Establishment of a local e-waste recycling facility in Kenya. IDEA BY-:) Patrick Kiarie Nyokabi, Entrepreneur-Thika,Kenya pakinyok@gmail.com Kevin Njeru Mount Kenya University IT LECTURER. njerukevin@gmail.com Introduction The production and use of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) continues to grow in both developing and developed countries (Purnomo & Lee, 2010). This has led to an increase in the amount of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) at its End-of-Life (EoL). According to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), the world produces as much as 50 million tons of electronic and electrical waste (e-waste) a year, weighing more than all of the commercial airliners ever made. Consider this, the UN for example argues that The U.N. says that while the world’s 7 billion people have 4.5 billion toilets, they also have over 6 billion phones (MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTRY NATIONAL E-WASTE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY **** REVISED DRAFT ****, 2019). Only less than 20% of e-waste is formally recycled, with 80% either ending up in landfill or being informally recycled – much of it by hand in developing countries, exposing workers to hazardous and carcinogenic substances such as mercury, lead and cadmium (Asiimwe, n.d.). E-waste in landfill contaminates soil and groundwater, putting food supply systems and water sources at risk.. The agency further opines that Global e-waste production is on track to reach 120 million tons per year by 2050 if current trends continue(Liza, 2015). Many electronic gadgets, including cell phones, computers, televisions, HiFi systems, refrigerators, and a host of other electronic appliances are manufactured using a variety of harmful substances including lead, hexavalent chromium, phthalates and brominated flame retardants. Yet these substances are so critical to the devices that they cannot function without them. Lead, for instance, is effective as a solder while flame retardants keep computers from bursting into flames as we type. But for all their usefulness, they come with serious health implications. The fact that electronic waste is non-biodegradable presents another serious challenge for disposal of electronic waste to global governments(UNEP & Our Planet, 2013). The most detailed study of the used electronics issue was performed in 2009 by the UN Environment Programme, which found that Ghana imported 215,000 metric tons of “electric and electronic equipment” that year. Thirty percent of that total was new equipment. Of the 70 percent that constituted used goods, 20 percent needed repairs and 15 percent—or roughly 22,575 tons—was unsellable and bound for the dump. The Stockholm Convention is a global treaty designed to protect human health and the environment from chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods of time, that become widely distributed geographically, that accumulate in the fatty tissues of humans and wildlife, and that have harmful impacts on human health or on the environment. There are several persistent organic pollutants present in E-waste, and the listing of E-waste requires parties of the Stockholm Convention to take appropriate measures to eliminate the release of these pollutants from stockpiles and wastes. According to Samwel Matonda, a chemist and the director of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, warns that some of the discarded electronic gadgets have radioactive elements that are hazardous to the environment and health. “The heavy metals or chemicals can cause diseases such as cancers and skin irritation in people who get into contact with them. Also, the chemicals can leak into rivers whose waters are used for irrigation, posing further challenges, Problem statement A research conducted in 2014 UNEP titled Solving the E-waste Problem” indicated that Kenya generates more than 44,000 tonnes of e-waste annually, with experts noting that irresponsible disposal of electronics has contributed significantly to environmental degradation and an increase in poor health among citizens (www.unep.org). Much of this e-waste is disposed off in compost heaps or stays isolated in offices and work areas for lack of better formal ways of disposing it. In most cases, citizens have turned to burning electronic waste as a way of disposal thereby endangering their health and the health of those in the society as these harmful gases are released into the environment. Even more destructive is the harm that these gases cause to the environment. It is important to note that in the emerging field of research on green information Technology (green IT), disposal of electronic waste has for long been argued (Otieno & Omwenga, 2016). One option that some people have already taken in developing economies has been the use of informal e-waste recycling. Those involved in the trade collect the gadgets, separate the plastic, motherboards, batteries and copper wire for sale and then burn those that are of no value to them. But there are concerns that such primitive recycling techniques of burning the materials such as cables to extract copper expose those involved to toxic fumes, which can lead to respiratory illnesses. Proposed solution There is need to refocus the global environmental conservation efforts to Africa. As much as Africa's contribution to global Greenhouse gas (GhG) emissions remains low (estimated at just 7.1%), all indications are that the carbon footprint of Africa is expected to grow tremendously over the next decade. For long, African economies have been heavily reliant on imports from Western economies and Asia, yet in the last few years the GDP of African countries has consistently grown owing to improvement in infrastructure, transport, construction and real estate, focus on manufacturing and shift to ICT.Needless to note that these are the key industries that have the highest carbon footprint with the construction sector for example estimated to have contributed about 39% of energy and process related Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2018 alone. This points to the fact that as Africa gears up to industrialization, a steep rise in its carbon footprint is expected, this does not sound any good for our environment. But perhaps there is hope; this is because Africa offers an opportunity to integrate a green culture in its development road map; from green transportation, green energy, green construction, green cities, green manufacturing, green supply chain, green ICT and green buildings. This can directly translate to a healthier environment, more productive businesses and a healthier people. Needless to point that going green involves a complete change of our lifestyle to what we would call a "green lifestyle" in which all our economic and social activities are driven by a desire for a healthier and safer environment. In the case of electrical and electronics for example, African is put in a catch 22 situation. This is because their economic disadvantage has created a loophole where developed countries have turned to dumping their obsolete devices to the continent. And whereas African countries have seen this as a benefit owing to the cheap cost of these devices, some of them which actually come as donations, these devices have a short economic life and thus in a few months or years of usage, the burden of disposing these devices had been left on the shoulders of these economies to bear. And with no proper disposal mechanisms for electronic devices to use,most users have developed bizarre and dangerous disposal mechanisms that have not only endangered our environment but even risked the lives of the same people we should be protecting this environment for. This project therefore aims to develop a local recycling center for used electronic devices that would assist in the repair of used electronic devices and giving them out for free in order to extend their end use cycle as well as acting as a collection center for devices that have grown obsolete and transporting them to the only accredited ewaste facility, East African Compliant Recycling (EACR) in Machakos. This will also involve an extensive public awareness campaign for small the communities living within the county with the aim of enlightening them o the dangers of continued environmental pollution as well as how electronic waste affects the environment and human welfare in the society. Thank you and Kind Regards Patrick Kiarie Nyokabi. +254-723-240-736 pakinyok@gmail.com