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com

Waste Management 28 (2008) 1472–1479

www.elsevier.com/locate/wasman

Review

Electronic waste (e-waste): Material flows and management practices

in Nigeria
a,* b
Innocent Chidi Nnorom , Oladele Osibanjo
a
Department of Industrial Chemistry, Abia State University, Uturu, Abia State, Nigeria
b
Basel Convention Regional Coordinating Center for Africa for Training & Technology Transfer, Department of Chemistry, University of Ibadan, Nigeria

Accepted 29 June 2007

Available online 20 September 2007

Abstract

The growth in electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) production and consumption has been exponential in the last two decades.
This has been as a result of the rapid changes in equipment features and capabilities, decrease in prices, and the growth in internet use.
This creates a large volume of waste stream of obsolete electrical and electronic devices (e-waste) in developed countries. There is high
level of trans-boundary movement of these devices as secondhand electronic equipment into developing countries in an attempt to bridge
the ‘digital divide’. The past decade has witnessed a phenomenal advancement in information and communication technology (ICT) in
Nigeria, most of which rely on imported secondhand devices. This paper attempts to review the material flow of secondhand/scrap elec-
tronic devices into Nigeria, the current management practices for e-waste and the environmental and health implications of such low-end
management practices. Establishment of formal recycling facilities, introduction of legislation dealing specifically with e-waste and the
confirmation of the functionality of secondhand EEE prior to importation are some of the options available to the government in dealing
with this difficult issue.
Ó 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1473
2. E-waste: Composition and generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1473
2.1. Material composition of WEEE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1473
2.2. Trends in e-waste generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1474
2.3. E-waste trade: Nigeria a case study. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1475
3. E-waste management practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1475
3.1. E-waste management in developing countries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1475
3.2. Environmental and health implications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1476
4. Material recovery from e-waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1476
4.1. Component reuse and recycling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1476
4.2. Issues in e-waste management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1477
4.2.1. Product take-back (Extended producer responsibility) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1477
4.2.2. Product self-management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1477
5. Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1478
5.1. Recommendations to developing countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1478
5.2. Recommendations to developed countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1478

*
Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: chidiabsu@yahoo.co.uk (I.C. Nnorom), osibanjo@baselnigeria.com (O. Osibanjo).

0956-053X/$ - see front matter Ó 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2007.06.012
 I.C. Nnorom, O. Osibanjo / Waste Management 28 (2008) 1472–1479 1473

5.3. Recommendations to the OEMs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1478

6. Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1478
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1478

1. Introduction growing most rapidly. PCs also contain the largest amount
of printed wiring board (PWB) among electronic products.
From past records, it seems certain that new problems The cathode ray tubes (CRTs) in computer monitors and
of physical, biological and social change, not now widely televisions contain about 8% lead by weight (Li et al.,
anticipated, will arise sooner than later. This is because 2006); amounting to about 2–4 kg of lead each (Powel,
our scientific knowledge of each of these systems is 2002). Computer CRTs present a disposal problem because
incomplete, the mass of human population and its of their growing magnitude in the waste stream and their
demands are increasing relentlessly and the possible role as a major source of Pb in MSW (Musson et al.,
human adjustments and adaptations, including technol- 2000; Lee et al., 2000). Consumer electronics account for
ogy, are multiplying (White, 1996). Only a few years 27% of Pb discards in MSW in 1986 in the US and are pro-
ago, some of the environmental issues of concern included jected to comprise 30% of lead discards by 2007. By 2000,
the trio: acid rain, stratospheric ozone layer depletion and CRTs were projected to contribute 29.8% of all Pb in MSW
global warming. Today, waste electrical and electronic or approximately 98.7% of all Pb from electronics (Musson
equipment (WEEE) or electronic waste (e-waste) genera- et al., 2000). The composition of different kinds of CRT
tion, trans-boundary movement and disposal are becom- glass is given in Table 1.
ing issues of concern to solid waste management Lead is used for various reasons in the CRT manufac-
professionals, environmentalists, international agencies ture, among which is providing shield necessary for x-rays
and governments around the world (Musson et al., (Lee et al., 2000). The basic functions of Pb in CRTs are
2000; Cui and Forssberg, 2003). shown in Table 1. Apart from Pb used in CRTs, another
The useful life of consumer electronic products is rela- main source of Pb in WEEE is the lead solder. The elec-
tively short, and decreasing as a result of rapid changes tronics industry is currently facing significant international
in equipment features and capabilities (Kang and Scho- legislation and market pressure to phase out the use of tin–
enung, 2004). This creates a large waste stream of obsolete lead solder and switch to lead-free alternatives. Concerns
electronic equipment. Due to their hazardous material con- over lead in electronics derivable from lead solder are
tents, WEEE may cause environmental problems during now limited to older electronics. This is because most elec-
the waste management phase if it is not properly pre-trea-
ted. As a result, many countries have drafted legislation to
improve the reuse, recycling and other forms of recovery of Table 1
such wastes in order to reduce disposal. Composition of different kinds of CRT glass
Nigeria is currently undergoing a rapid advancement in Item Composition Basic function
information and communication technology (ICT). A very Panel 0–4% lead oxide Optical quality glass;
significant proportion of ICT users in Nigeria rely on sec- Alkaline/alkaline earth X-ray attenuation;
ondhand equipment from developed countries, primarily Aluminosilicate Color and tint control
from Europe and North America. In the present communi- Funnel 22–28% lead oxide high X-ray resistance;
cation, we review the material flow of secondhand and Alkaline/alkaline earth Viscosity control
scrap EEE into Nigeria, the current management practices Aluminosilicate
for such wastes in the country and the environmental and Neck 30% lead oxide Thermal expansion match
health implications of such low-end management practices. Alkaline/alkaline earth to funnel composition;
Material recovery (component reuse and bulk recycling) as Aluminosilicate X-ray absorption
an option in the sound end-of-life (EoL) management of Stem 29% lead oxide Expansion match to metal
e-waste is also reviewed. Alkaline Wire feed through; X-ray
aluminosilicate absorption

2. E-waste: Composition and generation Gun Potassium Crystallization

mount aluminosilicate
2.1. Material composition of WEEE Sintering
Frit 70–80% lead oxide Low temperature
Personal computers (PCs) constitute the second largest Zinc borate
component next to CRTs in the e-waste stream and are Source: Lee et al. (2000).
1474 I.C. Nnorom, O. Osibanjo / Waste Management 28 (2008) 1472–1479

tronic manufacturers are now using lead-free solder. How- Table 3

ever there are concerns that the lead-free solder(s) may also Waste personal computer generation in selected countries
be of environmental and health concern sooner than later. Country Year Volume (units) Reference
For example, the 96.35Sn/3.2Ag/0.7Cu alloy has been China – 4 million/year Greenpeace (2005)
shown to potentially leach silver in concentrations greater Korea 2003 1.2 million Oh et al. (2003)
than those deemed acceptable (Masanet, 2002). North America 1996 79 million Musson et al. (2000)
Taiwan 1998 300,000 Lee et al. (2000)
USA 1998 20 million Powel (2002)
2.2. Trends in e-waste generation

The growth of the PC industry started in the early 1980s

and by 1989, an estimated 21 million PCs were sold world- The level of obsolete PC generation in some countries is
wide; in 1998 this figure reached 93 million. This exponen- shown in Table 3. The production of PCs in Taiwan in
tial increase in the sale of PCs can be partly attributed to 1998 accounted for 13% of global personal computer
three factors: (1) the decrease in the PC price, (2) the emer- (PC) production. By 2000, it was estimated that about
gence of the internet in the early 1990s, and (3) the rapid 300,000 scrap PCs are generated each year in Taiwan
increase in the raw processing power of desktop computers (Lee et al., 2000). In China, the total sales of computer
(Campbell and Hasan, 2003). In 2001, there were over 300 are more than 10 million sets every year. Meanwhile, a
million internet users worldwide and this, was estimated to total of 5 million sets of computers and 40 million sets of
increase to more than 500 million users by 2003 (Fichter, CRT monitors have had to be discarded so far in China
2003). (Ecoflash, 2003).
E-waste is growing at a rapid and uncontrollable rate The questions of how much e-waste is generated, from
and is the fastest growing portion of the municipal solid where and to where it is moving are difficult to answer. This
waste stream. Currently WEEE constitutes 1% of munici- is worsened by the current system of gathering information
pal waste in the US (Li et al., 2006) and 4% in the EU in which secondary and waste products are by large invis-
(Yla-Mella et al., 2004). As these PCs become obsolete, ible to national statistics in production, sale and trade-in
they are replaced and the old PCs are disposed. WEEE goods. Williams (2005) observed that few if any statistical
generation in some countries is shown in Table 2. In categories are designed to distinguish new goods from used
1996, there were over 300 million existing CRTs (TVs or waste ones. Hong Kong and Australia were the first to
and monitors) in North America. Meanwhile, in the same develop guidelines for distinguishing between used goods
year, 42 million new CRTs were sold in the US, and 79 mil- and e-waste (Kojima, 2005).
lion computers were retired (Musson et al., 2000). It is esti- In 2003, 160,000 metric tons of secondary and waste
mated that for every three new computers purchased, two electronic equipment were exported from the UK;
currently used units will become obsolete. This ratio was 133,000 tons of this was IT/telecom equipment. In this cat-
expected to increase to 2:1 by 2005 (Musson et al., 2000). egory 110,000 tons were declared exports and properly
documented while 23,000 tons were undeclared or grey-
market exports going to non-OECD countries (Williams,
2005). According to estimates, between 50% and 80% of
Table 2
e-waste collected for recycling in the US each year is being
E-waste generation in selected countries
exported, amounting to about 10.2 million PCs (Roman
Country Year E-waste generated Reference
and Puckett, 2002; BAN/SVTC, 2002; BAN, 2005). Esti-
(Metric tons/year)
mates show that South Korea exports about 1.8 million
Germany 2005 1,100,000 Kumar et al. (2005),
used computers to China each year, to avoid paying the
Williams (2005)a
UK 1998 915,000 steep recycling and disposal costs within its own borders
USA 2000 2,158,490 Kumar et al. (2005), (Toxic Dispatch, 2004).
Williams (2005)a It can be assumed that the disposal of obsolete elec-
Taiwan 2003 14,036 Kumar et al. (2005), tronic products is fundamentally driven by the production
Williams (2005)a
of new ones. This implies that the growth in global elec-
Thailand 2003 60,000 Kumar et al. (2005),
Williams (2005)a tronic production of 4.4% in 2002, and 6.8% in 2003 will
Denmark 1997 118,000 Kumar et al. (2005), result in similar growth in e-waste generation (Williams,
Williams (2005)a 2005). Currently the main route of disposal of e-waste in
Canada 2005 67,000 Kumar et al. (2005), most developed countries is through export to developing
Williams (2005)a
countries in the name of ‘bridging the digital divide’. Too
Norway 1995 144,000 Lamvik et al. (2002)
Switzerland – 110,000 Brandl et al. (2001) often, justifications of ‘building bridges over the digital
Finland 2003 120,000 Yla-Mella et al. (2004) divide’ are used as excuses to obscure and ignore the fact
France – 1,500,000 Li et al. (2004) that these bridges double as toxic waste pipelines to some
Sweden – 100,000 Yla-Mella et al. (2004) of the poorest communities and countries in the world.
a
Source: http://www.ewaste.ch/facts_and_figures/statistical/quantities/. While supposedly closing the ‘digital divide’, the developed
 I.C. Nnorom, O. Osibanjo / Waste Management 28 (2008) 1472–1479
countries are rather opening a ‘digital dump’ (BAN, 2005).
The export of e-waste to Africa and Asia appears to be a
preferred option to the developed countries rather than
to use the opportunity to enable their own national recy-
cling infrastructure, switch to cleaner technologies and
develop innovative design to prevent further toxics use
(Roman and Puckett, 2002). Developing countries are
increasingly victimized by a disproportionate burden of
the world’s toxic cyber waste. The export of cyber waste
to developing countries like Nigeria may be fueling the
export of cyber crime to the developed countries, as per-
sons involved in cyber crime may obtain information about
their victims from the hard drives exported with the e-
waste.
2.3. E-waste trade: Nigeria a case study
In Nigeria, secondhand computers find application in
business centers, printing houses; computer institutes/train-
ing schools, cyber cafes and home use. Growth in internet
use in Nigeria is shown in Table 4. The recent Basel Action
Network (BAN) coordinated study in Nigeria -Exporting
Reuse and Abuse to Africa- revealed the level of trans-
boundary movement of secondhand and scrap EEE into
Nigeria. The study observed that an average of 500
containers enter Nigeria through the Lagos ports monthly
with each containing about 800 monitors or CPUs. This
indicates that an average of 400,000 secondhand or scrap
PCs (CPUs) or monitors enter the country monthly
through the Lagos ports. This amounts to an annual
importation of an estimated 5 million PC units, with a
weight estimated at 60,000 metric tons (considering an
average weight of 8–14 kg for a PC (Li et al., 2006) and
12 kg for a monitor (Lee et al., 2000)). Secondhand com-
puter wares are also imported through other sea and air
ports, and also through donations by charities to organiza-
tions and educational institutions. Data is however scarce
on the local generation of e-waste and on the in-flow of
new computers and other EEE from the original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs).
The BAN study observed that about 25–75% of the
imported secondhand computer wares are unusable junk
that are non-functional or unrepairable (BAN, 2005). This
amounts to an importation of 15,000–45,000 tons of scrap
recyclable electronic components, which may contain as
much as 1000–3,600 tons of lead. In Nigeria, there is virtu-
Table 4
Growth in internet use in Nigeria
Year Internet Internet penetration Growth in users
internet users (%) (%)
2000 107,194 0.1 –
2001 152,350 0.1 43.06
2002 420,000 0.3 173.88
2003 1,613,258 1.3 284.11
2004 1,769,661 1.5 9.69
Data adapted from BAN (2005).
1475
ally no capacity for material recovery operations for elec-
tronic waste, as a result of which these items become
discarded in local dumps. Assuming this trade continues
unabated, with an annual increase of 10%, then an esti-
mated 40 million units of PCs or monitors (or 468,000 met-
ric tons of e-scrap) would have been imported over the
period 2005–2010. This will amount to an importation of
about 40,000 metric tons of Pb for the period under consid-
eration or 77,000 tons of e-scrap/year. From tags on the
imported appliances and the information on the computer
hard drives, the BAN study estimated that about 45% of
the imports are from the EU, 45% from the US, and the
remaining 10% from other locations such as Japan, Bel-
gium, Finland, Israel, Germany, Italy, Korea, Netherlands,
Norway, and Singapore (BAN, 2005).
Trading of secondhand electronics is currently booming
at the famous ‘computer village’ in Lagos, Nigeria owing to
this large-scale importation of secondhand electronics.
Brokers and traders from countries in the West African
sub-region come to Lagos to buy secondhand computer
and accessories and other electronic devices. As a result,
a substantial quantity of these imports may be diverted
to other African countries, especially countries in the ECO-
WAS sub-region.
3. E-waste management practices
3.1. E-waste management in developing countries
Most developing countries including Nigeria have nei-
ther a well-established system for separation, storage, col-
lection, transportation, and disposal of waste nor the
effective enforcement of regulations relating to hazardous
waste management (Mundada et al., 2004).They do not
have legislation dealing specifically with e-waste and there
is lax enforcement of existing laws dealing with general
waste management. Formal recycling of e-waste using effi-
cient technologies and state-of-the-art recycling facilities
are rare. As a result electronic wastes are managed through
various low-end management alternatives such as disposal
in open dumps, backyard recycling and disposal into
surface water bodies (Furter, 2004). Similarly, there is no
integrated framework regarding the monitoring and
management of toxic and hazardous materials and wastes
in these countries. Limited funding has also caused signif-
icant impediments to the effective management of toxic
wastes. Apart from scarcity of financial resources, the
development of appropriate home-grown technology fol-
lowing the principles of waste minimization and sustain-
able development has been slow.
Crude recycling for e-waste is currently taking place in
China, India, and in some other countries in the Asia-Paci-
fic axis. These crude ‘backyard’ recycling processes include
open burning of plastics (to reduce waste volume) and cop-
per wires (to salvage valuable metals, e.g. copper), and
strong acid leaching of PWB (to recover precious metals)
etc. These operations are usually carried out with no or
1476 I.C. Nnorom, O. Osibanjo / Waste Management 28 (2008) 1472–1479
very little personal protection equipment or pollution con-
trol measures. In open burning of materials, fly ash partic-
ulates laden with heavy metals and other toxic materials
are usually emitted. This results in inhalation of these toxic
materials and also in the contamination of food, soil and
surface water after deposition. These crude material recov-
ery processes have resulted in environmental pollution
while exposing millions of people to toxins. These crude
recycling processes are yet to catch up in Nigeria.
New management options are needed to divert EoL
electronics from disposal with municipal waste in Nigeria
and other developing countries. There are several factors
to consider in the development of a successful diversion
strategy. This strategy must be based on its economics, sus-
tainability, eco-efficiency, technical feasibility, and a realis-
tic level of social support for the program. This strategy
includes reuse, recycling and material recovery of EoL elec-
tronic products. Collection methodology, sorting, recovery
technologies, material recycling processes and disposal
methods are key factors in the comprehensive recycling
of e-waste (Kang and Schoenung, 2004).
3.2. Environmental and health implications
Adverse health effects on people from contact with haz-
ardous wastes may involve any organ system, depending on
the specific chemical(s) contacted, the extent of exposure,
the characteristics of the exposed individual (age, sex, body
weight, genetic makeup, immunological status), the metab-
olism of the chemical(s) involved, weather conditions, and
the presence or absence of confounding variables such as
other diseases (Asente-Duah et al., 1992).
A typical example of the hazards of crude recycling of e-
waste is the Guiyu town in China. This town attracted
international attention after a documentary report on e-
waste trading and processing in Asia by Basel Action Net-
work and Greenpeace in 2002. The majority of e-waste
recycling in this town is processed in backyards or small
workshops using crude methods such as manual disassem-
bly and open burning. Environmental contamination
resulting from these crude recycling activities in the Guiyu
town have been extensively studied and documented
(BAN/SVTC, 2002; Greenpeace, 2005; Roman and Puck-
ett, 2002; Leung et al., 2004; Wong et al., 2007).
The highly acidic pH of as low as 3.4 observed in some
water bodies of the industrialized areas of Lagos (Sridhar
and Bammeke, 1986) may accelerate the dissolution and
mobility of heavy metals from disposed waste items and
from ash and cinder resulting from the open burning pro-
cess, toward water bodies used for domestic purposes.
Basel Action Network noted that exporting e-waste to
developing countries exposes these countries to hazardous
waste and toxics, forcing them to choose between ‘‘poverty
and poison’’ (BAN, 2005). This is more so because these
countries are not using the appropriate technology for
waste management (Yanez et al., 2002). The lack of any
kind of e-waste recycling in Nigeria and other developing
countries means that these recyclables end up as the worst
global examples of waste mismanagement. The BAN study
in Nigeria observed that ‘‘even if Africa possessed state-of-
the-art waste management systems, such disproportionate
burdening of these peoples and environments in Africa
with toxic wastes would be an environmental injustice’’.
4. Material recovery from e-waste
The consequences of the current disposal practices of e-
waste in Nigeria include: (1) toxic materials enter the waste
stream with no special precaution to avoid the known and
documented adverse effects on the human health and the
environment; (2) resources are wasted when economically
valuable materials are dumped instead of recycled, and
additional new resources are required to continue the man-
ufacturing process; and (3) scarce land resources are being
used in landfills to accommodate discarded waste. How-
ever, by reclaiming some of these materials and disposing
of the recycling waste appropriately, the ultimate effect
on the environment may be mitigated.
4.1. Component reuse and recycling
WEEE can be recovered through disassembly, compo-
nent reuse, bulk recycling, and energy recovery (especially
from waste plastics). The recovery of WEEE for reuse or
recycling conserves resources and feedstocks that supply
steel, glass, plastics and precious metals. Such recycling
also avoids air and water pollution, as well as greenhouse
gas emissions associated with material production and
manufacturing. Hula et al. (2003) observed that product
structure, materials, location of recycling facilities, applica-
ble regulations, geography, and cultural context have a
major impact on the economics and environmental benefits
of material recovery. Resource conservation over the life
cycle of products is a key component of sustainability.
Recycling of WEEE is an important subject not only from
the recovery aspect of valuable materials; there are also sig-
nificant energy savings (Table 5) when recycled materials
are used in place of virgin materials. The application of
mechanical processes, such as screening, shape separation,
magnetic separation, and jigging to e-waste processing
have been reviewed (Cui and Forssberg, 2003).
Table 5
Recycled material energy savings over virgin materials
Material Energy savings (%)
Aluminum 95
Copper 85
Iron and steel 74
Lead 65
Zinc 60
Paper 64
Plastic >80
Source: Cui and Forssberg (2003).
 I.C. Nnorom, O. Osibanjo / Waste Management 28 (2008) 1472–1479
Table 6
Material composition of computer printed wiring board (PWB)
Component group Composition by weight (%)
Metals (30%) Cu Fe
10.9 7.7
Precious metalsb Au
0.00498
Metal oxide (40%) Silica
15
Plastics (30%) CHO Polymersc
<25
Source: Oh et al. (2003).
a
Alkaline and alkaline earth oxides.
b
Metals + precious metals = 30%.
c
Polymers including polyesters, phenol–formaldehyde etc.
d
Polymers mainly PVC, traces of PTFE, and polybromo compounds etc.
e
Polymers including nylon and polyurethane.
Data is scarce on the recycling of e-scrap in Africa,
except in South Africa where there is an increase in mate-
rial recovery activity for electronic scrap. Presently there
is mechanical processing of obsolete computers, photocopi-
ers, telephones, printers, faxes, telex machines, calculators,
cell phones and other post-consumer goods in the country
(Furter, 2004). Recyclers in South Africa process more
than 4000 tons of electronic waste each year (Finlay, 2005).
The gold content of a desktop computer is about
0.0016% and yet 1 metric ton of electronic scrap of PC con-
tains more gold than that of 17 tons of gold ore (Li et al.,
2004). This implies that e-waste can be regarded as a high-
grade ‘ore’. In 1998, the amount of gold recovered from e-
waste in the United States was equivalent to that from
more than 2 million metric tons of gold ore (Li et al.,
2004). There has been much research to date on the possi-
bility and practicability of recovering valuable metals in
electronic scrap and in particular, from printed wiring
board (PWBs) of electronic scrap (Table 6). The volume
of PWBs is growing worldwide, from 90,000 tons in 2003
up to 156,000 tons in 2009 (Tange and Drohmann, 2005).
In general, PWB scraps contain approximately 40% metals,
30% plastics and 30% ceramics (Cui and Forssberg, 2003).
One possible advantage of recycling the e-scrap is the pos-
sibility of using the plastic as fuel in energy recovery. The
energy recovery not only contributes to reduced fossil fuel
consumption by the society, but provides an ecologically
sound way to manage a significant portion of the plastics
from EoL EEE (Fisher et al., 2005).
4.2. Issues in e-waste management
4.2.1. Product take-back (Extended producer responsibility)
Most developed countries have adopted a series of mea-
sures in the management of e-scrap in order to protect the
environment and human health and to achieve sustainable
development. There are many approaches to dealing with
e-waste; one concept has been extended producer responsi-
bility, EPR. This model provides incentives for redesigning
1477
Ni Sn Pb Al Zn
2.5 3.9 1.5 1.7 1.1
Ag Pd
0.00818 0.002
Oxidesa Alumina Other oxides
6 6 13
Halogenated polymersd Nitrogen containing polymerse
<5 <1
products that minimize environmental impacts, including
by using environmentally safer materials and by designing
products that can be more efficiently recycled or reused.
The EU, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and several states
in the United States have introduced legislation making
producers responsible for their EoL products. EPR was
developed with support for the polluter pay principle and
the recognition of the need to improve the management
and recycling of waste as agreed at the Rio Earth Summit
in 1992. EPR requires that the people who use the most
electronic equipment pay for their share of recycling in
the form of higher prices, assuming that producers and
manufacturers add the cost of transporting and recycling
and disposing of their products into the cost of the product
at sale.
Based on the concept of EPR, the European Union
issued the Waste Electrical and Electronics (WEEE) and
the Restriction on the Use of Certain Hazardous Sub-
stances (RoHS) Directives. The WEEE Directive aims to
implement a take-back system of WEEE for the improve-
ment of the environmental performance of all operators
in the life cycle of EEE. RoHS aims to restrict the use of
some hazardous substances (Pb, Hg, and Cd, hexavalent
chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybro-
minated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)) in electrical and elec-
tronic equipment beginning in August 2006 (Walls, 2003).
4.2.2. Product self-management
The concept of product self-management has been con-
ceived (Thomas, 2003). This concept shifts responsibility
for product management to the product itself and is a com-
bination of information technology and product design
that would allow products to more or less automatically
manage their EoL. This is expected to make product EoL
management more efficient and less expensive and would
require that manufacturers include basic product informa-
tion on the product, both as a written label and as a bar
code (Saar and Thomas, 2003). This information will be
relevant to the recyclers and dismantlers of products, and
1478 I.C. Nnorom, O. Osibanjo / Waste Management 28 (2008) 1472–1479
on the location of dangerous substances. It will also pro-
vide relevant information for maintenance, reuse, upgrade
and refurbishment of obsolete electronic devices (Saar
et al., 2004). In this concept, tags on the electronic equip-
ment will link to websites, showing how to dismantle the
product. The tags could be the universal product code
(UPC) bar code or radiofrequency identification (RFID)
tags. A potential recycling application is dismantling of
computers and other electronic products.
5. Recommendations
5.1. Recommendations to developing countries
(1) Ensure an effective system for monitoring of ship-
ments, appropriate labeling and certification of the func-
tionality of secondhand appliances. (2) Impose restriction
on the importation of secondhand appliances. Developing
countries can follow the path of Thailand who, worried
that the Thai market may be flooded with e-waste, placed
restrictions on the importation of used electronic goods,
PCs, and other items in October 2003. Thus used copiers
that are imported for reuse are required to have been man-
ufactured less than 5 years previously, while all other elec-
trical products (28 items) must be less than 3 years old
(Kojima, 2005). (3) Implement economic policies such as
advance recycling fee (ARF) on new and secondhand elec-
trical and electronic goods (preferable on a weight bases).
This will act as a source of revenue to finance the appropri-
ate EoL management of e-waste. (4) Introduce value-added
recovery (refurbishing and remanufacturing), material
recovery (formal recycling technology) and energy recovery
from the incineration of waste plastics.
5.2. Recommendations to developed countries
(1) Assist with the funding and transfer of technology on
sound management of waste in general and e-waste in par-
ticular. (2) Support and hasten the global effort at finding
solutions to the e-waste problem through the SteP Initia-
tive (Solving the e-waste Problem, SteP) and encourage
the OEMs to extend their responsibility to the management
of their products in developing countries. (3) Assist with
the establishment of international standards and a certifica-
tion system for secondhand appliances.
5.3. Recommendations to the OEMs
(1) Practice EPR and assume the liabilities associated
with the final fate of their products irrespective of where
the EoL activity is taking place. (2)Assist with value-added
recovery of EoL electronics through remanufacturing and
component reuse. (3) Create a market for recovered
components and modules. (4) Assist with technology and
funding for the formal recycling of e-waste and the disposal
of hazardous components using appropriate disposal
technology.
6. Conclusion
Substantial amounts of electrical and electronic equip-
ment exported to developing countries are in fact illegal
under the basel convention. However it appears that the
governments are looking the other way and are failing in
dramatic fashion to properly enforce and implement the
Convention for post-consumer electronic waste by failing
to require adequate testing and labeling to certify function-
ality and quality of the equipment and ensure that it does
not equate to trade-in hazardous waste (BAN, 2005). There
is therefore an urgent need for the introduction of legislation
dealing specifically with e-waste in developing countries.
The introduction of product reuse strategies such as
remanufacturing and formal recycling will be necessary in
checking the present low-end management practices that
are causing environmental havoc. E-waste has assumed a
global dimension; a global solution is also required.
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