The Negative Impact of Electronic Waste Disposal Methods in Africa - Research Paper Example

The negative impact of electronic waste disposal methods in Africa Introduction The dilapi d and unserviceable or used electronic materials constitute electronic wastes accumulated in the continent of Africa in several countries, especially among the western countries. Asiimwe and Åke (3) define electronic waste as the electronic items that are no longer satisfying the purchaser’s needs. Such waste materials that accumulate in the open waste-yards either originate from countries that are well developed or locally generated. Most people in Africa work in the dumpsites to earn a living by selling some of the electronic waste materials or their related components. The inhabitants of the areas around the open dumpsites earn their livelihood by reusing and recycling the components of the electronic wastes. The local inhabitants secure economic opportunities by carrying out recycling of electronic wastes, recovery and community-focused waste collection. The essay will look at the way electronic waste are disposed in Africa, its negative impacts on land, water and health of those who rely on the dump as a source of income. Electronic waste generation in Africa In the countries within the continent of Africa, the total amount of electronic waste produced in 2014 was 1.9 Mega tons. The only countries that have put in frameworks in terms of national policies and legislative pieces of guidelines are Nigeria and Cameroon. There are nations that are in the process of enacting fundamental legislative frameworks regarding the disposal of electronic waste materials such as Kenya, Ethiopia and Ghana. According to Bwalya and Zulu (314), the country Kenya do not have proper framework for handling electronic wastes. This is because Kenya continues to integrate information communication technology (ICT) in its economy. Among the highest generators of electronic waste materials in Africa are Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt with a total of 0.22, 0.35 and 0.37 Mega tons respectively in absolute quantities. On the other hand, Mauritius, Seychelles and Equatorial Guinea are the major electronic waste generators in relative quantities of 9.3 kg per inch, 10.9 kg per inch and 10.8kg per inch respectively. The entire continent of Africa produces 1.7 kg per inch as an annual amount of electronic waste. This figure reflects only the amount of waste generated domestically and does not include the amount generated through imports of used electronic equipment (Baldé 38). The challenge that affects the continent is majorly lack of comprehensive reforms by the governments concerning electronic waste generation and management. Most countries do not have legislative frameworks and policies that govern the disposal and the use of electronic wastes generated by the country. This is because many government regimes concentrate on fostering their political agenda over the years instead of battling against the giant challenge of electronic waste materials. As a result, there is little commitment of developing appropriate management infrastructure of the electronic wastes generated domestically (Bhutta, Omar and Yang 2). This manifests by the general lack of policies and legislative frameworks inclined towards combating the rising challenge of waste management. The major parts of the electronic wastes generated in this continent lie in the houses or undergo dumping or treatment using informal mechanisms. Different regions of the globe have turned the western countries of Africa into dumping place of electronic waste materials. The rationale for this is that the southern and eastern countries of the continent have enacted legislative frameworks that help in dealing with electronic wastes. A good example is South Africa that has formal recycling industry for electronic wastes (Olowu 68). Although the process of implementation is not fast, the good news is that these nations have electronic waste management policies. Nigeria and Ghana are victims of illegal importation of used or waste electronic materials from the various parts of the globe and this constitutes the greatest percentage of the electronic waste materials generated in these countries. The socio-economic contribution of electronic wastes in Africa There are those that argue that the electronic waste materials influence the economy positively by identifying ways of improving the status of the waste economically, socially and environmentally. There are ongoing cooperation between the small and medium enterprises in Africa and the international community, especially the recycling firms that operate in developed states. These companies in industrialized states work in connection with the small and medium businesses in Africa to create a synergy that assists in increasing their competitive economic advantage in areas such as waste material recovery and disassembly. In the city of Nigeria, Lagos, electronic wastes is a major source of income and as a big positive impact on the socio-economic lives of the local people. The most common types of employment in such derived from electronic wastes include recycling, collection and refurbishing. Since refurbishing requires technical expertise, it is a source of livelihood for the skilled segment of the population while people with little or no qualification earn their living through recycling and collection of the electronic waste materials. The negative impact of electronic waste disposal methods in Africa Electronic devices and gadgets such as CD/Radio payers, television sets, phones, mobile phones, tablets, desktops and laptops produce toxic substances and chemicals when left in the open dumpsites. Such chemical substances come because of the manufacturing process of electronic components such as the internal plastic connectors, rechargeable batteries, LCDs (liquid crystal displays), Integrated Circuits (ICs), printed circuit boards. According to Chukwudebe (1), the most common method of disposing of such waste materials in Africa is by burning in the open dumpsites and this poses a great threat to the lives of the community members that stay within the radius of the dumpsites. This is because of the emissions released into the atmosphere in form of gases and fumes. The electronic waste matters contains noxious substances like brominated flame-retardants, mercury, and cadmium and lead that when released to the atmosphere, water bodies or buried in the land, poses danger to life. As a result, the aquatic life is in danger and faces lethal consequences of such poisonous substances when the substances find their way into the water bodies such as rivers, streams and lakes. Other than aquatic life, human life is threatened upon consumption of intoxicated water where dumping of burnt electronic materials. There is rapid generation of electronic wastes in Africa in mega tons that results due to escalated rate of the electronic equipment and gadgets obsolescence together with a high demand for up-to-the-minute technology. It is a common phenomenon that electronic devices or their components become outdated within a span of two to three years of manufacture. As a result, there has been a major challenge of finding the most environmentally friendly ways of managing these wastes by the governments of the African states generally. Another challenge facing the management of electronic wastes is that there is low rate of returns generated by the waste management methods used. It is therefore, not easy to meet the operational costs incurred in collection, treatment and disposal of electronic wastes and this discourages the private investors from venturing and exploring the sector. On the part of the government, most countries in Africa experience electronic waste management challenges due to lack of properly enacted policies and legislative frameworks. In cases where there are regulations and pieces of legislation, they have not undergone full implementation or they lack the general goodwill of the relevant government agencies. Toxic chemicals and substances produced due to the disposal of electronic waste materials in the open dumpsites Some chemical substances pose serious threats to the lives of those working in the dumpsites as waste recyclers and collectors, especially when inhaled or due to long exposure periods. In addition, the chemical substances pose serious environmental challenges to aquatic life and to terrestrial plants and animals, especially when emitted as fumes to the ambience, buried in the landfills, or released as effluent to the water bodies. Lead Lead occurs in the electronic components, specifically as rechargeable batteries, cathode ray tubes and solders in the joints of the printed wiring boards. Lead is a toxic substance that poses threat to the life of human beings and the ecosystem in general. Its accumulation and presence in the environment has far-reaching effects to the animals, plants and microorganisms in general. People that expose themselves to lead in the environment in either the water or land develop chronic health conditions. Other complications brought about by lead exposure include infertility, mental retardation and body rushes. Arsenic Arsenic as a chemical substance occurs in the open dumpsites in the LCDs (liquid crystal displays) and Integrated Circuits. As a chemical component, it is carcinogenic as has far-reaching effects on the human health since it causes skin and lung cancer. This means that people who work in the dumpsites and the neighboring areas of the open dumpsites stand a high risk of developing skin and body cancer. Unfortunately, Africa is underdeveloped and therefore, most household cannot afford high-priced medication to treat cancerous infections and complications. Cadmium Cadmium is a chemical substance that occurs in the dumpsites due to the disposal of electronic equipment and their components. It occurs in the electronic gadgets as coating of switches and contacts to prevent corrosion. It also occurs in nickel cadmium batteries. Cadmium, just like the other chemical substances in the dumpsites, poses threats of fatal lung damage when inhaled in high quantities. Other complications that arise because of exposure to cadmium for a long time are kidney damage and high blood pressure. Mercury Mercury occurs in the electronic waste disposals since it is used in the modern fluorescent tubes coating, specified types of batteries and flat screens. Mercury causes vomiting when exposed for a long time or damage to lungs or diarrhea and nausea. When those working in the dumpsites as refuse collectors and recyclers expose themselves to high levels of mercury, they suffer the risk of developing kidney damage and brain complications. It is also necessary to underscore that treatment of such serious complications require sophisticated and advanced medical intervention techniques that can only happen in the developed states. The poor community members in Africa where the dumpsites occur do not have the financial ability to meet such huge medical bills. Brominated flame-retardants This chemical substance in the electronic waste disposals occur due to its use of controlling flammability in the wiring boards and plastic housing of the modern personal computers and cell phones. Many complications arise due to brominated flame retards and have far-reaching effects to the environment and human health. Other challenges of brominated flame retards occur during low temperature incineration of the electronic wastes due to toxic substances that escape as fumes to the ambience. The health and environment complications occur due to incomplete combustion bromine substance present in the waste materials. Beryllium Beryllium is used in the electronic components to enhance strength and flexibility of copper alloys used in making the components. When beryllium occurs in the waste sites in form of fumes, it exposes the site workers to inhale toxic substances. When inhaled, the consequences include development of permanent scars in the lungs. The danger is that these complications do not manifest until a later date after inhalation. It means that it is possible to suffer fatal infections. The challenge facing electronic wastes is the complex nature of wastes in terms of their composition. The waste components range from plastics, metals, and chemical substances. It is therefore, difficult to develop an appropriate waste management design to handle individual components of such a mixture of waste materials. In addition, the construction of efficient and standard methods of recycling wastes requires complicated and state-of-the-art technologies capable of sorting out waste components effectively. Such technology is apparently not affordable in most African states due to extreme poverty and economic underdevelopment seen across the components generally. Most households in the African states cannot afford the medication necessary to treat the health complication issues that arise due to improper waste management approaches. In addition, hiring such technology by the waste recycling companies is not economically viable and the returns on such an investment is not feasible. Conclusion In view of the literature reviewed and information gathered, the argument that the way in which electronic waste is disposed of in Africa has a significant negative impact on the land, water and health of those who rely on the dump as a source of income is valid. As analyzed in the research paper, landfills and open dumpsites emit dangerous fumes to the ambience especially during incineration process such arsenic, beryllium, bromine, lead, among others. Waste collectors and recyclers working in the dumpsites and landfills inhale and expose themselves to such fumes and smoke released to the atmosphere and suffers the consequences of infections to the lungs, kidney and skin cancer and respiratory system complications. Unfortunately, Africa is underdeveloped and therefore, most states cannot afford to mitigate such health issues during the process of waste disposal and incineration. Similarly, plants and animals including aquatic life, also suffer the consequences of dumping such toxic substances to the water bodies and in the land. It also generally leads to the general destruction of the ecosystem in terms of the emissions that causes changes in climate. Works Cited Asiimwe, Edgar Napoleon, and Grönlund Åke. "E-waste Management in East African Community." Handbook of Research on E-Government in Emerging Economies: Adoption, E-Participation, and Legal Frameworks: Adoption, E-Participation, and Legal Frameworks (2012): 307. Baldé, C. P., et al. "The global e-waste monitor–2014." United Nation University (2015). Bhutta, M. Khurrum S., Adnan Omar, and Xiaozhe Yang. Electronic Waste: A Growing Concern in Todays Environment. Economics Research International 2011 (2011): 1-8. Web. 5 Dec. 2015. Bwalya, Kelvin Joseph, and Saul Zulu. Handbook Of Research On E-Government In Emerging Economies. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference, 2012. Print. Chukwudebe, G. A and Diala U. H. The African E-Waste Problems: Imperatives for an Eco-Friendly Management System. (n.d.). Print. Olowu, Dejo. "Menance of E-wastes in Developing Countries: An Agenda for Legal and Policy Responses." Law Envt & Dev. J. 8 (2012): 59. Read More