6th March 2014 12:23The voice of Africa's ICT sector

Rwanda aims to curb e-wasteGOVERNMENTBy BiztechAfrica - Feb. 14, 2012, 2:44 p.m.Image: By BiztechAfrica

Rwandan officials are focusing theirattentions on the growing problem ofelectronic waste, as new reports showa deluge of e-waste reaching Africa.World environmental bodies reportthat Africa is experiencing increasedimports of ICT equipment without acorresponding rise in recyclingcapacity, which has resulted in highlevels of e-waste dumping by Westerncountries.New reports from Rwanda indicatethat the government is addressing the

problem with a new sense of urgency.An assessment of Rwandas e-waste Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) lastyear found that Rwanda is generating growing volumes of e-waste. It found there had been afive-fold increase in the volumes of e-waste from 2001 to 2010. It added that an EEE inventory in public institutions showed that 85% of all electronic andelectrical equipment (EEE) is composed of laptops. Among the 15% EEE remaining, 14% arenot working. It recommended that the government provide specific e-waste regulationmanaging all processes, from acquisition and handling to the final disposal process. It alsocalled for incentives for encouraging local and foreign investors to establish e-waste disposalfacilities in Rwanda.The Minister in the President's Office in Charge of ICT, Dr. Ignace Gatare, says his office hasformed a task team to draft an e-waste policy, in collaboration with the Rwanda UtilityRegulation Authority (RURA), Rwanda Bureau of Standards (RBS) and other stakeholders.

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