MTN and GIZ sign development partnership to manage e-waste

Telecoms company MTN Group has signed a development
partnership with German-based public-benefit enterprise Deutsche
Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH to manage
the safe disposal of e-waste and foster enterprise development for
e-waste handlers.
GIZ signed the partnership with MTN on behalf of the German Federal
Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
The partnership seeks to raise awareness among the general public and
corporate businesses about the safe recycling, management and disposal
of e-waste, and provide support to fledgling small and medium-sized
companies.
Electronic waste or e-waste is any form of electrical or electronic
technology that is no longer required, ranging from domestic and
commercial ‘white goods’ such as fridges and air conditioners, to
computers, phones and other electrical and electronic devices. As
global consumption of electrical devices grow, and products become
obsolete, the challenge of how to responsibly dispose of e-waste is
growing alarmingly.
Global mismanagement of e-waste is resulting in large-scale dumping,
often in open landfills, predominantly in areas or countries with poor
levels of environmental governance or enforcement ability.
There is increasing concern at the growth of e-waste generated by
global consumers, and ultimately often dumped, especially in
developing countries in Africa and Asia. Valuable components are
salvaged from discarded e-waste, but at the cost of human and
environmental health, given some degree of toxicity of in all
electronic components.
The pilot project, to be first implemented in South Africa, will focus
on educating the public about what e-waste is, why it is a matter of
human health and environmental concern, and the value of recycling and
responsible disposal.
MTN South Africa will roll out e-waste collection points at key
publicly-accessible sites e.g. schools, shopping malls and possibly in
partnership with other corporate partners. These collection points
will collect cellular e-waste regardless of network operator or
handset manufacturer.
As part of this partnership GIZ will be undertaking a situational
analysis, develop standards and disposal protocols for the piloting
model and undertaking a multi-stakeholder engagement process. The
partnership will also support enterprise development and the “green
jobs” agenda by ensuring that selected small and medium sized e-waste
handlers and large recyclers receive a steady, consistent and sizeable
supply of e-waste. These recyclers will be monitored by MTN South
Africa to ensure that they abide by approved and acceptable e-waste
handling processes and protocols.
The partnership will initially be rolled out to two major cities in
South Africa. The implementation of the partnership will be rolled out
in a number of phases. Subject to a successful multi-year South
African pilot, it is hoped that results and lessons learnt will be
documented and replicated by MTN operations across the Group’s
footprint in Africa and the Middle East.
GIZ, which has previous experience with e-waste management through
partnerships in India and Morocco, will bring its experience,
knowledge base and technical support to this partnership. This
experience includes helping develop corporate standards for e-waste
management, and supporting engagement processes with other parties,
usually other companies and industry sectors which also generate
e-waste, and who may wish to support this initiative.
Says Mr Christian de Faria, MTN Group Senior Vice-President:
Commercial and Innovation: “We believe that this partnership will help
us to increase public awareness about the problem of e-waste and
provide assurance to MTN that e-waste is being handled appropriately
locally in line with acceptable standards.
“While we do not manufacture handsets, computers and other electronic
devices, within the context of network operators, e-waste is generated
through customer purchase and use of mobile technology, and through
the business' own technology operations. Addressing the e-waste
challenge remains one of MTN’s top three sustainability imperatives,
as required by and approved by MTN’s leadership.”
“Partnering with the private sector to address developmental issues
such as e-Waste is a crucial component of GIZ strategy for sustainable
development. This partnership represents an excellent example where
public and private sector bring together their relative strengths to
address a development issue and enable collective action. E-Waste is a
growing challenge in South Africa and Africa and if not jointly
addressed from both the public and private sectors will become an
overwhelming challenge,” says Ellen Kallinowsky Coordinator for GIZ
Centre for Cooperation with the Private Sector.