October 14 was International E-waste day

There are several global environmental events but I was not aware, until recently, that there is one intended for Electronic Waste, or E-waste. It has been observed every 14th of October since 2018. It was established to bring to our consciousness the environmental impacts of the improper handling and disposal of E-waste.

E-waste is not ordinary waste. Discarded electrical or electronic equipment contain toxic and hazardous materials like lead and mercury. As such, they should not be mixed with ordinary domestic waste. They require special handling. In the Philippines, the disposal of E-waste is regulated under Republic Act 6969.

E-waste also contains precious metals like gold and silver which can be recovered. In fact in the

2020 Tokyo Olympics, all the medals were made from E-waste. Around 78,985 tons of discarded devices were collected in Japan including 6.21 million used mobile phones. This was sufficient to retrieve 30.3kg of gold, 4,100kg of silver and 2,700kg of bronze needed for the Olympic medals.

The theme for this year’s E-waste day is “Recycle it all, no matter how small”. The focus is on small waste electronics like mobile phones. Around 5.3 billion mobile phones will be out of use this year, according to non-profit group Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Forum. The discarded electronics would reach a height of around 50,000 km if stacked flat and on top of each other. It will circle the Earth

1.2 times.

Why the focus on small gadgets? According to the WEEE Forum, items such as cell phones, electric toothbrushes, toasters and cameras are often discarded incorrectly due to their small size. They make up a significant proportion of E-waste which are disposed to sanitary landfills or incinerated. This means the important raw materials they contain cannot be extracted and are lost. Because of their size, they are easily stored and forgotten about in drawers and cabinets.

The most recent United Nations’ Global E-waste Monitor report said that the Philippines is among Southeast Asia’s top E-waste generators. The country is estimated to have generated 3.9 kg of e-waste per capita in 2019. As far as I know, there is no institutionalized collection system for discarded electronic gadgets and appliances. Most local government units have no system for collecting them as they are focused on managing domestic waste.

We do have DENR accredited buyers and “treaters” of E-waste, one of which is located inside Clark

Special Economic Zone. The company disassembles the discarded equipment and recovers everything that can be recycled. But their sources are mostly industrial clients. The problem is how to collect E-waste at the household level.

Legally, E-waste cannot be sold to junkshops or backyard recyclers as it is against RA 6969. One option is to have an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) law that will require manufacturers and distributors of electronic and electrical equipment to recover their products. There is already an EPR law for plastic. There’s no reason why it cannot be done for E-waste.*