Page 56 - Management of waste electrical and electronic equipment in Latin America Current situation and outlook

Management of waste electrical and electronic equipment in
Latin America: Current situation and outlook

Chapter 2 – Contributions

of the PREAL Project to

strengthening national systems

for WEEE management

The PREAL Project contributed to the implementation of other essential components of WEEE
management systems for integral management such as education and links with academia,
training for public officials and managers, links with producers and public awareness through
numerous collection and communication campaigns. Procedures, technical documents, and
support tools were also developed to guide managers and competent authorities in the
environmentally safe management of WEEE. Finally, capacities were built in the countries
to achieve the environmentally safe management of plastics containing brominated flame
retardants.

2�1 Education and Academia

Academia plays a significant role in the development of
countries, as it is the main driver of knowledge generation
and the training of highly skilled professionals. Through
research, the academic community contributes to inno-
vation and scientific progress in countries and regions, so
enabling progress in various areas of knowledge.

An important aspect is the collaboration between the private sector and government in building
strategic alliances that promote technological, scientific, economic and social development. To
ensure the environmentally safe management of WEEE in the region, technical professionals
from various disciplines must be trained, and innovation and technology transfer must be
enabled to generate national capacity in the recycling, recovery and treatment of WEEE, its
components and hazardous fractions.

As part of the PREAL Project, each participating country established partnerships with academic
institutions to incorporate integral WEEE management into university curricula and research
projects. As a result, links were established with 51 universities, with notable achievements being
made in Venezuela, Peru, Costa Rica and Ecuador. Figure 6 illustrates the key accomplishments
in Peru, Costa Rica, and Ecuador in this area.

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