The first ever Zambian Electronic Waste Recycling Company called TCH E – Waste Zambia in collaboration with the European Union Commission – EUC has been launched. The electronic waste system will focus on collecting, sorting, exporting parts of e-waste and shipping for final disposal in an environmental friendly manner.
The company is set to begin its works in the next few weeks as it is in the process of finalizing its license from the Zambia Environmental Management Agency – ZEMA.
Speaking at the launch event of the e-waste system in Lusaka on November, 7 2019, TCH E-Waste Zambia representative Malcolm Whitehouse said most individuals are bound to store e-waste due to lack of solutions hence the newly launched system will address e-waste challenges in the country.
He added that the company is further in the process of developing campaigns with government to create awareness in various parts of the country and educate individuals in communities and schools on the importance of recycling waste.
And Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority – ZICTA Director General Patrick Mutimushi said it is timely to have new partners such as TCH E-Waste on board as failure to close the loop on e-waste such as computers and other ICT equipments could lead to significant adverse environmental impact.
Mutimushi said measuring e-waste is an important step towards addressing the e-waste challenges as statistics help to evaluate developments over time, set and assess targets and identify best practices in policies.
“It is my sincere hope that TCH E-Waste will hit the ground running by putting in place a working business model that will not only clean the environment but also create employment by creating a well-defined value chain for e-waste recycling, incorporating all stakeholders,” he said.
At the same event Zambia Environmental Managements Agency – ZEMA Inspector Chrispine Simwanza said the company has fulfilled its regulatory procedures hence suitable to acquire a license adding that a lot of research was done by the Agency before the company could be allowed to handle e-wastes.
Simwanzi has since called for support from various stakeholders and players in the ICT sector towards this initiative to ensure the chain is properly managed stating that mostly waste starts from importation hence the need to regulate the gadgets before entry.
