e-waste piles up in tons the world over:

Islandwide collection from May 27-June 2

By Dhaneshi Yatawara

Production and consumption of more electronic and electrical equipment have significantly increased around the world. Much advertised ‘stock clearance’ and ‘seasonal sales’ entice us to buy new electrical and electronic items, to replace the old or outmoded ones. Have we ever thought as to how we are going to dump the old ones?

Boys breaking computer components in order to reclaim metals such as copper and aluminium. Photo via Newscom

Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) or ‘e-waste’, is accumulated in the world in millions of tons per year. With the advent of technology, household electrical and electronic items started flooding into Sri Lanka, in the 1980s.

Toxic substances in electronic waste include lead, mercury, cadmium, Polyclorinated Biphenyles, Brominated flame retardants. These toxic substances can be bio-accumulating in fatty tissues and biomagnifying up to food chains. Televisions, radios, refrigerators, computers and even mobile phones contain these toxic pollutants and other metallic and chemical compounds. While it is safer to operate them when they are new, these toxic chemicals can leak out over time, getting released into the atmosphere, to become serious environmental and health hazards. Long-term exposure to these substances can cause damage to the nervous system, kidneys and bones, as well as to the reproductive and endocrine systems. This has become a serious issue in industrialised countries.

Known as clean mechanism to reduce power consumption, CFL bulbs (Compact fluorescent light) too are now increasing in use. But little known is that these bulbs too need to be discarded with care, as they contain a little Mercury within. They are perfectly safe when the bulb is intact. But when broken, this metal can leak, causing pollution. Hence, these should not be discarded by just throwing them into the garbage bin, which will end up in a landfill site.

Sri Lanka is not alone. Safe management of e-waste is becoming a major problem in many countries.

Due to the fact that the life span of computers has dropped in developed countries from six years in 1997 to just two years in 2005, and mobile phones have a lifespan of even less than two years, the amount of generated e-waste per year grows rapidly, states the Global partnership on Waste Management of the United Nations Environment Program. As they further explain the global phenomenon this has a major impact on developing countries as loopholes in the current Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directives allow the export of e-waste from developed to developing countries. Accordingly 70% of the collected WEEE ends up in unreported and largely unknown destinations.

Inappropriate methods like open burning, which are often used by the informal sector in developing countries to recover valuable materials, have heavy impact on human health and the environment.

During the sixth meeting of the Conference to the parties to the Basel Convention (BC) for the Transboundary Movement of the Hazardous Waste, e-waste was considered as one of the main streams of wastes to be managed properly due to the fact that there are increasing quantities of e-wastes being exported from developed countries to developing countries, where there is inadequate capacity to manage them in an environmentally sound manner.

The Central Environmental Authority (CEA) in collaboration with several other stakeholder companies has initiated a program to collect all discarded electronic items by introducing e-waste collection points islandwide. This National e-waste management program of Sri Lanka was initiated in 2010, in collaboration with 14 private sector partner companies including manufacturers, importers and brand owners of the e-waste. These companies set up collecting mechanisms, where sellers of electronic items finance the treatment of their own-branded e-waste, discarded by their customers. For example, mobile phone collection centers are set up to collect the discarded phones. The CEA has also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under which brand owners or manufacturers of electronic products will set up these collecting centres in Sri Lanka.

The National Program for 2014 is organizing a special week for collecting e-waste, islandwide. This is scheduled to commence on May 27 and will run up to June 2.

The CEA in collaboration with number of private companies have set up special locations to collect e-waste in each district. Within this week e-waste can be handed over to all the district offices of the CEA. By contributing to this the public will not only doing justice to the environment but they will be taking the initial step in providing a hazard free world to the future generation.

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The following are the collection centres

Western Province

Colombo: Campbell Park on May 28
Kalutara: Holy Cross grounds on May 29
Gampaha: Urban Council grounds on May 30
Negambo: Opposite Solid Computers on May 28

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Southern Province

Galle: Near Samanala Park on May 28
Matara: Uyanwatta Stadium on May 30
Hambantota: Thissamaharama Urban Council grounds on May 30

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North Central Province

Anuradhapura: Town Hall grounds on May 29
Polonnaruwa: Thamankaduwa Pradeshiya Sabha premises on May 30

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Central Province

Kandy: Mahayiyawa grounds on May 29 / Getambe grounds May 31
Matale: Dambulla Pradeshiya Sabha on May 29 / CEA District office May 29
Nuwara Eliya: Municipal grounds – on June 02

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Sabaragamuwa Province

Ratnapura: Near L.B. Finance on May 29
Kegalle: Nidahas Mawatha on May 29
Badulla: June 02
Monaragala: Monaragala CEA office on June 02

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Eastern Province

Ampara: Urban Council grounds and Kalmunai Municipal Council on June 1
Batticaloa: Kathankudi Urban Council on June 1
Trincomalee: Urban Council on June 1

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North Western Province

Kurunegala: Wariyapola Pradeshiya Sabha on June 2
Puttalam: Urban Council on May 30

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Northern Province

Jaffna: Duraiyappah Stadium on May 30
Kilinochchi: Karachchi Pradeshiya Sabha on May 28
Mullaitivu: Maritimpattu Pradeshiya Sabha on May 29
Vavuniya: Urban Council grounds on May 29
Mannar: Urban Council premises on May 30