1. e-Waste Management in Western Africa
Mathias Schluep, David Rochat EMPA – Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology St-Gallen / Switzerland
SBC – Geneva, May 2009

2. Introduction
A bit of History
The Problem
Assessment Process: Components 1 and 2
Assessment Methodology
Conclusions
Tentative Project Approach

3. I. A bit of history (1)
EMPA: Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing & Research
independent, neutral institution for multidisciplinary research into sustainable materials and systems engineering.
competence center for e-waste hosted by the technology and society laboratory
technical monitoring & control centre for e-waste on behalf of the Swiss PRO
Experienced in e-waste since the mid-90’s!
Managing the Swiss global e-waste programme “knowledge partnerships in e-waste management”. Projects in India, China, South Africa, Colombia, Peru

4. Several initiatives are looking for solutions to prevent the problem:
I. A bit of history (2)
The fight against digital divide results in massive imports of used and new computers in developing countries, especially in Africa
e-waste will become one of the major challenges in the field of waste management in developing countries
Several initiatives are looking for solutions to prevent the problem:
Swiss e-Waste Programme (Seco/ Empa) in South Africa
e-Waste Management in Africa (HP/ DSF/ Empa in Morocco, Kenya, Senegal and South Africa.
Including Recycling in a refurbishment centre (Unido/ Microsoft/ Empa) in Uganda
and more….

5. II. The problem (1)

6. II. The problem (2)

7. II. The problem (3)

8. II. The problem (4)

9. Questions: what to assess?
II. The problem (5)
Before implementing a suitable e-waste management system, it is necessary to assess the current situation in a relatively short time
Questions: what to assess?
How does e-waste and 2nd hand EEE enter the country?
Component 1
How is imported and domestic e-waste managed within the country?
Component 2
E-waste assessment methodology developed by Empa for component 2
Methodology for component 1 to be developed (life experience)

10. III. The assessment process (1)
defining the organizational setup of the assessment study
Steering committee
- funding agency
- programme management
Assessment team
- international expert
- local expert
National e-waste strategy group
- government
- industry
- academia
- civil society
- other interest groups

11. III. The assessment process (2)
Mission of the international expert (approx. 1 week)
Mobilisation of local stakeholders and constitution of the national e-waste strategy group
Technical training of the local expert (general knowledge on e-waste and training for assessment)
Public announcement of the project
Assessment study (approx. 12 months)
Collection of data & Field visits
Technical report
Workshop organised by the national strategy group
Conclusions of the assessment study are discussed
Design of a roadmap or implementing an e-waste management system
 The technical report and the roadmap are used for further actions

12. IV. Assessment methodology (1) - Project scope and objectives
Explicit definition of the project’s objectives
Define geographical scope (cities, regions, transboundary movements, etc…)
Define which are the studied equipments (PC, laptops, TVs, mobile phones)
Modes of data acquisition:
Literature reviews and statistical data (websites, publications, statistics,…)
Meetings and workshops (resource people, stakeholder meetings, focus groups)
Field investigation (wild dump sites, 2nd hand markets, informal recycling sector, etc…)

13. IV. Assessment methodology (2) – country background
Understanding of the country’s characteristics (WDI)
Allows better interpretation of the assessment’s results
Shows which alternatives are possible for the country’s e-waste problem
Allows comparisons with other countries

14. IV. Assessment methodology (3) – country background
e-waste related policies and legislations
General environment legislations (air, water, solid waste, hazardous waste, etc.)
Specific laws applying to e-waste, if any
Social legislations / policies (child labor, workers rights, programs fostering employment, etc.)  informal sectors
Institutional framework
Organization of the legislative, executive and judiciary systems in the context of waste management
Governmental bodies related to environmental management, at local and national level (ministries, municipalities, administrations, etc.)

15. IV. Assessment methodology (4) – Stakeholder analysis
Identify the actors involved and their role in e-waste management by groups of stakeholders
Who are they? How are they organised?
What’s their role?
What impact do they have on e-waste management?
Stakeholders’ interest in e-waste management:
What are their motivations?
Possible coalitions and conflicts
 Set of qualitative and quantitative indicators

16. IV. Assessment methodology (5) – Stakeholder analysis
Component 1
Component 2 v v

17. List of stakeholders involved in e-waste management (1)
IV. Assessment methodology (6) – Stakeholder analysis
List of stakeholders involved in e-waste management (1)

18. List of stakeholders involved in e-waste management (2)
IV. Assessment methodology (7) – Stakeholder analysis
List of stakeholders involved in e-waste management (2)

19. IV. Assessment methodology (8) – Mass flow assessment
the stakeholder analysis allowed to
map the interconnections between the different actors
Gather indicators to quantify e-waste flows and stocks
Mass flow assessment is a way to describe and quantify flows and stocks in a simplified system, it obeys to 2 sets of equations
Mass balance equations: ΔS = ΣFin – ΣFout
Parametric equations: Fi+1 = f (ki+1, Fi, S)
F = flow
S = Stock
K is the transfer coefficient

20. IV. Assessment methodology (9) – impact overview
The objective is to highlight in a qualitative way where the priorities are (environmental, social and economic)

21. IV. Assessment methodology (10) – conclusions & recommendations
Participants from 6 African countries have participated to the Durban conference in Oct. 2008
Formulation of “Durban Declaration”, recommending to:
create a national work group including all relevant stakeholders;
integrate the regional and international network;
conduct a baseline assessment and publicly share the data;
Propose a roadmap based on the findings of the national work group;
examine synergies with neighbouring countries;
develop feasibility studies;
implement and evaluate pilot activities.
Component 1 & 2

22. IV. Assessment methodology (11) – conclusions & recommendations
Formulation of specific recommendations for the following fields:
Policy and legislation
Industry involvement and producer responsibility
Technology and Infrastructures
Monitoring and Data collection
Awareness and education
National and international exchange platforms

23. Conclusions
The methodology provides a good overview of the situation  allows to draw a roadmap for implementation
The methodology was improved after being tested in various countries
Some difficulties and necessary adjustments appeared:
Need for a proper training to the methodology of the local expert
mass flow analysis often relies on poor data and provides a rough assessment
unregulated imports of e-waste and 2nd hand equipments remain difficult to assess  need to dedicate time and resource (component 1!)
the standardized approach of the methodology sometimes leads to confusion, as some common expressions are understood differently among stakeholders and cultures

24. Tentative Project Approach (1/2)
Start with Nigeria (& Benin) for Comp 1 & 2
Realize synergies for Comp 3 (Öko Institut) – especially with Comp 2 (national e-waste strategy group, stakeholder assessment)
Generate life experience for Comp 1 and refine approach for other countries
Include preleminary results from Comp 1 “European harbours” (Öko Institut)
Execute Comp 1 in the other target countries

25. Tentative Project Approach (2/2)
Include the StEP network to improve quality of the work and include the major international stakeholders
Major industry involvement (manufacturer, recyclers, …)
Broad participation of other UN organizations
Includes some relevant governmental bodies (US EPA, Seco, GTZ, …)
Gives access to the scientific community active in research related to e-waste.

26. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

27. Tentative Timeplan 2009 2010 2011 Comp 1 EU Nigeria Benin Ghana
Côte d’Yvoire
Liberia
Comp 2
(Ghana)
Comp 3