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New report offers guidance to e-waste management in
Latin America
International collaboration yields region-specific e-waste roadmap
Geneva, 19 May 2015 – A study undertaken by ITU in
collaboration with other international and regional organizations has concluded
with the release of a report outlining the state of e-waste management in Latin
America. The report offers guidance to the region on the steps to be taken
towards environmentally sustainable e-waste management.
e-Waste is one of the world’s fastest-growing waste streams, with an
estimated 42-million metric tons generated in 2014. Developing countries are
known to bear the largest e-waste burden. Often ill-equipped to treat e-waste
efficiently, these countries have first-hand experience of the adverse effects
of e-waste on the environment and on the health of citizens.
The study was co-conducted by ITU; the Secretariat of the Basel Convention;
the Basel Convention Regional Centre for South America (CRBAS); the World Health
Organization (WHO); the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); the
Organization of United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO); the
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC); and the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
“ITU’s advocacy for the benefits of information and communication
technologies comes with a responsibility to improve the environmental
sustainability of the ICT sector,” said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao. “Our
membership has given us a strong mandate to address the e-waste challenge, and
ITU is well positioned to enact improvement in this arena, especially given the
good collaboration that we enjoy with industry and international organizations.”
The report was launched by ITU, UNU, UNIDO, WIPO, ECLAC and CRBAS during the
Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions
that was held in Geneva, 4-15 May 2015.
The report presents case studies based on the e-waste regulatory frameworks
of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay
and Venezuela. The e-waste challenges specific to these countries are analysed
to identify the sustainability concerns that the region should seek to overcome
in the medium to long term.
The report introduces the general principles of e-waste management, including
relevant processes and technologies as well an overview of policies, strategies
and regulatory frameworks that have been successful in promoting the
environmentally sustainable management of e-waste in other regions of the world.
An analysis of the environmental implications of e-waste and its effects on
human health identifies the factors to be considered when designing policy and
regulation to govern the management of e-waste. The report describes the various
stages in the lifecycle of electrical and electronic goods on course to becoming
e-waste as well as the roles played by various actors at these different
lifecycle stages.
The report’s principal purpose is to offer guidelines for Latin America to
establish a roadmap towards environmentally sustainable e-waste management, at
the regional and national levels. In this task, the report highlights the
importance of implementing international technical standards, such as those
developed by ITU’s Standardization Sector (ITU-T).
Download the full report in Spanish (.pdf)
Download a summary in English (.ppt)
For more information, please contact:
Sanjay Acharya
Chief, Media Relations and Public Information
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