Tons of e-waste disposed by private sector

The private companies licensed under the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) to dispose of the country's accumulated of hazardous e-waste have collected over 230 MT of such waste from January to August 2010, CEA Chairman Charitha Herath said.

He said since the issuance of this licence in July 2009, 1,000 MT of e-waste have been disposed of by these private parties.

"There is a rapid growth in e waste generation in Sri Lanka due to many factors including increased per capita income. A growth in technological development has also resulted in a flooding of new sophisticated electronic equipment in the local market while the open economic policy introduced in the 1970s had allowed electronic and electrical items to enter the market without limitations," he said.

e-waste includes electrical and electronic waste that is discarded such as mobile phones, televisions, CDs, refrigerators, batteries, computers and washing machines.

A study on selected e-products, by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources in collaboration with the CEA in 2007 revealed that the electronic equipment market in Sri Lanka is growing annually by seven to 10 percent.

The current e-waste management practice in the country allows collection and export of such waste to China. More than 15,000 mobile phones have been collected from July 2009, the date private companies was issued the licence, to December 2009.

The CEA keeps a watchful eye on the proper management of such waste since they contain hazardous substances including Persistent Bio accumulative Toxins.The CEA in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment recently launched a national level e waste management program with 14 private sector partners to develop an effective collecting mechanism and create awareness among masses for an e-waste-free environment.

- MF