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According to a new report produced by UNIDO’s e-waste project in Latin America and the Caribbean, only three percent of e-waste in Latin America is collected through official channels and treated in an environmentally friendly way. There is no certainty about the remaining 97%, which could include $ 1.7 billion in renewables per year.
Regional e-waste controller for Latin America is the first United Nations assessment of the amount of e-waste in the region, its legislation and its management infrastructure.
He prepared the report Sustainable Cycles Program (SCYCLE)., co-hosted by the UN University (UNU) and the UN Training and Research Institute (UNITAR). It covers 13 countries participating in UNIDO-GEF LAC E-waste project: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
“E-waste is one of the fastest growing physical waste streams in today’s global environment and threatens sustainable development,” the report said.
Access to e-waste data is crucial to tackling this threat, but few countries collect internationally comparable e-waste statistics.
Co-author Ruediger Kuehr, director of SCYCLE, said: “This report was created in collaboration with 13 countries to support and facilitate environmentally friendly e-waste management in the region.”
The report notes that e-waste in 13 Latin American countries increased by 49% between 2010 and 2019, which is about the global average, but only 3% was collected and safely disposed of, which is part of the 17.4% of the global average. While informal processors recycle some valuable items from waste electronics and electrical equipment, most of the remaining 97% are mishandled.
In 2019, e-waste generated by 206 million citizens in 13 countries reached 1,300,000 tonnes (1.3 megatons, of which almost 30% was plastic) – the same as the 670 km long line of fully loaded 40- tonne trucks. The comparable figure in 2010 was 900,000 tonnes generated by around 185 million citizens.
Hazardous substances in e-waste in the region include at least 2,200 kg of mercury, 600 kg of cadmium, 4.4 million kg of lead, 4 million kg of brominated flame retardants and 5.6 megaton of greenhouse gas equivalents (due to refrigerants).
These substances are “poorly managed in the region and are unlikely to be treated, creating various risks to the stability of a healthy environment,” the report says.
Meanwhile, “e-waste management could be an economic opportunity,” said co-author Kees Baldé, senior research specialist at UNITAR SCYCLE. “The e-waste generated in the region in 2019 contained 7,000 kg of gold, 310 kg of rare earth metals, 591 million kg of iron, 54 million kg of copper and 91 million kg of aluminum, representing a total value of about 1.7 billion US dollars. dollars of secondary raw materials.
All 13 participating countries have some legal and regulatory frameworks for waste management, but only Costa Rica, Ecuador and Peru have introduced specific legislation on e-waste and extended producer responsibility (EPR) systems that focus on e-waste regulation.
Although “implementing these measures remains a significant challenge”, the report calls on all countries in the region to introduce and enforce either: a) a strong legal and policy framework focused on the environmentally sound management of e-waste and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) contain e-waste, or b) monitoring and strengthening existing systems to make them more efficient and effective.
He adds that adequate funding and monitoring of systems and the involvement of all stakeholders are essential elements for establishing and maintaining successful policies.
Policy development is at the heart of UNIDO’s e-waste intervention in the region, with two new draft policies being developed so far under the UNIDO-GEF project and a further four under development. In addition, as part of the project, two countries are preparing amendments to existing regulations, and a new bill on e-waste is being supported.
The project has also carried out extensive capacity building and awareness-raising activities across the region and around the world and involves a wide range of stakeholders, including national and local governments, producers, processors, NGOs and other civil society organizations, private sector companies, academia and other agencies. UN to jointly address the issue of e-waste in the region.
The project Strengthening National Initiatives and Strengthening Regional Cooperation for the Environmentally Safe Management of POPs in Waste Electronic or Electrical Equipment (WEEE) is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by UNIDO. The project supports 13 Latin American countries in strengthening regional cooperation and knowledge sharing, and provides advice on e-waste policies and regulations, appropriate governance technologies, business models, capacity building and awareness raising.