e-waste - The African Mirror

Jun

2021

Techpreneur turning Africa’s e-waste into power banks

DORCAS BELLO IN African dumpsites, the sight of faulty smartphones, television sets, laptop parts and broken accessories like phone chargers have become all too conspicuous. In Jos, Nigeria, Luka is turning trash into cash, making power banks from e-waste. Peering into the gutters of any Nigerian city including the capital Abuja, a stream of filth greets you — used nylon, plastics bags, tins and cans are all clogging up the drainage system. But in Jos city, tech-enthusiast Zag Luka Bot, 29, is turning this mountain of trash into cash. His ingenious innovation of making power banks out of used laptop…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

For Dutch firm, buyers’ fee in Europe gets e-waste recycled in Africa

ENVIRONMENT

ANGELA UKOMADU and ANTHONY DEUTSCH AFTER years of struggling to make a living selling recyclable parts from electronic waste recovered in Africa, Dutchman Joost de Kluijver realised he needed a new business model if his firm was going to survive. So in 2016, Closing the Loop began tagging a fee onto new device purchases by its clients, which include major bank ABN Amro and the Dutch government. By adding roughly 5 euros ($6) per phone and 15 euros ($18) per laptop, Closing the Loop now funds electronic waste collections in a string of African countries including Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon,…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Declaring war on e-waste

ENVIRONMENT

LISA WITEPSKI THAT old cell phone that couldn’t keep up with new apps. The fridge that just got too small for your family’s needs. The printer that went on the fritz and wasn’t worth the money needed to fix it. We all have a small collection of electronic goods that no longer have a use – but Green Kid Enterprises is aiming to get them out of our drawers and garages, and give them new purpose. Here’s a frightening statistic: in 2019, around 53.6 million tons of electronic waste was produced – an average of around 7.3kg per person. More…

Dec

2020

By The African Mirror

Toxic waste dumping in the Gulf of Guinea amounts to environmental racism

ENVIRONMENT

TOXIC waste and electronic waste (e-waste) is generated from a wide range of industries – such as health, hydrocarbon or manufacturing – and can come in many forms, such as sludges or gas. E-waste is used electronic items that are nearing the end of their useful life, and are discarded or given to be recycled. If these types of waste aren’t properly discarded they can cause serious harm to human health and the environment. IFESINACHI OKAFOR-YARWOOD, Lecturer, University of St Andrews This makes the proper disposal of toxic and e-waste expensive. Because of this a market has been created and…