E-waste

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The Africa Environmental health and Pollution Management Project is a five years Global Environment Facility sixth framework funded project in five African countries notably; Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Ghana and Senegal with World Bank as the Implementing Agency.

In Kenya, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) is the executing agency and the project main objective is to strengthen institutional capacity to manage and regulate e-waste and related UPOPS in Kenya.

The project is founded on the basis that Electronic and e-waste commonly referred to as e-waste is emerging as one of the most critical environmental challenge globally, regionally and nationally. Currently e-waste accumulation is reaching unsustainable level and owing to management challenges, they are becoming a major source of environmental pollution. In Kenya, electronic waste is the fastest growing waste component, with an estimated 51,300 tons of electronic waste being generated in annually.

Owing to e-waste management challenges, e-waste is often mixed with other municipal waste and disposed at open dumpsites where it is treated through open burning. Such open burning for ewaste disposed is the significant source of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs), Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), dioxins, furans, cadmium, beryllium, and lead release to the environment and can lead to severe human health and environmental hazards. I

n responding to the aforementioned e-waste concerns, this project if founded to drive three key components that include;

1) Institutional strengthening, knowledge and capacity building - This project component largely focuses on support to capacity building activities for contribution in the reduction of releases of POPs from un-sound e-waste management practices and ensure appropriate technology transfer focusing on NEMA and relevant stakeholders. Under this component, documentation and undertaking of country-wide situation analysis on waste, including inventory of major toxic pollutants emanating from the sector, assessment of environmental health implications of harmful chemicals and waste and options including economic analysis of the waste sector to the national economy is proposed. The component also proposes a focus on forging partnership with stakeholders in the value chain country wide for supporting waste and e-waste management as well as streaming customs coding with appropriate training of the customs and border inspectorate to curtail entry of illicit e-waste.

2) Support for policy dialogue and regulatory enhancements. This component will support government efforts in strengthening the current environmental policies and regulations to provide an enabling environment for the management of health and environmental risks associated with e-waste. The component will also support development of strategy for promoting the reductions of emissions and release of and exposure to, harmful and hazardous waste. Such strategy include; gathering of health data and awareness raising through health facilities. Particular attention will be taken to prevent the exposure of vulnerable populations, particularly children and women of child bearing age, especially pregnant women to harmful chemicals and dissemination of information to different actors and selected communities.

3) Component 3: Demonstrating application of technological tools and economic approaches in the management of e-waste. This component will focus on initiating e a pilot in a selected county in Kenya on the implementation of integrated best practices on waste management approach to reduce releases of POPs from e-waste through improving source reduction/re-use, collection, transportation and disposal/recycling. Based on the identified priorities, the infrastructure investments will be designed and implemented, focusing on addressing the gaps in the collection and disposal system of e-waste.

4) Component 4 focuses on project coordination.

Environmental and Social Management Framework Africa Environmental Health and Pollution Management Program -DOWNLOAD.