Members of Parliament (MPs) have called upon the government to devise a clear plan for the removal of electronic waste (e-waste) from people's homes to collection centres and, subsequently, to recycling facilities.
The parliament's Committee on Economy and Trade presented a report on October 11, made regarding e-waste management in the country and the challenges associated with the collection and recycling of such waste.
While compiling the report, the members of the committee interacted with various institutions including the Auditor General's office, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and Enviroserve Rwanda Green Park, a private company working with the government in electronic and electrical waste recycling.
One of the primary issues identified by the MPs pertains to the focus of e-waste collection, which they say is not balanced as efforts predominantly go to government institutions and private sector organisations, yet these have less e-waste as compared to households.
The report noted that e-waste from public institutions and private sector organisations accounts for only 18 per cent of all e-waste in the country, while that from citizens' households accounts for up to 82 per cent.
Furthermore, the committee discovered a lack of effective programmes for the declaration and collection of e-waste at various levels, especially in homes. In addition to this, the MPs noted that the current e-waste collection efforts concentrate on just four out of the approximately 13 types of e-waste.
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The committee also pointed at the inadequate number of e-waste collection facilities, with a mere 14 districts out of 30 currently hosting such facilities.
Following their analysis, the committee determined that it was imperative to engage with the relevant authorities to address these problems and understand their plans for solutions.
During the process of making the report, officials from relevant institutions told the MPs that Rwanda has put in place ways of addressing e-waste, among which is a project which ran from 2013 to 2018 which made a comprehensive study on the volumes of imported and locally manufactured electronics and IT equipment, their annual obsolescence rates, and the need for recycling.
The MPs were also informed that there is a facility in place for the recycling of e-waste and that there is an upcoming project funded by the World Bank, which will sensitise people on the dangers of e-waste and how to deal with such waste.
After the committees' presentation of the report, its Deputy Chairperson Spéciose Ayinkamiye issued a key recommendation to the Ministry of Trade to outline a comprehensive strategy for the collection of e-waste from households to collection centres, in addition to sensitising the people on the dangers of e-waste to the environment and how they can deal with it.
