CHALLENGES OF E-WASTE RECYCLING IN NIGERIA

Abstract

In many developing countries like India, Ghana, Pakistan, China, Malaysia and Nigeria, the growing rise of e-waste as a result of advancement in technology, users behaviour and the lack of enforced high environmental standards and regulations to control e-waste disposal or recycling, calls for urgent concern because of the high volumes generated. For the e-wastes that are recycled, there are standards for the recycling processes with slight variance due to national economical diversities. This variance in Nigeria is accompanied with fewer requirements to protect workers and the environment. Thus, as these e-wastes undergo disassembling, treatment, burning and disposal in very loose environmental frameworks with underdeveloped facilities, it has negatively impacted on the industrial safety of employees in their specific operations and increased environment health hazard. Consequently some major challenges involve how to reduce the growing number of e-waste that is coming into the country, landfill usage, the growing number of e-waste generated, environmental pollution, the irregularities accompanying existing recycling methodologies and the exploitation of resources in Nigeria. To effectively address these aforementioned challenges, this paper proposed appropriate policies and technologies which involves three main sequential stages: collection, pre-processing (involving sorting, dismantling and mechanical treatment) and end-processing (involving refining and disposal).