THE Standard Organization of Nigeria, (SON) AND the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria, (CPN) are facing an uphill task of dealing with the increasing dumping of electrical waste (e-waste) into the country.
Experts said the trend is also widespread in Ghana, and China among other countries.
Recent investigations revealed that millions of computers fraudulently entered Nigerian every month and are later re-used or refurbished, which dealt a dent to the country’s ICT sector.
These, experts warned, have implements that contain highly toxic substances, gases and heavy metals which can be harmful to human health and the environment. In addition, the waste from old computers, mobile phones among other devices, contain fatal substances such as lead, mercury and barium.
Computer Aid chief executive officer, Louise Richards, said, “The (Nigerian) Environment Agency must be provided with the resources to police e-waste, prosecute anyone involved in a supply chain that results in the dumping of e-waste and remove licences from organizations in breach of the WEEE legislation. It’s imperative that the government clamps down on fraudulent traders posing as legitimate re-use and recycling organizations, who are enticing unwitting UK businesses to use them for disposal of electrical equipment.”
E-waste is a big issue especially in Africa countries owing to a lack of effective e-waste management system.
Nigeria has not been spared and has remained a dumping ground for ICT devices that come into the country from developed economies.
Okoro Chinedu, ITNewsAfrica.com
