Transcript SBC Presentation ITU 2009

FINANCING ICT FOR DEVELOPMENT
THE REVERSE SIDE OF THE COIN
Open Consultations on Financial Mechanisms for Meeting the Challenges of ICT for
Development,
8-9 October 2009, Geneva
Katharina Kummer Peiry
Executive Secretary
Secretariat of the Basel Convention
Topics
 Introduction
 A rapidly
growing problem
 Developing countries are hurt most
 The two sides of recycling
 Moving towards a win-win situation
INTRODUCTION
 IT
advances
Rapidly increasing demand globally
Positive impacts on development
Faster, smaller, more responsive equipment
 Consequences
Increasing turnover of products
Increasing quantities of obsolete products
Introduction
PCs & MPs major IC equipment
 Computing equipment lifespan
decreased

 1997: 4-6 years
 2005: 2-4 years

In 1 decade (1994-2003), 500
million PCs worldwide reached
end-of-life ~ E-WASTE
A RAPIDLY GROWING
PROBLEM
 By
2005 (global estimate), 500 million
(250,000 t) MPs stockpiled, waiting for
disposal
 Phones in USA
Estimated use by 2005, ca. 175 million
1993-2003
 2.5 million phones collected for reuse/recycling
 (<1% of discarded phones each year)
Separation of PCs and other
E-waste on the road
Photo: Terazono (2006)
Usual scenery of print circuit
board heating for removing
IC-chips and Pb at Guiyu
Photo: Yoshida (2004)
A rapidly growing problem
 E-waste
the fastest growing portion of
municipal waste streams
1% in USA
4% in EU
 E-waste
generation shows linear increase
in many countries (future trends, 20052020)
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ARE
HURT MOST
Industrialised countries introduced
comprehensive take-back and recycling systems
 Developing countries have nearly no control

 Lack of legislation and enforcement
 Lack of controlled take-back systems
 Informal sector dominance
 Illegal trafficking (false declaration)
 Lack of awareness (gov. & public)
Open dumping of E-waste
recycling residues and residential
waste along the river at Guiyu
(Source: Terazono, 2006)
Natural burning
Developing countries are hurt most
 Illegal
e-waste export from developed
countries in contravention of international
and regional legislation
Basel Convention
EU Waste Shipment Regulation
African Bamako Convention
South Pacific Waigani Convention
International Actions
 The
Geneva Plan of Action (2003)
encourages
“… government, civil society and the private
sector … to initiate actions and implement
projects and programmes for sustainable
production and consumption and the
environmentally safe disposal and recycling of
discarded hardware and components used in
ICTs.”
International Actions

Tunis Agenda for the Information Society (2005)
reaffirms the commitment:
 “…to using ICTs, as a tool to achieve the internationally agreed
development goals and objectives, including the Millennium
Development Goals, by … strongly encouraging ICT enterprises
and entrepreneurs to develop and use environment-friendly
production processes in order to minimize the negative impacts
of the use and manufacture of ICTs and disposal of ICT waste on
people and the environment. In this context, it is important to
give particular attention to the specific needs of the developing
countries.”
International Actions

Basel Convention COP-6 (2006)
 Theme: “Creating Innovative Solutions Through the Basel
Convention for the Environmentally Sound Management of
Electronic Waste”
 World Forum on E-wastes: Ministers, corporate officials, civilsociety representatives and other participants explored solutions
for advancing the objectives of ensuring the environmentally
sound management of e-waste
 Nairobi Declaration on the ESM of E-Waste and Decision VIII/2
adopted. The Declaration serves as the overall mandate for a
roadmap of actions on tackling the e-waste problem under the
Convention
TWO SIDES OF RECYCLING

E-waste has high recycling
value
 Plastics
 Ferrous metal
 Non-ferrous metals
 Precious metals
 Special metals

E-waste recycling is
economically viable &
attractive
Source: EMPA
Two sides of recycling

E-waste recycling in most
developing countries ~
informal sector
 Africa, Asia-Pacific, etc.
 involving large number of
people
 practices not env. sound
methods: burning, acid etching
 no/poor OHS protection
 almost no env. pollution control

Source: EMPA
Two sides of recycling

EPR Policies in developed countries
 Producers’ responsibility of e-products t/o life-cycle
 Impetus to recycling industry in developed countries
 Take back & recycling schemes, incl. in new e-
products price
 Currently only cover domestic market, at national &
regional levels, esp. in OECD countries
 Do not cover e-products exported to countries outside
geographic scope of domestic EPR policies
(loophole)
Two sides of recycling
 Financial
mechanisms for EPR policies
at international level, global economy
important challenge for international
community
could foster sound recycling and ESM of ewastes globally
Two sides of recycling
 Pilot
projects under implementation
To explore schemes for ESM of E-Waste in
developing countries
TA programmes
 UNEP
 Secretariat
of the Basel Convention
 UNIDO, etc.
Two sides of recycling
SBC is facilitating partnerships in ESM of EWaste, a.o. PACE, MPPI
 PACE

 Multistakeholder groups
 Aims:
 To find incentives and methods to divert EoL CE from burning
and land disposal to commercial recycling/recovery
operations
 To develop technical guidelines
 To promote SD for use, repair & refurbishment of PCs in
developing countries and CwEiT
Two sides of recycling

Challenge
 Millions of x-poor people in
developing countries living
from valuable materials in
EoL e-products or e-waste
 Introduction of proper
recycling system has to
find a way
Involving informal sector
 w/o harming health &
environment

Source: EMPA
TOWARDS A WIN-WIN
SITUATION
 Technology
for ESM of E-Waste exists,
but, has to be linked to product life-cycle to
become economically viable
 Intro of life-cycle approach for e-products
needs concerted efforts
All players (producers, users, recyclers, etc.)
Robust & sustainable financing system
Towards win-win situation
 Prerequisites
to lasting solution: env and
health safety considered in
Production
Distribution
Use
Refurbishment and Recycling
Financing mechanisms
Towards win-win solution
 Efforts
to bridge digital divide, avoid health
& environmental problems, incl. across the
border
Life-cycle approach
Relevant international laws
 Using
ICT in ESM
Benefits to development of countries
Post-use benefits to job & income generation
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
Secretariat of the Basel Convention
International Environment House
15 Chemin des Anemones
Chatelaine CH-1219
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Website: www.basel.int
E-mail: [email protected]