HP launches project to support sustainable e-waste recycling in Africa

Global Citizenship

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HP plans to find sustainable recycling processes for electronic waste (e-waste) in developing countries by embarking on an exciting one-year pilot project which was launched last month. The project aims to develop workable and safe solutions for electronic recycling in Africa in partnership with industry-leading experts who have already gathered experience with similar projects in a number of Asian countries.

“Most African countries do not have the appropriate infrastructure in place to deal with the growing amount of waste from electronic equipment,” said Klaus Hieronomy, heading the HP Environment Business Management Organisation for HP in EMEA. “HP wants to explore how such systems could be developed and supported”.

The main objective of this project is to test processes and practices to make recycling of electronic waste safer. This will be done in close cooperation with local communities and the informal waste recycling sector, focusing on solutions which will improve the recycling infrastructure and increase recycling rates for e-waste.

However, the project will not only focus on the environmental benefits of improved waste management practices, but also has a strong social element to it.

“An informal waste recycling sector already exists in many African countries and we want to incorporate these informal operations into our plans since this sector provides jobs for the underprivileged”,explained Jeanette Weisschuh, Head of HP’s Corporate Affairs organisation in EMEA. “However, the recycling methods used are often inappropriate and the processes need to be improved to increase work safety for the individual and minimize the harm on the environment”.

Hence this project has the three-fold objective of decreasing the environmental impact of e-waste recycling, improving working conditions and creating new employment opportunities in the informal e-waste recycling sector.

It is hoped that the project findings will provide a stepping stone for developing a large scale Public Private Partnership on e-waste across Africa, replicating its success in other African countries or developing markets elsewhere.

HP is working with two experienced partners, the Global Digital Solidarity Fund (DSF) and the Swiss Institute for Material Science & Technology (Empa) to run the project, which will be rolled out in a number of African countries, including South Africa, Kenya, Senegal, Tunisia and Morocco.

DSF will provide overall project management, operational and financial management and will work with technical agencies and NGOs on the ground, in agreement with HP.

DSF has many years of experience in working with local communities, providing project management and expertise in developing financing solutions for micro businesses in the field of information and communication technology, to help poor communities in developing countries to increase their income.

It will hold a first training event for local charities and community organisations in South Africa in November this year. For Cissé Kane, DSF E-waste project manager, this collaboration with HP supports the key objectives of the organisation.

“The DSF is one of the important outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society 2003-2005. It is an African initiative that has been overwhelmingly welcomed by the International Community. We are fully dedicated to bridge the digital divide throughout the world. Therefore, we are very proud to build this partnership with HP, the n° 1 IT company in Africa, and Empa, the leader in e-waste recycling, to specifically tackle what is often neglected and forgotten when looking at the potential of ICT in Africa: the e-waste”, he said.

Our second partner, the Swiss Institute for Material Science & Technology (Empa), will provide technical advice and will be responsible for technical assistance, training and quality control. Empa has carried out a range of similar projects around the world, including India, China, South Africa and Colombia and has extensive experience and local expertise across Africa. 

For Mathias Schluep, programme coordinator of the Swiss e-Waste programme at Empa, the potential scale of the partnership is a great opportunity. "We were able to build considerable expertise and e-waste management capacity in South Africa and elsewhere with the Swiss global e-Waste Programme. This new HP project is a great opportunity to spread this African know-how further over the continent where it is urgently needed," he said.

As part of the Middle East, Mediterranean, Africa (MEMA) region the African continent is one of the emerging markets for HP with high business potential and excellent growth opportunities. In 2006, IT contributed 3.4 percent to the total GDP in Africa. HP is represented in Africa with its own subsidiaries since 1971. With sales operations in 8 countries (Algeria, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Tunesia, Ghana, Uganda and South Africa) and more than 700 employees on the ground HP is the number 1 IT company in Africa.

HP currently offers recycling services of print cartridges in South Africa through its Planet Partner programme.

October 2007 issue

Global Citizenship Reports 2006 (*)

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