A Material Recovery Facility in Cape Town, South Africa, as a replicable concept for sustainabl e e-waste management and recycling in developing countries Mathias Schluep, Susanne Dittke, Gerry Newson, Cissé Kane, Klaus Hieronymi Project e-Waste Management in Africa Study commissioned by:
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A Material Recovery Facility in Cape Town, South Africa ... · MRF projects E&A Educational & Awareness Activities Awareness of handling potentially hazardous materials Total amount
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A Material Recovery Facility in Cape Town, South Africa, as a replicable concept for sustainabl e e-waste management and recycling in developing countriesMathias Schluep, Susanne Dittke, Gerry Newson, Cissé Kane, Klaus Hieronymi
■ Funded by Hewlett Packard (HP) in partnership with the Global Digital Solidarity Fund (DSF) and the Swiss Institute for Materials Science & Technology (EMPA) for a total of $ 105 000, as part of the project e-Waste Management in Africa.
■ Run by Recover e Alliance (NPO) under direction by Gerry Newson.
■ Current Operati onal partners: ■ Wasteplan, Wasteman, Footprints, Salesians Institute.
■ Monitored and evaluated by EnviroSense CC by Susanne Dittke.
■ Supported by the e-Waste Association of South Africa (eWASA) and the Swiss e-Waste Programme (which is funded by SECO)
HP / DSF / Empa project e-Waste Management in Africa
■analysis of existing practices in Morocco, Kenya and Senegal (assessment studies)
■Pilot project in Cape Town / South Af rica with the aim to:
■ test the feasibility of an integrated value adding local e-Waste management system, designed to maximize the potential of refurbishment, repair, reuse, dismantling and recycling of equipment, with environmentally responsible disposal only as a last resort.
■ act as a nucleus, raising awareness, and providing training and education to previously disadvantaged individuals as a means of creating opportunities for entrepreneurship in the technical maintenance, dismantling and waste-to-art project sectors.
■ serve as a replicable concept for other initiatives in developingcountries.
■ Dismantling core business■ for external industrial recycling■ Stripping of equipment (mostl y PCs, printers,
monitors and domes tic electronics)■ Removal and temporary safe storage of CRT tubes■ Removal of labels and metals from plastic casings■ Removal of plugs and connectors from cables.
■ Waste to Art Development & Manufacturing core business
■ Educational & Awareness Activities with partners
■E-Waste is mainly generated as a by -product of the Repair and Refurbishment processes at the plant.
■Only once it is at the “point of no return ” is it considered to be e-waste.
■Through careful and selective processing, the resulting e -waste is easily manageable, with little or no hazardous risk at the plant.
■Manual separation, ensures that maximum volumes of materials/components are removed and/or recycled, lessening signif icantly the related waste endi ng up in landf ill if compared to an automated process.
Basic Financial Evaluation of Testing, Repair & Refurbishment Activities
■ The value of Refurbished IT related equipment sourced through normal drop off and collection programs and currently in stock for reuse, by sale or donation, is estimated to be in excess of US$ 8000.
■ PCs & Workstations from equipment reserved by clients for donation, has a current stock value estimated to be US$ 10 00.
■ Stocks of TVs and other domestic appliances that are currently being serviced, are expected to provide US$ 600 of additional income.
■ TOTAL STOCK VALUE OF EQUIPMENT FOR RE-USE: > US$ 10000
■ Traditionally, the main components & materials recovered within the facility (regardless of the incoming mix received) include:
■ Light steel■ Aluminium■ Copper■ Light cables and wiring■ Cable connectors■ Medium and low grade electronic circuit boards■ Styrene based plastics ■ Lead Acid batteries + numerous other smaller batteries■ CRT monitor and TV Tubes
■ NOTE: CRTs, TV tubes are disposed of at the Vissershok (Cape Town) hazardous landfill together with a few smaller items. Everything else can be recycled further downstream, including lead acid batteries.
■ Special batteries & components (Under evaluation for disposal solution) Kg 1000■ Sub Assemblies materials (In stock for “Waste to Art” applications) Kg 2000■ CRTs and LCD displays disposed off as Haz. waste Kg 7000■ Non-haz. materials & residues constituting general waste Kg <1000
Marketing of Recover -e-Alliance and its Activities
■ Registered as an NPO and a member of eWASA, ITA and the Cape Town Chamber of Commerce.
■ Own website marketing activities and products on http://www.ewastealliance.co.za
■ Regular advertising of services via:■ Selective mail-shots, ■ advertorials and the Chamber news letter, ■ on radio (e.g. Cape Talk 567), and■ by inclusion in the DEADP Recycled Products Catalogue
■ Manned displays at exhibitions, showing ranges of clocks and jewellerymanufactured at the Maitland plant and by independent Alliance partners.
■None of the recovery or dismantling processes undertaken, involve physical shredding or processing of material in a manner that would create dust or residue that would be hazardous to health or the environment.
■ Increasing interest f rom corporate users to make use of the project, to test & ref urbish equipment on their behal f, which can then be donated to charitable organizatio ns in their own name.
■As an NPO there is greater opportunity to attract better quality equipment from corporate users, who in turn, may possibly benef it from the additional CSI opportunity.
■Quality of the equipment received can be poor, but is improving.
■ Incoming mix changes regularl y making long-term operational planning very diff icult.
■Our 3 MRF processes can be replicated in any area, but it is not always practical to include Corporate ref urbishment programs or large scale manufacturing of W2A.
■Maitland MRF is not ideal for the promotion of Waste2Art products. New methods of promotion are being investi gated including Internet and T ourist Markets.
■Suitably enclosed transport for bulk pick -ups from businesses, is not always readil y available.
■ Material available for sale or donation is now increasing as a result of improving quality of incoming equipment.
■ It is estimated that the current processing volumes can increase by up to 30% with no increase in personnel, and by 60% within the existing available space.
■ Long term plans of Recover e Alliance include the establishment of a separate centre that focuses on “donation” projects.
■ To man additional facilities, additional technical staff will be required. Training courses are being identified, and the establishment of a separate Fund for this further education process is being considered.
■Confusion about possible Government regulations (e.g. EIA requirement ?) for initi atives that focus on any aspect of e -waste management.
■Management of e -waste in facilities like ours may be illegal by virtue of their potential exposure to hazardous content. (This would however a lso include all traditional Computer, TV and Electrical repair shops).
■Not replicable as a blueprint unless the process itsel f is acknowledged to qualify f or exemption f rom EIA reqmnt.
■Lack of availabilit y of stock for W2A initiatives to produce long runs (e.g. 100 similar pieces). As a result, products are often unique, and as a result, quite expensive to purchase.
■Function recovery is in creasingly sacrificed for material recovery from automated e -waste processing f acilities.
Key Recommendations to identify suitable Drop-off Facilities
■ For INDUSTRY/COMMERCE - secure drop-off points capable of handling small numbers of large volumes.
■ SOLUTION: Partner wi th waste management c ompanies, offering the e-Waste collection facility as part of their existing service contract to corporate clients.
■ For the PUBLIC - “public friendly” drop offs that can handle large numbers of small volumes.
■ SOLUTION: To increase the number of suitable public drop offs by making facilities available at shopping malls and retail outlets is currently being discussed.
■ For SMALL BUSINESSES - ideal set-ups still need to be explored.