Kenya: Influx of Used Computers Drawing Students to Colleges

The East African Standard (Nairobi)

December 10, 2006
Posted to the web December 11, 2006

Michael Ouma
Nairobi

Nairobi last week hosted a meeting held to discuss the problem of and find solutions to the problem of electronic waste, otherwise referred to as e-waste, in developing countries and Africa in particular.

The conference, World Forum on e-Wastes held on 30 November, was convened with the aim to confront the growing reality that, in addition to its many benefits, the global consumer goods revolution is generating massive quantities of end-of-life computers and other obsolete electronic equipment.

The meeting came after the realisation of the fact that between 20 and 50 million metric tones of electronic waste are being generated every year because of the growing demand for computers, televisions, radios, mobile phones and other consumer electronics.

The conference heard how a rising global tide of electronic waste, especially in developing countries, is posing serious environmental risks because of the wide range of dangerous pollutants they can contain, from heavy metals to chlorine compounds.

The meeting acknowledged that the advent of the mobile phone and personal computer has been a boon to communication, but they have also created a new tide of hazardous waste. Many of these products are soon discarded because they are deemed to be obsolete or defunct.

According to Mr Kimani Kinyanjui, training manager at Forrnax College, a computer training firm in Nairobi, the problem of proliferation of old and used computers into the country was increased with the opening up of the market following the zero-rating of computers and its accessories last year.

This has led to an influx of cheap and used computers, mainly from Dubai, with some outdated models retailing at modest amounts of as low as Sh10,000.

Says Kinyanjui: "Many owners of these machines do not know what to do with them when they develop technical problems as they can not even access the machines' related spare parts."

He says that the problem of used and abandoned computers has led many students to join computer colleges to acquire technical skills in the repair of the machines. A spot-check at most computer colleges in town revealed that a significant proportion of the student population was enrolled in technician courses in computer repair. This is in spite of the fact that most of the machines, when they break down, cannot be repaired.

The member governments to a United Nations-sponsored global pact on the transport and disposal of hazardous waste agreed last week to accelerate their efforts to reduce the impact and damage caused by the rapid growth in electronic waste.

The representatives of various governments pledged to introduce pilot projects to take back used electronic products and to strengthen collaborative efforts to fight illegal traffickers.

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP), under whose auspices the Basel Convention was adopted, said it expected a formal declaration to be issued committing governments to work towards improving their policies and prodding industry to pursue "green design."

The Basel Convention is an international treaty brokered in 1989 by the UN which regulates the cross-boundary transfer of toxic waste. In practical terms, it attempts to prevent the developing world from becoming the toxic dumping ground of wealthy states which might otherwise be reluctant to deal with their own waste.

UNEP executive director Achim Steiner said it was important that governments develop more effective regulatory regimes so that the market has incentives to respond more positively to the issue of electronic waste.

"By partnering with the private sector and with civil society, they can promote collection chains that channel obsolete goods back to their original manufacturers for recovery and recycling," he said.

Some 120 governments participated in the Nairobi conference, which was the eighth of its kind to deal with the Basel Convention. Some 20 to 50 million metric tonnes of e-waste are generated worldwide every year, comprising more than five per cent of all municipal solid waste. When the millions of computers purchased around the world every year (183 million in 2004) become obsolete they leave behind lead, cadmium, mercury and other hazardous wastes.