Voluntary WEEE recycling project: case in Kenya

The following section describes voluntary (CSR based) WEEE recycling project, which engage local actors from the field of WEEE recycling and local and international sponsors.

  • Location:Nairobi, Kenya
  • Activities:Collection, manual dismantling, automated processing
  • Full-time staff:8
  • Years in e-waste:5
  • E-waste collected: 426 tonnes (5 years)
  • Funding partners: WorldLoop, Close the Gap, Safaricom, Computer Aid International

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Centre (WEEE Centre) is an e-waste recycling company based in Nairobi, Kenya. WEEE Centre provides e-waste collection, dismantling and automated processing services in Nairobi and several other major cities in Kenya. WEEE Centre primarily sources e-waste from the private & public sector and through collection campaigns aimed at individual households.

Launched as a pilot in 2010, WEEE Centre was the first e-waste recycling facility in East Africa, whose foundation was made possible by the support of Computer Aid International, Safaricom Foundation, Close the Gap and WorldLoop. On September 27th 2011, WEEE Centre was formally inaugurated as the first WorldLoop recycling facility in the presence of Vice-President of the European Commission Neelie Kroes.

MISSION

Kenya generates an average of 3,000 tons of e-waste each year from computers, monitors, printers, mobile phones, fridges, batteries and other devices. A lack of e-waste awareness, along with poor separation and disposal systems, has led to e-waste being mixed with ordinary waste in dumps.

The WEEE Centre is addressing these problems by taking a leading role in managing e-waste and spreading awareness about it. It takes advantage of every opportunity to sensitize the Kenyan population to e-waste and promote ways of participating in the WEEE Centre’s cause.

VISION ON E-WASTE

The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Centre (WEEE Centre) is at the fore front managing e-waste and spreading awareness to the Kenyan population about the same. Lack of awareness is rampant and the WEEE Centre takes every sensitization opportunity to let the public know more about e-waste and how they can participate in the WEEE Centre’s cause and drive e-waste collection. Initiatives undertaken by WEEE Centre to increase awareness about e-waste in Kenya include specific campaigns aimed at corporates, campaigns aimed at consumer awareness in partnership with SAMSUNG and SAFARICOM and speaker positions on events such as the Pan-African Forum on E-waste management hosted by UNEP (http://www.weeecentre.com/).

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