Kisii will be the first Town in Africa to have an e-waste recycling plan
This follows a collaborative arrangement between the Kisii County Government, The Kisii University and the East African Compliance Recycling (EACR) to venture into recycling e-waste.
In the arrangement, Kisii University has provided a collection site while the County Government has offered a forklift and baling machines. EACR has given a container in this project aimed at cleaning the environment while creating sustainable livelihoods for locals.
Speaking during an e-waste management workshop in a Kisii hotel ahead of the launch tomorrow, Governor James Ongwae noted that the County is confronted with the challenge of accumulated e-waste owing to the adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in schools, residences, offices and manufacturing factories.
“The County has a population of over 1.3million people and therefore there is a relatively high uptake of mobile phones, computers, televisions and other electronic equipment. We have already carried out mapping of e-waste in the County and so far we have identified Kisii, Ogembo and Suneka Towns as areas which generate high volumes of e-waste,” he said.
The workshop brought together policy makers, academia, the business community, industry, research institutions and other representatives to exchange ideas and share experiences on how to effectively manage e-waste.
Environment Secretary in the National Government Dr. Alice Kahuthia, Deputy Governor Joash Maangi, Assembly Speaker Kerosi Ondieki, Kisii University Vice Chancellor Prof. John Akama, Paulo Rodrigues-Lipor, Portugal, Isabella Caparso – Remedia, Dr.Costas Velis, University of Leeds, County Executive Committee members (CECs) among other senior officers attended the workshop.
Studies indicate that common forms of e-waste in Kisii include discarded computers, radios, telephones, wires, calculators, printers, television sets, shredders, torches, laptops and batteries among other electronics which end up in the open, posing a threat to human health and the environment.
Governor Ongwae observed that the collection point will be useful to the university in terms of research and to the County government in terms of capacity building for staff and even organized groups.
“My government will embark on a rigorous campaign to clean the e-waste materials from the environment through organized groups and establish a collection hub at the County level to facilitate holding the e-waste from sub-counties and purchase efficient equipment for handling the e-waste materials,” he said.
The County government will establish e-waste collection bays in every sub county for easy collection of e-waste and capacity build the staff to enhance collection and handling of e-waste materials.
“There is need for the County government to have information which will help both recyclers and producers of electronic goods on how to dismantle their products at the end of their life and the location of any hazardous substances or items within the product. No person should be allowed to burn E- waste, bury or throwing in undesignated waste area,” he said.
Ongwae expressed the County’s commitment to creating a conducive environment for the recycling economy to thrive and called on all stakeholders to join hands to make it a success.
