The potential of e-waste recycling remains untapped
Residents in Dhaka are quite familiar with informal buyers of obsolete computers, laptops, batteries of Instant power, and other malfunctioned kitchen appliances.
These collectors buy obsolete or damaged electronic and electrical items from residents at nominal prices and sell those to informal traders who are engaged in recycling.
And frequent visits by these collectors in the neighborhoods to buy wasted devices indicate that recycling of obsolete electronics and electrical items keeps growing.
Electronic and electrical waste, also called e-waste, are often abundant with valuable metals and other reusable materials, such as plastic.
"We are able to get base metals such as for example iron, aluminum, and copper by recycling e-waste," said Malik Hossain Al-Mamun, general manager of the Azizu Recycling & E-waste Company.
"We are building a recycling plant to recover valuable items for reuse. For instance, we can make plain sheets from extracted base metals," he added.
Bangladesh made about 4 lakh tonnes of e-waste in 2018 in fact it is estimated that this amount could reach 5.5 lakh tonnes in 2020, according to a Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology study, sponsored by the Department of Environment (DoE).
With the existing growth trend, the volume of e-waste produced annually is projected to be 12 lakh tonnes five years from now and 46 lakh tonnes by 2035.
The analysis, conducted in 2018, said e-waste was also known as an urban mine since it provides a source for a number of precious metals alongside hazardous ones.
"If the recovery of these precious metals can be carried out efficiently in a green way, e-waste no more remains a waste, rather it turns into a resource," it said, adding that gold recovery using the latest environmentally friendly technique showed promising potential.
However, only 3 % of the e-waste made annually is recycled as the remaining 97 percent is mixed with municipal solid waste and used as a landfill, which is quite harmful to the surroundings, the study said.
Akter Ul Alam, an e-waste analyst, said the total annual business potential from e-waste was apt to be $221 million.
"However, the huge benefits to the environment and human productivity far exceed its financial potential. It really is like buying education, human or food-chain development," he added.
Citing data from the WEEE Forum, a platform for e-waste management organizations around the world, Alam said Bangladesh generates 1.3 kilograms of e-waste per capita annually.
To make certain that electronic waste is properly managed, the DoE took an initiative to create rules in 2012. Eight years and several revisions later though, it really is yet to be finalized.
Mirza Shawkat Ali, director of climate change & international convention at the DoE, said the formulation of the guidelines has been delayed as Bangladesh must adhere to another World Trade Organization (WTO) rule requiring the united states to notify the association's members before finalizing such statutes.
Some WTO member countries had requested bringing some changes to the guidelines Bangladesh had drafted, including a provision which barred the import of old or used electronic items, he said.
Ali also said they have received some opinions from local stakeholders about the observations of some WTO members.
Bringing some subsequent changes but retaining the import ban, the draft rules have already been submitted to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, he said.
"We've sought for holding an inter-ministerial meeting for issuance of a gazette in this regard," he added.
Once the rules are in place, consumers will not be allowed to dispose of their obsolete gadgets anywhere they like. Instead, they have to deposit their e-waste at stores or collection centres.
Similarly, device manufacturers and assemblers must accumulate e-waste either for reuse or destruction during production and ensure delivery of these e-wastes to the registered repairers, dismantlers, and recyclers, based on the draft rules on e-waste management.
Mostofa Akbar, a professor of computer science and engineering at Buet, said an insurance plan for e-waste management should be quickly framed.
