Botswana still to establish e- waste legislation
E- waste expected to increase owing to high electronic consumption
Thenumber of countries that have adopted a national e- waste policy, legislation or regulation has increased from 61 to 78 between 2014 and 2019, according to the latest Global E- waste Monitor.
The Global E- waste Monitor, a collaborative effort between the International Telecommunication Union ( ITU), the Sustainable Cycles ( SCYCLE) Programme and the International Solid Waste Association ( ISWA) says in many regions however, regulatory advances are slow, enforcement is low, and the collection and proper e- waste management is poor.
Currently Botswana does not have a legislation to address the issue of e- waste. According to BOCRA Director Broadcasting and Corporate Communications, Aaron Nyelesi, while there is no specific legislation on e- waste in Botswana, waste management in its entirety is provided for under the Waste Management Act administered by the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism. The Act provides definitions for various types of waste including ‘ Hazardous Waste’ under which e- waste would be covered. ITU Member States, which Botswana is a part of, also set a target to raise the percentage of countries with an e- waste legislation to 50 per cent – or 97 countries - by 2023. ITU provides a programme dedicated to e- waste policy and regulatory development, where Member States can request ITU technical assistance and capacity building support. According to Nyelesi, BOCRA is enjoined by Section 6 ( 2) ( g) of the Communications Regulatory Authority Act, 2012 ( CRA Act) to encourage the preservation and protection of the environment and conservation of natural resources in accordance with the law by regulated suppliers.
“In line with this provision, BOCRA requires its licensees to produce Environmental Impact Assessments reports before they can erect communications infrastructure,” he said. The requirement for preservation of the environment is captured in the licenses issued by BOCRA. BOCRA is also a major stakeholder of the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism on e- waste from communications equipment. E- waste comprises of discarded products with a battery or plug such as computers and mobile phones. It also contains toxic and hazardous substances such as mercury, brominated flame- retardants ( BFR) or chloroflurocarbons ( CFCs) which are found in many types of electronic equipment and pose severe risk to human health and the environment if not handled in an environmentally sound manner. “If not disposed off in a proper manner, e- waste can cause environmental pollution affecting water sources, plants, animals and even human health,” Nyelesi says.
BOCRA is not in a position however, to state how much electrical and electronic goods enter the country on an annual basis to determine when their lifespan will end for them to produce e- waste. Nyelesi is also quick to explain that e- waste does not just refer to communication equipment but includes items such as televisions, fridges, microwaves, washing machines- equipment which is generally used in day- to- day life and outside of the remit of BOCRA’s mandate.
BOCRA recently hosted a workshop whose aim was to facilitate capacity building in collection and collation of statistical data using training material, tools and statistical methods developed by United Nations Institute for Training and Research ( UNITAR) and United Nations University ( UNU) to conduct a national quantitative assessment of Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment ( WEEE) in Botswana. The workshop was also expected to help improve the quality, understanding, collection and interpretation of WEEE data and enhance the cooperation among the various stakeholders involved in the sector. Additionally, the aim of the workshop was to build national capacity and skills in WEEE indicators, enabling independent production of internationally comparable WEEE statistics in Botswana. “This data will be useful in the monitoring of e- waste and development and or review of e- waste policies and waste management strategies,” says Nyelesi. Among challenges that Botswana encounters regarding e- waste include lack of policy on e- waste and a structured way of collecting and disposing of e- waste and limited capabilities of local companies to handle hazardous materials found in e- waste. And BOCRA believes one of the interventions is continuous consumer education BOCRA works in collaboration with International Telecommunication Union, Department of Waste Management and Pollution Control, Botswana Radiation Protection Inspectorate to protect human health and the environment from the consequences of inadequate handling of e- waste. The latest Global E- waste Monitor predicts global e- waste will reach 74 Mt by 2030, almost double the 2014 figure, fuelled by higher electric and electronic consumption rates, shorter lifecycles and limited repair options.
In 2019, only 17.4 per cent of e- waste was officially documented as formally collected and recycled. In 2018, the highest policy- making body of the ITU, the Plenipotentiary Conference, established a target to increase the global e- waste recycling rate to 30 per cent by 2023. The formal collection and recycling rate would have to increase at a much faster pace in order to hit that target. A record 53.6 million metric tonnes ( Mt) of e- waste – discarded products with a battery or plug such as computers and mobile phones - is reported generated worldwide in 2019, up 9.2 Mt in five years. Toxic and hazardous substances such as mercury, brominated flame- retardants ( BFR) or chloroflurocarbons ( CFCs) are found in many types of electronic equipment and pose severe risk to human health and the environment if not handled in an environmentally sound manner.