E-Waste: Nigeria to establish 30 collection centres nationwide

Nigeria will soon get a boost in the electronic waste (e-waste) sub-industry with the opening up of applications for establishment of some 30 collection centres nationwide.

Disclosing this Thursday at the 2020 ITREALMS e-Waste Dialogue held at the Welcome Centre Hotels Lagos, the Executive Secretary, E-Waste Producer Responsibility Organisation of Nigeria (EPRON), Mrs. Ibukun Faluyi said the application is free.

Faluyi who spoke on subtheme, e-Waste in Nigeria and Opportunities in Recycling, said that EPRON as technical assistant to the initiative is offering the application for free which could be accessed on its website, www.epron.org.ng.

According to her, for now there is no application fee attached as part of the incentive to get more people, especially Nigerians involved.

At the end of the exercise to be conducted alongside the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), she said, some 90 jobs will be created.

This number of jobs, she explained is because each of the collection centres will be expected to have at least three staff to man its operations.

The ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue had received backing from the stakeholders in the digital space, including the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Association of Licensed Telecom Operations of Nigeria (ALTON) and Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) to name a few.

The theme for 2020 Electronic Waste (e-Waste) dialogue, according to the Editor-in-chief of ITREALMS Media, Mr. Remmy Nweke, was “e-Waste in Nigeria: Challenges and Opportunities.”

ITREALMS e-Waste Dialogue, it would be recollected was initially scheduled for October 14 but due to COVID-19 lockdown and #EndSARS protest nationwide, it had to be rescheduled to Thursday, December 17, 2020 as part of the Nigeria Internet Waste Dialogue.

There have been concerns over the waste associated with the electrical and electronic equipment coming originating from the likes of mobile phones, computers, TV-sets, and fridges to name but a few; which current burden stood in excess of 1.1 million tonnes of e-waste annually accumulating from both local and imported Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE).

ITREALMS e-Waste Dialogue, he said, supports the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) organised “Internet Waste Dialogue” in commemoration of the annual International eWaste Day (IeWD).