FG, NESREA, Stakeholders Recycle 300 Tonnes Of e-Waste

The Federal Ministry of Environment and National Environmental Standards and Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA) in collaboration with some e-waste recyclers, midweek recycled 300 tonnes of e-waste in Lagos.
Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi, stated this at the close out ceremony of the project, funded by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), held in Lagos.
Abdullahi, a Barrister, expressed gratitude to UNEP for the technical and financial support for the project.
He also commended the Lagos State Government for providing the enabling environment for the successful implement the project.
Abdullahi said the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment, Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and the Lagos Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) played critical role for the project.
He said their effort made it easy to achieve the project target of recycling 300 tonnes of e-waste in the state.
Represented by Mallam Stanley Jonah, Director Planning, Research and Statistics, Federal Ministry of Environment, Abdullahi said that e-waste was one of the fastest growing waste streams globally.
He said most developing nations have been turned to a dumping ground with the influx of both new and used electrical and electronics.
Abdullahi noted that e-waste management for most developing countries including Nigeria was primarily handled by the informal sector, who scavenges for valuable material using crude methods.
“They retrieve the economically viable components through dismantling and dispose of the part that is not valuable to them either at open dumpsite or by burning or burying with municipal waste.
“Besides adding harmful element components to the environment, indiscriminate disposal of waste is a lost opportunity for recycling.
”Most solid waste contains some form of recycling materials, including plastics, glass, precious materials and metal.
“This call for concern on the resources efficiency and the attendant problems it poses to human health and the environment”, Abdullahi said.
Also, the Director-General, NESREA, Prof Aliyu Jauro, said the environmental and health problems associated with e-waste are due to the hazardous material contained in them.
electronics sector.

Jauro said for over three years, the project recorded numerous milestones, particularly in the areas of strengthening the Electrical and Electronic Sector Regulations and meeting the target of the project by recycling 300 tonnes of e-waste.

The Tide’s source reports that recyclers who distinguished themselves in the project and collectors where given awards for their hard-work.