CITAD Organizes Meeting on Circular Economy E-waste in Kano
By Khadija Aliyu
The Center for Information Technology and development (CITAD), organized a one-day stakeholders meeting on circular economy and e-waste in Kano with a view to eradicate health hazards from electronic waste.
CITAD’s Executive Director, Engineer Yunusa Zakari explained that, the world is a linear place where raw materials are extracted and consumed, without transformation or circularity.
According to him, the transformation of e-waste into usable devices would not only protect health , but create wealth for people and reduce unemployment to improve the nation’s economy.
The executive director stressed that, without circularity, the extracted materials consumed would keep reducing, while the population continues to grow,saying that, producers should produce gadgets with longer lifespans in order to reduce e-waste in communities.
He urged government regulatory bodies and stakeholders to raise awareness on managing and transforming e-waste, as well as to identify designated areas for dumping for ease of collection by transformers.
Yunusa charged the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), to regulate the import of second-hand goods into Nigeria ,to ensure that they are safe for use.
In his opening remarks, Chairman of the occasion, Malam Umar Saleh Anka, said the purpose of the meeting was to brainstorm on strategies, for deploying a refurbished way of dealing with e-waste and circular economy.
An e-waste expert, Auwal Yunusa, presented a paper on the challenges of e-waste in Nigerian communities, revealing that, Nigeria is the highest purchaser of used goods globally, which has led to a rapid increase in the consumption of electronic devices.
He highlighted that, the importation of second hand goods, has created a challenge of e-waste disposal, as there is limited infrastructure for collection and transportation of the finished products.
Yunusa also highlighted the environmental and health hazards associated with e-waste,which are harmful substances such as lead, mercury, and cadmium, that can be released into the environment if not properly disposed of.
“This can pollute the air, water, and soil, and can also cause health problems such as cancer, respiratory problems, and neurological disorders”
The event tagged: one day stakeholders meeting on circular economy and e-waste,attracted participants from the environmental health sector,e-waste,scientists,media and the public.
