matter how well

designed, eventually all devices will become

e-waste. By 2017, Africa might generate more

e-waste than the EU.’ But although awareness

of e-scrap is accelerating, larger processing

plants operating at environmentally acceptable

standards exist at present in only a few African

countries such as South Africa and Kenya.

In general, Africa’s e-scrap business is dominated

by the informal sector. ‘Connecting the informal

collectors to a formal recycling structure is piv-

otal,’ Cox-Kearns insisted. ‘Currently, there is no

connection between the OEMs, the producers

and the material flows. With our Alliance, we are

trying to change that. We aim to leverage existing

infrastructure and raise the standards so that

fractions, especially the non-valuable fractions,

do not end up at local dump sites.’

The E-Waste Solutions Alliance for Africa is

currently trying to encourage the private sector

to establish facilities and infrastructure such as

e-scrap collection and treatment centres, and

is also attempting to involve the informal sector.

The producers support the recycling efforts

through a so-called Producer Responsibility

Safety Net.

In addition, it was noted, regional infrastruc-

ture solutions will become viable as volumes of

e-scrap continue to grow.

Call to action
‘To achieve a closed loop on material sources

in Africa, supporting regulation and enforce-

ment are required,’ Cox-Kearns underlined.

Currently, a form of e-scrap legislation is in

place only in Nigeria and Cameroon.

Among the key considerations for achieving

this closed loop, recovery should be maximised,

official (legal) waste streams should be used,

priority should be given to reuse, and care

should be taken to align legislation with the

scarcity of resources. ‘It is not the collection that

is hazardous; the informal sector in Africa does

it very well,’ she noted. ‘Treatment is what needs

to change. E-scrap recyclers in Europe and the

USA need to be considering Africa as their

opportunity for growth,’ she insisted.

In general, Africa’s e-scrap business is dominated by the informal sector. Connecting the informal collectors to a formal recycling structure is pivotal.

Most e-scrap that ends up in dump sites in Africa consists of used ICT
equipment mixed with e-waste.

‘To achieve a level
playing field, we need

global standards.’

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