7 tons of e-waste arrive in Belgium from Kenya
7 tons of printed circuit boards, a highly complex and toxic type of electronic waste, arrived from WorldLoop’s member, the WEEE Centre in Nairobi (Kenya) at Umicore’s precious metals refinery facility in Hoboken (Belgium) for proper end of life treatment and recycling. The shipment celebrates WorldLoop’s closed loop model as the first of its kind, repeatable “reverse flow” of hazardous e-waste coming from East Africa to be recycled in Europe.
E-waste in developing countries poses a significant environmental threat to developing countries as a result of the rapid growth of the market for electronics. According to a recent report by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) , the amount of e-waste being produced – including mobile phones and computers – could rise by as much as 500 percent over the next decade in some countries. Many of these products contain hazardous and toxic substances. E-waste therefore constitutes a severe threat to the environment and people’s health when it is not properly processed. Especially in developing countries, this poses a serious problem as limited specialized infrastructure and expertise is available to properly process e-waste.
WorldLoop’s closed loop model is based on the StEP Intiative’s “best of two-world” theory, supporting the set-up of collection & dismantling activities by local partners in developing countries combined with best in class, advanced recycling solutions available in Europe through partnerships with companies such as Umicore and Van Gansewinkel Group. The WorldLoop model supports local resale of non-hazardous fractions such as plastic, copper, aluminum and other metals on local markets, driving resource conservation in developing countries. The hazardous fractions such as batteries, leaded glass and printed circuit boards are treated in an environmentally sound manner in Europe to maximize environmental performance, as well as the value of the resources extracted. The 7 ton container of e-waste will be processed by Umicore and the revenue generated from the recycling process will flow back to the African WorldLoop partners to support the growth of their activities.
Umicore’s Precious Metals Refining facility in Hoboken is the world’s most advanced, largest and cleanest precious and specialty metals refining, recycling and recovery operation and employs around 1,650 people. Umicore is the world market leader in recycling complex waste streams containing precious and other non-ferrous metals. Some 200 types of different raw materials are processed, over 10% of which is e-scrap, such as computer circuit boards, mobile phones, etc.