By Kingsley I. Ilechukwu, Correspondent Lagos
The 2021 edition of the ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue is slated to hold at Adam’s Hall, Welcome Centre Hotels, International Airport Road, Ikeja, Lagos December 9, 2021 by 9am, Cyber Era NG learns.
This is coming as the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria (EHORECON) and E-Waste Producer Responsibility Organisation of Nigeria (EPRON) are warming up among other stakeholders for the dialogue.
The editor-in-chief, ITREALMS Media group, Remmy Nweke disclosed this in Lagos Wednesday, and said the update had become necessary due to importance of tackling electronic waste as the country attained 20 years of Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) which paved the way for influx of electronic devices and usage in Nigeria.
Nweke also said that the Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) emanated from the likes of mobile phones, computers, TV-sets, and fridges among other electronic devices had become a set of fastest growing waste streams across the globe.
Nigeria, he noted, was particularly burdened by the WEEE with estimated 1.1 million tonnes of e-waste annually arising from both local and imported Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) under the guise of second hand or fairly used items.
Nweke cited a recent UNEP report which showed that in 2015 alone, Nigeria had 56,000 tonnes of imported e-waste; in 2017, this figure increased to 288,000 tonnes; over four times higher than two years earlier.
These, he said underscored the need for a massive and sustained campaign of Nigerians on e-waste and its likely effects when disposed wrongly.
According to him, experts were being assembled to give a roadmap on e-Waste in Nigeria: Consumer as key to circular economy with focus on 20 years of GSM.
“ITREALMS Media in commemoration of the International E-waste Day (IeWD) 2021, is hosting a day discourse on e-Waste in Nigeria: Consumer as key to Circular Economy & 20 years of GSM” under its flagship ITREALMS e-Waste Dialogue scheduled for Thursday, December 9, at the Welcome Centre Hotels, International Airport Road, Ikeja, Lagos,” he said.
Stressing the importance of raising awareness and exchanging knowledge of this complex waste stream, Nweke said it would provoke thought and support the transition to a sustainable society and circular economy as the nation looked forward to the full implementation of the fifth-generation (5G) networks.
