ERF Advocates for Automation in Waste Collection, Recycling

E-Waste Recycling Foundation (ERF), a non-governmental organization, has called for automation in the nation’s e-waste collection, sorting, and recycling processes.

The foundation made the announcement at the 2022 Edition of the Lagos E-Waste Handlers Capacity Enhancement Programme (LEHCEP).

The government was asked by Dr. Godwin Igharo, Deputy Director of the Central Research Laboratory at the University of Benin, to involve the unlicensed workers who gather e-waste in technology-based recycling.

Igharo pointed out that automated recycling of e-waste was less harmful to the environment and human health than the manual handling of e-waste by unofficial artisans.

According to a study on e-waste, the scholar stated that managing e-waste manually posed a serious health risk and might even result in cancer.

He claimed that the government needed a nationwide e-waste health risk survey to highlight the risks associated with the human management of e-waste.

The expert suggested that the general people be educated on environmental and health issues related to the processing and disposal of e-waste.

Additionally, Dr. Ifeanyi Ochonogor, president of the ERF, thanked the Lagos state government for cooperating with him to organize the summit starting in 2018.

He asserted that the initiative to address the impending e-waste problems in Nigeria is a start on the right path for fostering consensus and building capability in the e-waste industry.

He noted that waste handlers play a crucial role in the state, “Lagos requires smart solutions to become a smart city,”

Lagos State’s e-waste handling system is still quite informal, with all the problems that come with the manual, careless processing of e-waste by the handlers and collectors.

The informal e-waste collectors, he observed, were frequently cast aside by society.

He asserted that society’s responsibility is to elevate the craftsmen’s efforts in purging the environment of dangerous wastes.

“How to bring this unorganized sector into the mainstream of environmental managers is our biggest task.”

This endeavor necessitates the use of innovative technologies, analytical thinking, strong transportation, and pick-up models, safe handling tools, and devices, he said.