Rwanda E-Waste Recycling Facility Signs 10-Year Lease Deal

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Rwanda has decided to lease out the country’s only large scale e-waste recycling facility. The Government of the East African nation is soon expected to sign a 10-year lease deal with an UAE-based company. The Cabinet had approved the deal in its meeting held last week.

According to sources, the $1.3 million E-Waste Dismantling and Recycling facility located in Bugesera District will be managed and operated by Enviroserve Rwanda Green Park, a subsidiary of Dubai, UAE-based Enviroserve Services LLC. The company had emerged as the successful bidder to run the facility, said Ministry of Trade and Industry, Rwanda. The negotiations were carried out under the leadership of the Rwanda Development Board and the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

The lease amount has not been made public. However, it is assumed that the 10-year lease amount will exceed the initial investment in the project, which is considered as the biggest in Rwanda and the second biggest in the entire African region. The Government noted that the lease fee collected from Enviroserve will be reinvested in various eco-friendly initiatives through the Rwanda Green Fund (FONERWA).

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As part of the agreement, Enviroserve Rwanda Green Park will offer e-waste collection points across the country to ensure proper collection of discarded electronic waste. In order to enhance the range of electronics that could be handled by the facility, new machinery will be introduced to recycle refrigerant gas. The company will also buy new data destruction equipment. In addition, Enviroserve will need to conduct periodic public awareness campaigns to educate residents about the benefits of recycling versus impacts caused due to improper disposal of electronic waste.

The decision to lease out the operations to professional private company is expected to expand the e-waste recycling activities in the country. The facility, which has a capacity to dismantle approximately 7,000 tonnes of e-waste per annum, is expected to create additional green jobs. As per estimates, the annual e-waste import volumes by Rwanda have surged higher by nearly 6% over the five-year period from 2010 to 2014.