By Bisola Adeyemo
Utawala based Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Centre in Embakasi East Nairobi is working to shun improper decomposition of Electronic Waste in the country.
According to data released on Thursday by TheWorldCounts, 12.5% out of 40 million tons of waste generated annually worldwide is recycled, Africanews reports.
Utawala based Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Centre is working on a zero dumping policy for E-waste by ensuring that all components in electronic devices are well handled.
Working with corporate and education institutions, the Centre is taking in volumes of electronic waste that would otherwise be dumped in landfills.
They then refurbish the devices that still have usage life after which some the refurbished devises are either sold to the public or donated to learning institutions.
The amount of electronic waste or e-waste has been exploding in recent years along with technological developments.
Roughly 50 million tons of e-waste is produced a year and most of it is shipped to / dumped in poor countries in Africa.
E-waste is highly toxic if not treated properly. And sadly, that is often the case when dumped in poor countries.
Heavy metals and toxic chemicals pollute surrounding communities and poison the local population including children – and not least the people working at the dumpsites, often with no protection.
