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News > Latin America

Latin American Initiatives to Tackle E-Waste Challenges

  • Employees working with electronic trash pose for a picture at NewLife warehouse in Montevideo, Uruguay March 1, 2019

    Employees working with electronic trash pose for a picture at NewLife warehouse in Montevideo, Uruguay March 1, 2019 | Photo: Reuters

Published 17 March 2019
Opinion

In 2017, more than 44 million tons of electronic and electrical waste was produced globally and less than 20% of e-waste was formally recycled.

This week, politicians and experts from 13 Latin American countries will meet to discuss the issue of e-waste on the continent and around the Caribbean. This problem represents a challenge to both the global environment and human health while global consumption of electrical with electronic equipment is on the rise.

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The world produces as much as 50 million tons of electronic and electrical waste (e-waste) a year and only 20% of this is formally recycled. The e-waste produced annually is worth over US$62.5 billion, according to U.N. environment. 

From March 17-22, politicians and experts representing 13 countries across Latin America and e-waste experts from around the world will meet in San Jose, Costa Rica, to discuss how to tackle the e-waste landscape in the region.

The meeting is part of a UNIDO-GEF project to assist 13 Latin American countries both technically and financially, advising on e-waste policies and regulations, suitable management technologies, business models, building capacity, and raising awareness.

At the national level, the project seeks to strengthen policies and train technical staff and government officials. At the regional level, the project seeks to harmonize key aspects of e-waste policies and strengthen regional cooperation and knowledge exchange, according to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). 

According to the Solving the E-waste Problem (StEP) Initiative, only around one-third of the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have so far established regulatory instruments related to e-waste. Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Peru are regional leaders, while others are on their way towards developing and implementing legal frameworks. 

Alfredo Cueva, UNIDO Industrial Development Officer, said that“ due to the region’s accelerated economic growth and level of development, the amount of e-waste is growing even faster than in other regions.” Cueva cites Brazil as an example, explaining that it “was the sixth biggest generator of e-waste in the world in 2012, with 7.1kg of e-waste generated per person that year." 

“Private sector and civil society organizations too have a growing interest in solving the e-waste problem. This is not only due to political pressure and public concerns about the hazardous components of e-waste, but also due to the attractive business opportunities that e-waste management offers. Increasingly Latin American countries are seeing e-waste management as a generator of new green enterprises and employment,” he said.

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