A new environmental report launched by the Tanzanian government on Wednesday described the growing accumulation of e-waste as a emerging environmental disaster facing people in the East African country.
The report released by Tanzanian Vice-President Mohamed Gharib Bilal said e-waste caused by a rapid increase in the use of electrical and electronic equipment (EEC) was a health hazard that has yet to get special attention.
The report entitled State of the Environment Report 2014 said the growing volume of e-waste in Tanzania did not match with the available capacity to manage it in an environmentally sound manner.
“Most EEC contains hazardous materials, most of which are likely to cause cancer, respiratory illness and reproductive problems,” the 240-page report said, adding that mixing of e-waste with general waste due to lack of formal management scheme posed potential health problems.
The report said the changing lifestyle of people coupled with a growing urban middle class that was projected to reach 40 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2050 has led to increasing rates of consumption of EEC.
“Although the use of EEC in the country is low compared to other countries in the world, its consumption is growing at a staggering pace,” warned the report.
The exact amount of e-waste generated in the country was not known but projections based on the results of an inventory undertaken by the Cleaner Production Centre of Tanzania (CPCT) in 2011 indicated that the amount of e-waste generated from computers alone in 2011 was about 2,300 tons annually, constituting about 7 to 13 percent of total weight of the EEC, it said.
This indicated that the total amount of e-waste generated in the country was in the range of 18,000 to 33,000 tons annually, said the report.
It said existing crude dumpsites which are commonly used for disposal of e-waste result into mixing of e-waste with general waste, accentuating risk to public health and the environment.
Launching the report, Bilal appealed to environmental stakeholders to work closely in addressing issues raised in the report in order to save the country from falling into an environmental disaster.
Binilith Mahenge, the Minister of State in the Vice-President’s Office responsible for the environment, said the production of the report came at a time when the country was facing economic challenges.
He said the environment was a key strategic resource and asset for the country’s development and should therefore be protected and managed to ensure that it continued to support services for a healthy and a strong economy. Enditem
Source: Xinhua
