Rwanda inaugurates first ever e-waste processing facility

05 Décembre 2017

Kigali, Rwanda, December 5 (Infosplusgabon) -  The first Rwanda’s e-waste recycling initiatives has officially opened its facility located at Bugesera, a district in South Eastern Rwanda, with the purpose of  extracting metals from e-waste, an official source confirmed Tuesday in Kigali.

The company’s ambitions are aimed to be the the leading metal refining facility after recycling electronic devices, such as and computer monitors, that are hazardous wastes when discarded.

It is said that the new facility that was established under a total investment of US$ 1.5 million allocated through Rwanda Green Fund (RGF) will operate using the first ever technology for extracting metals from e-waste.

According to the Rwandan minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Vincent Biruta, the existing funding system will also be used to collect the discarded covered electronic devices.

Yet, many electronic wastes available in Rwanda are not included in the new recycling system in Rwanda, Rwandan officials emphasized that this new initiative will be carried out through setting up of a comprehensive collection system.

The establishment of this processing facility comes at time e-waste disposal in Rwanda has been a steadily growing concern among environmentally groups.

Latest estimates by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) indicates that Old computers and mobile phones, electric cables, televisions, coffee machines, fridges, old analogue radios are piling up in landfills across the world.

Recovering valuable metals and other resources locked inside electronic products, for example, can reduce the amount of e-waste produced, diminishing pressure on the environment, creating jobs and generating income, the UN agency said.

FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/IRT/GABON 2017

© Copyright Infosplusgabon