Page 6 - Implementation of the ITU-T International Standards for the Sustainable Management of Electrical and Electronic Equipment: On the road to a circular economy in Argentina

Foreword from the Director of the ITU

Telecommunication Standardization

Bureau (TSB)

Argentina is taking action to improve e-waste
management in line with the principles of
circular economy. It is also sharing its experience
internationally, to the benefit of other countries in
the region and around the world. I applaud you and
thank you.

If not treated properly, e-waste can pose serious
threats to our health and environment. But in
the e-waste challenge there also lies a wealth of
opportunity to recover valuable raw materials and
create new jobs in recycling.

Our reliance on electrical and electronic products
continues to grow. Sustainable e-waste management
cannot wait, and we must always remain in search of
better e-waste strategies that we can maintain and improve over the long term.
ITU is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies
(ICTs). Our global membership includes 193 Member States and over 900 companies,
universities, and international and regional organizations.

Our commitment to addressing the e-waste challenge is highlighted in ITU’s 'Connect 2030
Agenda for Global Telecommunication/ICT Development', which focuses on how ICT advances
will contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

This case study shares Argentina's experience following the approach recommended by the ITU
standard L.1031 to achieve the e-waste targets of the Connect 2030 Agenda, targets that call
for a 30 per cent increase in the global e-waste recycling rate and the percentage of countries
with e-waste legislation to grow to 50 per cent.

This is the second case study of its kind in Latin America, following an earlier study on Costa
Rica's actions in line with the ITU standards L.1031 as well as L.1032, which provides guidelines
and certification schemes for e-waste recyclers.

These ITU standards are now being refined based on the lessons learnt from Argentina
and Costa Rica's experiences with their implementation. This work is led by ITU's
standardization expert group for ‘environment, electromagnetic fields and circular economy’,
ITU-T Study Group 5.

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