A two-year study into used electrical and electronic equipment (UEEE) sent to Nigeria, mostly from European ports, has revealed a continuing “severe problem” of non-compliance with international and national rules governing such shipments.
A two-year study into used electrical and electronic equipment (UEEE) sent to Nigeria, mostly from European ports, has revealed a continuing “severe problem” of non-compliance with international and national rules governing such shipments.
This annual volume of imported e-waste, prohibited under both the Basel Convention and the EU’s Waste Shipment Directive, was assessed at some 60,000 metric tonnes in both 2015 and 2016. Almost 70% of the UEEE reaching Lagos each year arrived inside vehicles destined for Nigeria’s second-hand auto market, while just 30% arrived in shipping containers.
The study report — co-authored by the Basel Convention Coordinating Centre for Africa (BCCC-Africa) and the Sustainable Cycles (SCYCLE) Programme of United Nations University Vice-Rectorate in Europe — found that more than 60% of the UEEE imported in containers was declared in official paperwork to be household goods or personal effects, while the UEEE imported in used vehicles was mostly undeclared.
By weight, LCD-TVs and flat panel monitors accounted for 18% of Nigeria’s imported UEEE, followed by CRT-TVs and CRT-monitors (14%) — which are formally banned from importation — photocopying machines (13%), refrigerators (12%), desktop CPUs (7%), air conditioners, speakers, and washing machines (6% each) and printers (5%).
Read more at United Nations University
Image: Overall, around 77% of the assessed UEEE imports originated from ports in the EU, mainly from Germany and the United Kingdom (around 20% each), followed by Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain and Ireland (between 9% and 6%). China and the USA each accounted for around 7% of the total imports. (Credit: UNU & BCCC-Africa)
