Africa’s E-Waste Crisis: From Dumping Ground to Green Jobs

By Caroline Katana

Africa has for years faced concerns over being used as a dumping ground for electronic waste.

 Now, as the continent embraces digital technology, the challenge is how to manage discarded electronics while recovering valuable materials and creating jobs.

Boniface Mbithi, chief executive officer of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Centre (WEEE Centre), said limited public awareness and inadequate recycling infrastructure remain major obstacles to proper e-waste management.

                     Boniface Mbithi CEO WEEE
Many people do not know where to take broken phones, cameras and other electronic devices. Without accessible collection systems, unwanted electronics can remain unused in homes or end up in unsafe disposal channels.

The world generates more than 60 million tonnes of electronic waste annually, according to remarks delivered at the sixth Africa International E-Waste Conference in Diani, Kwale County.

 The volume is heading past 80 million tonnes by 2030, the speaker warned.

Only about 1–5 per cent is formally recycled, according to the address.

 The discarded electronics contain metals worth more than US$60 billion, resources that could be recovered rather than lost.

Africa generates less e-waste than other world regions in absolute terms, but its documented formal recycling rate remains below one per cent.

For Mbithi, the solution requires more than policies on paper. He said the conference aimed to move discussions towards implementation, investment and employment.

“We want to move beyond discussion into implementing policies, creating green jobs, bringing investment into the continent and recovering value from materials in circulation,” Mbithi said.

The approach reflects the principles of a circular economy. Rather than throwing products away after use, businesses can repair, refurbish and reuse electronic devices. 

When equipment can no longer be used, its recoverable materials can be recycled and returned to production.

This reduces waste and demand for new raw materials while creating opportunities in collection, repair, refurbishment and recycling.

The need is becoming more urgent as African countries expand digital connectivity, solar power and electric transport. 

Electric motorcycles, tuk-tuks and other technologies will eventually generate batteries and components requiring specialised collection and recycling.

Mbithi called for African countries to harmonise their policies to attract investment and support regional recycling industries, particularly as battery waste increases.

Kenya has introduced the Sustainable Waste Management Act of 2022 and extended producer responsibility regulations gazetted in 2024. 

The framework places greater responsibility on producers and importers for managing products after consumers discard them.

However, the country still faces gaps in collection networks, recycling facilities and enforcement.

Molu Wato, director of Waste Management and Pollution Control at the State Department for Environment and Climate Change, said the government was developing a national circular economy strategy that identifies e-waste as one of five priority areas.

“The role of government is to provide the policy, the laws and the regulations that enable the private sector to come in,” Wato said.

He said Kenya needed more recycling and refurbishment facilities, investment, innovation and technology transfer.

 Existing incentives for recycling businesses had also failed to attract sufficient uptake.

Under extended producer responsibility, producers and importers are expected to help finance and organise the management of products at the end of their useful lives.

 Producer responsibility organisations are intended to connect them with collection and recycling systems.

But the system must work beyond regulations. Consumers need accessible places to return old devices, while recycling businesses need the capacity and investment to process what is collected.

For Robert Orina, deputy director of National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), managing e-waste requires a system that connects consumers, producers, collection services and recycling facilities.

Robert Orina, deputy director  National Environment Management Authority (NEMA)

Orina said the authority works with partners, including Safaricom, the WEEE Centre and the Information and Communications Technology Authority, to support the collection of obsolete electronics.

Safaricom has had collection points in major towns and supermarkets, including Carrefour, where people could deposit unwanted phones. The current availability of these specific collection points should be confirmed before publication.

Orina said about five producer responsibility organisations were active, with one focused on e-waste. 

These organisations are expected to help producers and importers meet their obligations by supporting the collection and management of discarded products.

The arrangements are still developing.

 Expanding collection coverage and ensuring that collected electronics reach appropriate treatment facilities remain important to making the system effective.

NEMA’s role is to oversee compliance with environmental laws and take enforcement action where required. 

Orina explained that the authority does not operate as an e-waste recycling facility; instead, it works with relevant stakeholders to improve collection and ensure waste is handled appropriately.

He also highlighted the dangers of improper disposal. 

"Refrigerators contain refrigerant gases that require specialised handling, while electronic devices may contain other hazardous substances," he said.

Burning or dumping such equipment can expose people to harmful substances and pollute the environment. 

Orina cautioned against treating obsolete electronics as ordinary household rubbish and urged people to use appropriate collection and recycling channels.

He also indicated that there may not be a specific legal requirement compelling someone simply to remove an old device stored at home.

 However, illegal dumping or burning can attract enforcement action.

The distinction matters: safe e-waste management depends not only on regulation but also on giving households practical disposal options and ensuring that collected equipment is handled by people with the right facilities and skills.

Anne Rita Ssemboga of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations specialised agency for information and communication technologies, said digital connectivity must advance alongside environmental sustainability.

The agency supports capacity-building, extended producer responsibility policies and efforts to encourage more durable electronic products.

Ssemboga said harmonised policies would help producers and importers comply with consistent requirements across countries. 

This could improve continuity in e-waste management and make investment in recycling more viable.

Regional cooperation is particularly important as electric mobility expands. 

Countries that align their rules could support shared industries, including facilities for recovering materials from batteries and other electronic components.

The conference also highlighted the potential for a circular economy to create jobs, particularly for women and young people.

Repair and refurbishment can extend the useful life of devices. Recycling can recover valuable metals and other materials for manufacturing. Collection, transport, sorting and processing can create businesses and employment while reducing the volume of waste sent to dumpsites.

But these opportunities require investment, skilled workers and safer working conditions.

 People already working in informal waste collection and recycling need training, protection and fair pay.

The opening address also highlighted partnerships involving the Office of the First Lady, the WEEE Centre and Computer for Schools to support digital skills, schools, women and children’s online safety.

 It linked digital inclusion with the need to manage the environmental consequences of growing technology use.

Other proposals included better tracking of electronic products and recovered materials, improved sorting technology, mobile payments for returned devices and stronger data collection. 

The address called for conference commitments to be followed by measurable action on policy, financing and implementation.

Africa’s challenge is not simply to dispose of more electronic waste. 

It is to build a circular system in which products last longer, recoverable materials return to the economy, and recycling creates viable businesses and decent jobs.

That will require governments to enforce existing laws, producers to take responsibility for their products, investors to support recycling infrastructure and consumers to have accessible ways to return unwanted electronics.