Report Example on the Management of E-waste in Nigeria

The trade liberalization policies that seek to attract investors and business into the Electrical and Electronic Equipment has led to the introduction of second hand' and poor quality electronics into the countries over time. As the amount of electrical and electronic equipment entering the country carry on the escalation, the e-wastes generated have increased rapidly posing a disposal challenge to the nation. Research on the quality of used electrical and electronic equipment finding its way into Nigeria has indicated that a majority of those imported could be waste electrical and electronic equipment that could only add to the amount of existing e-waste in the country.

Another issue regarding e-waste in Nigeria is the rising importation of electrical and electronic equipment for sourcing of spares parts and the disposing of the rest. This has led to an increased amount of e-waste in the country without any steps being taken to address this manage by the national government that controls the importation and exportation of goods (Babayemi et al., 2017).

The processing of WEEE in Nigeria is mainly done by the middlemen without any set-out structure. The collection and processing of WEEE are done by entrepreneurs who source them from institutions and households and then dismantle them into various parts such as power supplies, metallic frames, and circuit boards. The entire processing of e-waste across many Nigerian cities and towns is done manually with transportation being the only phase that involves the use of machines, trucks. Once the equipment is dismantled to their constituent parts, the dealers then can put them on display for the final consumers who are seeking to use the various components to purchase them. Some equipment is shredded by few dealers who have the necessary machinery and then sold for more comfortable transportation and use by the buyer.

Although many states in Nigeria have a local structure through which solid waste is collected, there are still small structures that could address e-waste disposal well. The municipal through its waste collection and disposal department collects solid waste without any sorting making the destruction of e-waste similar to any other solid waste. This is a catastrophe as disposing of e-waste just like organic matter poses a health risk to the public in Nigeria.

The e-waste issue in Nigeria requires an integrated approach towards solid waste management and this could be achieved through increased cooperation between the government and the public. Dealing with e-waste is an enormous waste especially in a country such as Nigeria where the annual generation is considerable hence the need for proper planning and implementation of such plans. To ensure that there is a sustainable and integrated management of e-waste in Nigeria, there is the need for the government to create public awareness of the health hazards that come with e-waste. This will help encourage the general public to look at recycling as a sustainable waste management option, and sorting will be enhanced at the source reducing the expenses involved (Aborele et al., 2015).

Secondly, the government needs to come up with policies that will protect the country from dumping of worn out electrical and electronic equipment in Nigeria from Europe, North America, and Asia. This is because, the high rates of importation of old material is the primary reason why the amount of e-waste is on the rise. If the government can control the number of electronics entering the country especially computers, smartphones and other electrical and electronic equipment could be the key to reducing the amount of e-waste generated across Nigeria.

Addressing the concern of electrical and electronic equipment waste will require regional and global cooperation. Nigeria as a country cannot succeed in dealing with WEEE without working in collaboration with other countries will not succeed in dealing with the e-waste menace (Igharo et al., 2014).To ensure that the steps taken will be adequate, there is a need for the nation to establish a department that oversees the collection and discarding of electrical and electronic equipment unwanted. Through this division, the country would be able to monitor the cohort, collection and removal of e-waste with the aim of evaluating the effectiveness of government policies. This should be done within five years which is sufficient enough in formulating, implementing and evaluation of the effectiveness of the strategies that will be used.

Since the issue of e-waste is a new phenomenon, there is no one proven strategy through which this problem can be addressed. The management of e-waste requires an integrated approach that involves all stakeholders in the sector with the aim of continually coming up with strategies to ensure effective e-waste management across the whole of Nigeria.

References

Babayemi, J. O., Osibanjo, O., & Weber, R. (2017). Material and substance flow analysis of mobile phones in Nigeria: a step for progressing e-waste management strategy. Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management, 19(2), 731-742.

Sindiku, O., Babayemi, J., Osibanjo, O., Schlummer, M., Schluep, M., Watson, A., & Weber, R. (2015). Polybrominated diphenyl ethers listed as Stockholm Convention POPs, other brominated flame retardants and heavy metals in e-waste polymers in Nigeria. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 22(19), 14489-14501.

Okorhi, J. O., Aderemi, H. O., Uhunmwangho, R., & Amadi-Echendu, J. E. (2017). Socio-economic assessment of e-waste management in South Eastern Nigeria.

Okorhi, J. O., Amadi-Echendu, J. E., Aderemi, H. O., & Uhunmwangho, R. (2017). E-waste management strategies in South Eastern Nigeria.Sthiannopkao, S., & Wong, M. H. (2013). Handling e-waste in developed and developing countries: Initiatives, practices, and consequences. Science of the Total Environment, 463, 1147-1153.

Okorhi, J. O., Aderemi, H. O., Uhunmwangho, R., & Amadi-Echendu, J. E. (2017). Disconnect between policy and practice in developing countries: e-waste management strategies in South Eastern Nigeria.

Igharo, G. O., Anetor, J. I., Osibanjo, O. O., Osadolor, H. B., & Dike, K. C. (2014). Toxic metal levels in Nigerian electronic waste workers indicate occupational metal toxicity associated with crude electronic waste management practices. Biokemistri, 26(4), 107-113.

Sindiku, O., Babayemi, J. O., Tysklind, M., Osibanjo, O., Weber, R., Watson, A., ... & Lundstedt, S. (2015). Polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PBDD/Fs) in e-waste plastic in Nigeria. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 22(19), 14515-14529.

Aborele, H., Urquhart, C., & Nudurupati, S. (2015). E-Waste Policy in Developing Countries: The Context of Nigeria. Co-Chairs: Sai S Nudurupati, 323.

Schluep, M., Muller, E., Hilty, L. M., Ott, D., Widmer, R., & Boni, H. (2013). Insights from a decade of development cooperation in e-waste management. on Information and Communication Technologies, 45.