Stakeholders that will attend this year’s e-Waste Dialogue will focus and examine the economic importance of waste generated Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) coming from the likes of mobile phones, computers, TV-sets, and fridges among other electronic devices.
According to ITRealms, the organizer of the event, which is scheduled to hold Thursday, December 17 at Welcome Centre Hotels, along international airport road with the theme: ‘e-Waste in Nigeria: Challenges and Opportunities,’ this year’s Dialogue become imperative as the electronics waste being generated in the country have continued to grow.
“Electronic waste has become one of the fastest growing waste streams across the globe. In fact, e-Waste is estimated at 1.1 million tonnes of e-waste annually arising from both local and imported Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE).,” said Remmy Nweke, Editor0in-Chief of ITRealms.
He cited for instance, that the United Nations Environmental Protection (UNEP) reported in 2015 that Nigeria had 56,000 tonnes of imported e-waste; in 2017, this figure increased to 288,000 tonnes; over four times higher than two years earlier.
He also argued that is expected to grow into million tonnes of e-waste of mobile devices by end of 2021, aside the fairly used imported devices meant for cushioning digital divide.
The dialogue would be held face-to-face in compliance with COVID-19 protocol, even as there are plans to simultaneously host the event virtually here.