Each district in Rwanda will soon have an e-waste collection point. The project was recently launched in the Musanze district in the Northern Province of Rwanda, where an e-waste collection facility has been set up.
According to the Rwandan authorities, Musanze will serve as a central collection point for e-waste across the district. The project is being implemented in partnership with Enviroserve Rwanda Green Park, the subsidiary of Enviroserve, a company based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which specialises in the treatment of electronic waste. This company has signed a partnership with the Eco-Employment programme of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the German international development cooperation agency.
Government funding
The alliance between Enviroserve Rwanda Green Park and GIZ focuses on the training of young people who do not have a degree in electronic waste management. They will thus become technicians and contribute to the construction of a “sustainable ecosystem for the management of electronic waste in Rwanda”. According to Olivier Mbera, the general manager of Enviroserve Rwanda Green Park, there are about 650 types of electronic equipment, ranging from radios to televisions, solar products, air conditioners, etc. This equipment contains hazardous and environmentally toxic chemicals, especially when no longer in use. Some of this equipment can be recycled into a variety of marketable products and thus create jobs.
“ICT (Information and Communication Technology) is one of the pillars of Rwanda’s development. The electronic equipment that we see more and more often in the country is a threat because it is toxic to the environment. This is the main reason why the management of electronic waste is crucial,” says Charles Gahungu, Director General of ICT at the Rwanda Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA).
Setting up collection points for this e-waste in each district of the country will cost the state 200 million Rwandan francs (more than 195,500 euros), and once the collection points have been set up, Rwandans will then have to be made aware of the need to recycle their old appliances. According to the Rwandan government, 10,000 tonnes of electronic waste are generated each year in the country.
Jean Marie Takouleu