Improving waste management in Lagos - The roles of the private and public sectors.

Case study - E-waste

George Richards

Presentation Outline

• Why is urgent action needed?

• What is the potential for a modern and diverse waste management sector in Nigeria?

• What is the optimum legislative and regulatory environment to tackle issues and encourage innovation?

• How should different sectors co-operate and share responsibility and accountability?

• How does all of this apply to e-waste?

The need for improvement

• Material security Limited availability of resources directly relates to social mobility

Poverty is best defined as a lack of access to resources and materials

• The environment – Public Health, water quality

– Biodiversity, food production

– Climate change

If we have an ambition for Lagos to develop into a model African Mega-city and attract skills and talent from across the globe, it certainly needs to be a desirable place to live.

Tackling environmental and public health issues unfortunately has not provided sufficient incentive for large scale action.

There is little awareness of the impact that pollution has on public health.

Education on the importance of environmental health is drastically needed.

In the meantime, financial incentives are more effective… We need to make waste management sexy.

Powered entirely by human and food waste 186 miles on one tank of gas 10,000 passengers per month First plant to inject gas produced from human and food waste into the grid Enough to power 8,300 houses on top of powering the bus route

We need to view all waste as a resource and build an image of circular economy

Closing material loops provides:

– Resource efficiency

– Valuable secondary materials

Financial Incentives – Return on investment for Business

• Technological innovations

– Resource efficiency, cost reductions for businesses

– Production of desirable secondary materials

• Green enterprise – big business, reduced overheads, more responsible and clean

– US$ 1.2 m investment on gas generation

– Payback less than 11 months from diesel cost saved (cleaner work environment)

– Reduced emissions by over 50%

– Switched to 100% gas generation, eliminated use of epileptic PHCN, which in turn improved efficiency by reducing down time

– Solar power street lights for community

– Partnership with LAWMA on solid waste

Promasidor

Results

– Awards from Lagos State & MAN for environmental standards etc

– Most phone votes for respected company in SERA (Social Enterprise Report & Awards) for CSR

– Strong relationships with regulators (LASEPA, LAWMA, SON) leading to trust and reduced fines, less audit visits, less issues vs competitors

Obligations and Accountability A threat or an opportunity?

• In 2014 NESREA released new guidelines for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)

• This can be seen as a threat to producers and now, importers and marketers of any product that has the potential to create waste from the product or packaging

• Or as an opportunity for the Private Sector to use this initiative to kick start the creation of a comprehensive waste management industry and increase efficiency.

Extended Producer Responsibility

• EPR is the extension of the responsibility of producers to all entities involved in the product chain, to reduce the cradle-to-cradle impacts of a product and its packaging.

• The primary responsibility of EPR lies with the producer or an importer/agent that makes design and marketing decisions.

• This now includes importers of electronic equipment including computers, white goods and mobile phones

Extended Producer Responsibility

• The guidelines specifically require Producer Responsibility Organisations (PRO) through which corporate bodies will comply with EPR. PRO’s are expected to manage on behalf of manufacturers/marketers the collection or take-back schemes for re-cycling or compliant disposal.

• PRO’s need to be registered with and will be regulated by NESREA.

• There is currently a shortage if not absence of PRO’s. We need pressure put on industry sectors to build their own creating an opportunity for co-operation, investment and innovation.

Building a conducive legislative environment using a carrot and stick

method

• Encouraging green enterprise and rewarding good waste practice / waste minimisation

• Discouragement of waste production - Landfill charges, hazardous waste charges

Public Sector • Regulation Need to educate legislators and regulators on international best practice – building a framework for effective institutions. Enforcement of existing regulations on dangerous practice. Working to encourage private sector eg. Tax incentives for gas generation.

• Waste Collection Vast amount of municipal waste being produced – sanitary landfills needed. Encouraging behaviour change on the streets. Raising awareness of alternative disposal options provided by the private sector to reduce quantities and lower costs.

• Education Need for development of fit for purpose legislation based on a better understanding of issues, locally and globally. Environmental health and its influence on public health in the curriculum.

Private Sector

Specialisation and Diversification • Creating new markets for recycled materials and

greater incentive for source segregation Innovation • Importing green technologies and modern

solutions from overseas.

Attracting Investment Marketing • Take back schemes etc.

Third Sector

• Can and should the third sector have a role?

• If so, what should it look like?

• E-waste recycling is a waste stream that can build a new image of a waste management industry in Nigeria.

• Before this can happen, however, the relationship between sectors must be clearly defined and barriers to entry reduced.

E-waste WEEE - Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment

How much of it is there?

• 41.5 million tonnes in 2011 to 93.5 million tonnes in 2016

• UK produces 1m tonnes per annum

• Increasing 3 x faster than other waste streams

• Africa to produce more e-waste than the EU by 2017

• Nigeria the largest producer

The dangers

• The presence of elements like lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, selenium and hexavalent chromium and flame retardants beyond threshold quantities in WEEE classifies it as a hazardous wastes.

• There are more than 20 heavy metals, but four are of particular concern to human health: lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and inorganic arsenic (As). According to the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. These four heavy metals are four of the top six hazards present in toxic waste sites. They are highly toxic and can cause damaging effects even at very low concentrations.

The majority of Lagosians handling e-waste are between the ages of 10 – 19. There are higher numbers under the age of 10 than of those between 30 – 39. The majority have been dealing with e-waste for 3 years or less, none belong to a trade association. 92% unaware that e-waste poses a hazard to human health and 84% unaware of any regulation or legislation concerning e-waste management in Lagos state. 95% percent use open burning as a method of recovering materials from e-waste. The majority eat vegetables grown on dumpsites, eat meat from animals that feed on dumpsites and drink water drawn from wells or boreholes situated close to dumpsites.

• The import and trade of used EEE is in support of the UN Millennium Development Goals as a means to foster the use of ICT for sustainable development.

• Volume of obsolete PCs generated in developing regions will exceed that of developed regions by 2016 – 2018.

• Estimate that by 2030 developing countries will be discarding 400-700m obsolete PCs per year compared to 200-300m in developed countries.

Where is it coming from?

Value

• Gold, silver, platinum, palladium

• Scarce materials such as indium, gallium

These are contained in complex components which can only be safely retrieved in a few facilities worldwide.

Copper, Iron, Steel, Aluminium can be isolated with manual dismantling and sold locally.

Best of 2 Worlds Model

Manual dismantling vs Shredding & Sorting

Nigeria can provide a far superior pre-processing model and export complex, valuable components to state-of-the-art facilities in Europe.

90% recovery rate Minimal energy usage Labour intensive

60% recovery rate Energy intensive Capital intensive

Working alongside the informal sector

• Training / education – awareness of dangerous practice and health risks

• Providing demand and buyers for currently disposed of materials

• Providing exit into formal employment/SMEs

• Encouraging local entrepreneurship – collection etc.

Each computer (including desktop, screen, keyboard and mouse) that is collected and recycled in an environmentally sound manner prevents 20kg of waste from

ending up in landfills.

World Loop Annual report 2012

Green Cycle Sustainable Development Foundation

Green Cycle Resource Waste Management Ltd

Green Cycle Sustainable Development Foundation

• Creating a positive image for waste management NGO activity in Nigeria

• Attract funding for green development through a transparent, reliable project manager – project direct or international projects – surpassing standards for international fund use/management in west africa

• A ‘brand’ for achieving measurable social impact

• A Producer Responsibility Organisation to assist and consult on good waste practice.

The United Nations environment programme

(UNEP) is coining the term decoupling,

referring to our reliance on the ever-

increasing consumption of resources to

facilitate economic growth.

• How can we manage economic growth

without increasing resource consumption?

• Must growth be coupled with

environmental degradation and ecological

damage?

Conclusion • Waste management can play a major role in

alleviating poverty, increasing material security, bettering public health and increasing awareness of environmental issues.

• We have a finite amount of resources on this planet. A circular economy must be achieved if we are to prevent runaway climate change.

• Waste management will then only be known as resource management.

www.green-cycle.org

george@green-cycle.org

With thanks to…

Margaret Bates

Olayemi Adesanya