Electronic and Industrial Waste

1Electronic waste (e-waste)

E-waste (electronic waste) is old or broken electrical and electronic equipment: phones, computers, televisions, radios, chargers, cables, batteries, bulbs, printers and solar lamps. E-waste is growing fast, because people replace their devices often.

2Poison and treasure

• Poison: e-waste contains harmful substances such as lead, mercury and cadmium, and battery chemicals. When it is dumped, these leak into the soil and water. When it is burned, for example to get the copper out of cables, it gives off poisonous smoke.
• Treasure: e-waste also contains valuable materials such as copper, aluminium, small amounts of gold, and plastic. At a proper recycling centre, these can be recovered safely and used again.

3What to do with e-waste

1. Repair it if you can. Many phones and radios can be fixed.
2. If it still works, give it to someone who can use it.
3. If it cannot be fixed, take it to an e-waste collection point. Rwanda has an e-waste dismantling and recycling centre in Bugesera District, where old computers and phones are taken apart safely and their materials are recovered.
4. Never burn e-waste, bury it, or throw it into a pit latrine.

4Industrial waste

Industrial waste comes from factories and processing plants. It includes:

• solid waste: offcuts of fabric, wood and metal, packaging, ash, and expired products such as out-of-date medicines;
• liquid waste: dirty water with chemicals (called effluent);
• gas waste: smoke and dust from chimneys.

Every factory affects the environment in some way. For example, paper-making uses huge amounts of water, and the waste water contains chemicals that damage rivers. In Rwanda, coffee washing stations produce coffee pulp and dirty water, tea factories produce waste leaves and smoke, and cement factories produce dust.

5How industrial waste is managed

• Treat dirty water to remove chemicals before it goes into rivers.
• Fit filters on chimneys to catch dust and smoke.
• Reuse offcuts, and turn coffee pulp into compost.
• Follow the law: the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) checks that factories protect the environment.

Try it yourself

1. Name three items of e-waste that could be found in a home.
2. Why is burning old cables to get the copper dangerous?
3. What should Keza's family do with the old phone?
4. Give one example of industrial waste from a coffee washing station.
5. Why must factories treat their dirty water before letting it into a river?

Answers

1. Any three of: old phones, chargers, radios, televisions, computers, batteries, bulbs, cables, solar lamps.
2. The burning plastic and metals give off poisonous smoke that harms the lungs and pollutes the air.
3. Try to repair it; if it cannot be fixed, take it to an e-waste collection point. Never burn it or throw it in the pit.
4. Coffee pulp or dirty waste water.
5. The chemicals in it can poison fish, plants and the people who use the river water.