Successful technology cooperation

in e-waste management between

Switzerland and Colombia

Sandra Méndez Fajardo, Ph.D., Colombia

Heinz Böni, Empa, Engineer MSc., Switzerland
 Introduction
Sandra Méndez Fajardo
What is e-waste?
Obsolete EEE becomes
e-waste
Electrical
Electronic
Equipment
Why is e-waste relevant?

• Most of the e-waste is collected and recycled by the

Informal sector

• e-waste has potential environmental and public health

impacts

ELEMENTS IN MOBILE PHONES

Hg

EMPA, 2014
http://www.coresponsibility.com/chinas-e-waste-challenge/
Hernández C., 2015
Why is e-waste relevant?

• e-waste offers the opportunity to recover

precious and base metals and valuable other
materials (urban mining)

• E-waste recycling offers a huge Job creation

potential

Gold
Silver
Neodymium
Indium
Gallium …

In industrialized countries
e-waste generation in some LAC countries (2014)

Total in LAC Global total

Source: GSMA: E-waste en America Latina (2015)

Stakeholders involved in e-waste management

Producers ?
and Consumer
?
Distributors

Formal / informal
recycler
? ? ?

Government
(Environmental and Trading Authorities)

Source: GSMA: E-waste en Anmerica Latina (2015)

Summarizing e-waste management issues in developing countries

 Unsustainable behaviors (consumption, waste management)

 Low institutional capacities

 Policy decision-making based mainly on economic priorities

 Low level of cooperation and coordination

 Lack of dissemination of information about existing programs

 Informal recycling

 Lack of systemic decisions

Sustainable Recycling Industries Programme
Heinz Böni
Programme Set-Up

Swiss e-waste programme / Sustainable Recycling

Industries programme:

A programme funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for

Economic Affairs (seco) in the framework of Swiss
Development Cooperation

International National
Donor executing Beneficiaries
executing
agencies agencies

National Industry
committees associations

Government Individual
agencies companies
10 years of developing success (2008-2017)

Assessment and
planning
Implementation Closing

2008 2010 2012 2014 2017

Sustainable Recycling
Swiss e-Waste Programme Industries

Financial volume (2007-2017): 2.9 Mio CHF (2.7 Mio Euros)

Assessment and planning 2008-2010

… assessment studies
… stakeholder identification
… regional coordination
… research
… scientific publications
Implementation 2010-2013

… sensibilization
… stakeholder involvement
… technical trainings
… collection campaigns
… regional harmonization and networking
… support of the development legal framework
Implementation and closing 2014-2017

National committee Technical trainings Support of

business creation

Train-the-trainers Auditing of e-waste

recycling companies
The results and remaining challenges
Sandra Méndez
Ley 1672 sobre la gestión integral de los RAEE

Resolución y decreto in preparation

National policy for sustainable e-waste management
2017 to 2032

Strategic goals:
 To prevent e-waste generation (quantities and
presence of hazardous substances)
 To implement managment systems based on EPR
 To strengten recycling business based on minimal
technical standards
 To improve stakeholders integration

Planned to be published in Jun 2017

System based on Extended Producer Responsibility (Lindhqvist, 2001 )

Post-consumer Programs

Producer

Consumers
Distributor
Formal
recyclers
System based on Extended Producer Responsibility (Lindhqvist, 2001 )

National Industry Association

EcoComputo assumes EPR for these companies
Red Verde assumes EPR for these companies
More than 10 formal companies growing..

… and many others ….

… formed the
first industry
association of e-
waste recyclers
in LAC.
The challenges ahead…

 Continued high participation of informal sector

 Huge stock of piled WEEE in private households
 Further cultural and educational efforts needed
 Challenging collection targets
 Demand for technology upgrades
 Lack of enforcement and control
 Lack of international standards
 Governance structure to be brought into the regions
Thank you for your attention

sandra.mendez@javeriana.edu.co
heinz.boeni@empa.ch

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