E-waste or electronic/electric waste is increasingly becoming a problem in South Africa especially with growing consumption patterns and a rise in living standards. While awareness is slowly on the increase the pace has been very slow. Research performed by Africa E-Waste and ITWeb has shown that almost half of the country’s organisations are unaware that the country has legislation that criminalises the dumping of e-waste due to its hazardous nature. The survey was carried out with 190 high-level IT professions and business owners. It investigated whether South African organisations understand the nature of e-waste, the laws regarding the dumping of e-waste, or are aware of legislation that has been passed regarding e-waste. Some 48% of respondents were not aware that it was illegal to dump e-waste and 14% said that while they care about e-waste they did not have the resources to deal with it. Only 39.33% of the respondents prioritised the safe disposal of e-waste. The e-Waste Association of South Africa (eWasa), the governing body for e-waste, was only known to 55% of those taking part and only 9.5% of the respondents were affiliated to the organisation. One-third of those interviewed had no e-waste strategies in place and a paltry 14% followed eWasa’s best practice strategies. And now, the Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA) and the e-Waste Alliance(eWA), re- and Desco are going all out on a countrywide collection drive. Cape Town will be covered on November 3.

The IWMSA in partnership with eWA has previously been the driving force behind successful e-waste collection days, particularly in the Western Cape. This year’s collection will be run across South Africa together with offices of participating engineering and environmental consulting engineers, Jeffares & Green, and selected shopping centres (Central Square Pinelands, 37 Sunninghill Office Park for stakeholders in the immediate vicinity of the business park, the Pavilion, the Liberty Midlands Mall and the Greenacres Shopping Centre) in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Pietermaritzburg and Port Elizabeth respectively.
Accroding to IWMSA President Deidre Nxumalo-Freeman, “In a bid to provide collection solutions and to educate the public as to the importance of correctly disposing of this potentially extremely hazardous form of waste, the IWMSA and all partners of this year’s collection drive strive to ensure an informative and fun occasion including super prizes for lucky participants. The IWMSA and eWA were delighted with last year’s extremely successful collection which was held at the Pinelands offices of Jeffares & Green when more than 3.5 tonnes of e-Waste was collected from households and business in the Cape Town area.”

Susanne Dittke, the e-waste collection day co-ordinator says that all e-waste collected will be repaired, re-used or refurbished wherever possible and will only be safely disposed of if no other treatment options are available.

E-waste comprises any unwanted or waste electrical or electronic equipment (WEEE) such as computers, televisions, dvd or video players, consumer electronics, kettles, printers, fax machines, cell phones, toasters, microwaves and/or direct parts thereof.  Also included are ‘consumables’ such as cartridges or batteries.

Being the fastest growing waste in the country, hundreds of thousands of tonnes could be available for recycling and safe disposal every year – the figures are still unknown and are at best a guesstimate. It is also said that up to 75% of the potential e-waste in the country can be found in homes. It is highly toxic and considered as hazardous waste, due to the numerous chemical elements and heavy metals (such as lead, mercury and cadmium) contained in most electric and electronic goods any resulting e-Waste can be hazardous and toxic, causing serious health and environmental pollution problems if not responsibly handled.Hazardous components from mismanaged e-Waste can contaminate soil and water (if unsafely disposed of) as well as pollute the air with toxic fumes (if burnt), all of which can have dire consequences to plants, animals and people alike.For more information about recycling e-waste in your area please contact the e-waste collection event co-ordinator Susanne Dittke: at envirosense@xsinet.co.za or at 021-5320940 or 0718590829. The IWMSA focuses on providing education and training for its members, as well as other interested parties, whether private individuals or government entities.The IWMSA is a non-profit organisation comprising a body of dedicated professionals in their respective fields, who give freely and voluntarily of their time and expertise in order to effectively educate, promote and further the science and practice of waste management. For more information, visit: www.iwmsa.co.za