Is Electronic Waste Quietly Poisoning Ethiopia?

When most people think about waste, smartphones, laptops, and TVs rarely come to mind. Despite being counterintuitive, over 62 million tons of electronic waste is generated globally each year. While low-income countries like Ethiopia have historically contributed a meager amount to the global output, a marked rise has occurred in recent years. The declining cost of electronics, an influx of second-hand products, and sweeping digitization are fueling the surge.

The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies e-waste as one of the fastest-growing streams of waste as well as one of the most hazardous. Improper disposal and unsafe recycling procedures end up exposing millions of people to serious health problems each year. When e-waste is recycled using unsound activities, it can release up to 1000 different chemical substances into the environment, including known neurotoxicants such as lead. 

Despite not being limited to e-waste, a recent study found that one in three children in Ethiopia is exposed to lead poisoning. Ethiopia generates one of the highest amounts of e-waste in East Africa as it amassed nearly 88 million kilograms in 2022, according to a report by the Global E-Waste Monitor(GEM-2024). In contrast, Kenya, which has made better headway in terms of digitization generates around 51 million kilograms.

Lead contamination affects soil, water, and air, disproportionately impacting vulnerable communities, particularly children. The lack of lead detector machines, manual collection of waste, open burning and heating as well as manual dismantling of e-waste parts could be serving as major sources of health concerns in Ethiopia.

The low-income country began implementing Electrical and electronic waste management and disposal regulation back in 2018. However, success has been limited due to a lack of infrastructure, skilled personnel, and strict oversight.  A computer Refurbishment and Training Center (CRTC) and Electronics De-manufacturing Facility (DMF) located south of Addis Ababa in Aqaqi are among the few successful interventions.

A UNICEF spotlight indicates that e-waste is fueling a health crisis for children in low- and middle-income countries, where 90 percent of exported e-waste is processed. According to the WHO Digital Dumpsites report, millions of children, adolescents, and women of childbearing age work at informal e-waste processing sites where they are exposed to dangerous chemicals and waste that are hazardous to their health and development.

Ethiopia's waste management mirrors finding from the WHO report as it is a decentralized process facilitated by a web of private and localized state actors. Manual scavenging and open dumping are common even in the capital Addis Ababa, where 85% of the trash gets disposed at Koshe Landfill. Children and women from low-income households frequent the site scavenging for valuables without any form of safety equipment.

Despite facing challenges, some emerging research initiatives could signal the potential of a major pivot in Ethiopia’s e-waste management.

The Ethiopian Bio Emerging Institute has been conducting studies on how the country can reuse some of the e-waste generated locally. Abenezer Mengistu, Assistant researcher of Material Science and Engineering and, Green Materials research team leader at the Institute says, nearly 80% of all e-waste is technically recyclable. He indicated that increased electronics consumption in Ethiopia has been a double-edged sword as it brings about economic development while also presenting disposal difficulties.

“There is a rising e-waste management challenge in Ethiopia,” Abenezer told Shega.

The researcher pointed to studies conducted in China which estimated that it was 13 times more economically viable to extract metals from e-waste than virgin ore mining. Abenezer says significant financial gains can occur by proper disposal of e-waste in addition to its benefits for environmental protection.

The Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MINT) is collaborating with the Institute to research overall e-waste management practices in Ethiopia and methods of efficient recycling. One of the pair of projects under research investigates the extraction and recovery of usable metals from e-waste as nanoparticles and bulk materials while the other explores ways of minimizing environmental risks of waste disposal after metal extraction.

“Minimizing secondary pollution from conventional recycling is critical,” Abenezer says.

Ethiopia’s Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has been working on guidelines for e-waste management since 2021. Sources from the Authority confirmed to Shega that little progress has been made in codifying and implementing updated regulatory frameworks.

The 2024 report by Global E-waste Monitor estimates the annual economic impact of improper e-waste management at around 37 billion dollars globally. Nearly 78 billion dollars in externalized costs stemming from the release of toxic substances like mercury and lead, plastic leaks, and global warming is also estimated by the Report. 

Abenezer expects collaborative engagement with MINT to yield useful insights upon completion. He says they have onboarded help from universities in South Africa to access resources and equipment to conduct rigorous research. Experiments into how the extraction of iron and other metals from e-waste in Ethiopia has been conducted.

“We will launch at a larger scale when we finish our studies,” the researcher says.