Dell Reinforces E-Waste Work In Africa, Asia and Latin America

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Dell is stepping up its stewardship of electronic-waste (e-waste) management in Africa, Asia and Latin America through an alliance with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

Under terms of the five-year pact, the two organizations will work together to create facilities for dismantling computers, televisions and other electronics equipment in a way that’s safe for humans and the environment.

The agreement builds on a program that the high-tech company created last year in Nairobi, Kenya, to create a regional e-waste recycling facility—one that could help communities there control contamination from materials such as lead, cadmium, beryllium and brominated flame retardants, and create some local jobs in the process.

“Enabling recycling infrastructure in developing countries has significant benefits for the environment and local community, and facilitates Dell with the recovery of valuable resources currently being discarded,” said Dell’s executive director of sustainability, David Lear. “Together with UNIDO, we will work to establish or up-scale facilities to operate environmentally sound management practices that meet international standards for e-waste recycling and further powers the circular economy for IT.”

Added UNIDO Director General Li Yong: “Rudimentary recycling methods and the lack of a policy framework for e-waste management in developing countries pose a high risk to public health and the environment.”

The goal is to speed development of practical solutions, said Jean Cox-Kearns, who chairs Dells electronics take-back council. By 2016, developing nations will account for a majority of the e-waste being created every year, but local governments are struggling to create the infrastructure—and regulatory policies—for coping with it.

“In these countries, the goal is to have commercial companies working to solve the problem,” she said.

UNIDO and Dell will create collection frameworks and policies that can be shared by governments, and turned into local regulations. They’re also working on sustainable financing policies, although no one’s saying how much money will change hands.

Dell’s corporate goal is to collect 2 billion pounds of used electronics by 2020 for refurbishment, reuse or recycling. For perspective, consider that the entire industry collected 620 million pounds during 2013 (double the previous year). The collective annual target is 1 billion pounds by 2016.

Earlier this week, Dell was named as one of the leaders in electronics recycling stewardship by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, along with Best Buy which just hit a 1 billion collection goal), LG Electronics, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony, Sprint and Staples (which just established a program for businesses).

Participants in the EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management Challenge diverted more than 220,000 metric tons of electrics from landfills during 2013, a 7.6% increase over 2012. The United States generates an estimated 3.4 million tons of e-waste annually.

Courtesy: www.forbes.com