Electronic Waste in Nigeria Sheds Light on the Ongoing Problems of Environmental Racism
By: Margaret Marshall
So many individuals from around the world depend on electronics in their day-to-day lives. Whether it be a cell phone, laptop computer, tablet, or gaming console, all of these electronics are mass-produced, bought and utilized by consumers, and eventually tossed aside once the electronic becomes outdated, broken, or a new and improved model hits the market. What many consumers don’t consider throughout this process of production, consumption, and discard is what becomes of these electronics and their parts once they are tossed aside?
The surprising and disturbing reality is much of this electronic waste (“e-waste”) ends up being shipped overseas to African countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire.[1] Oftentimes, this waste is dumped in some of the poorest of areas that are not equipped to handle such large quantities of toxic and harmful waste. [2] It is estimated, that on average, some 20 to 50 million tons of e-waste are generated worldwide every year.[3] Nigeria, is one of the countries that has been hit the hardest by e-waste and its harmful environmental effects.[4] Nigeria, every month, receives an estimated 500 container loads of e-waste, with each container carrying approximately 500,000 pieces of electronic devices.[5] Nigeria accepts these electronic shipments willingly, with the hopes of “bridg[ing] the digital divide” and an inability to purchase this new technology as these products have to be imported and there is “no capacity to manufacture them or to safely dispose of them.”[6] Most of the containers carrying e-waste come from Western countries such as Europe, the United States, and Asia, who “disguise toxic waste as unharmful and e-waste as reusable electronics.”[7] However, the unfortunate reality, is that around 75% of the electronics that are shipped to Nigeria are irreparable and thus are dumped into landfills or else burned and release pollutants into the nearby air, water, and soil.[8] In fact, Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city and one of the major dumping sites for e-waste has already felt the devastating effects of environmental contamination from e-waste.[9] The Olusosun dump site in Lagos, caught fire in March of 2018, where the fire raged on for weeks and covered the city in polluted ash.[10] In addition, studies have been conducted of the ground water in areas surrounding Olusosun, with the results showing high levels of lead in the water. Human health as well has been linked to exposure to e-waste, with thyroid dysfunction and spontaneous abortions in women occurring, as well as DNA damage in children and irreversible damage to the central nervous, immune, reproductive, and digestive systems.[11]
It is evident, that e-waste has had a devastating effect on both environmental and human health in countries. What is even more evident, is that disposal of e-waste by Western nations into poorer nations, like Nigeria, amounts to environmental racism that cannot be permitted to continue. Environmental racism can be defined as “a form of systemic racism – manifested through policies or practices – whereby communities of colour are disproportionately burdened with health hazards through policies and practices that force them to live in proximity to sources of toxic waste.”[12] Western countries, who both have the funds and the means to discard or recycle their e-waste, and who fully are aware of the environmental and health risk this waste poses, opt to ship their waste to countries whose infrastructures cannot support proper disposal, and whose citizens are often unaware of the risk this waste poses to their health.[13] This has allowed for the continued exploitation of minorities and disenfranchised individuals who have no choice but to endure the hazardous waste.[14] It is evident that something must be done to protect Nigerian citizens from clear acts of environmental racism.
Currently, Nigeria is in the process of attempting to reform its regulations on e-waste, with the hopes of providing protections to Nigerian citizens adversely affected by e-waste.[15] In 2019, Nigeria’s government joined forces with UN Environment and, led by the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), created a $15-million initiative to create a “financially self-sustaining circular economy approach for electronics in Nigeria, protecting the environment while creating safe employment for thousands of Nigerians.”[16] The goal of this circular economy approach is to “develop const-effective value retention businesses, including recycling and disposal systems for electronic products, while ensuring that informal workers in the sector, such as e-waste collectors and recyclers, have opportunities to improve their livelihoods, work conditions, and their health and safety.”[17] Now, while this initiative may seem beneficial for both the Nigerian people and the economy, it does have its challenges.[18] One key issue is the “lack of legal frameworks” in Africa for mass recycling.[19] This makes regulating the recycling industry immensely challenging, and allows for industries to take advantage of its workers and continue polluting and improperly disposing of the e-waste.[20] Most experts would agree, that the steps Nigeria has taken thus far to regulate e-waste is not enough to protect its citizens.[21] Many environmental experts are calling for Nigerian government to ratify the Bamako Treaty in order to protect Nigerian citizens from the environmental harms of e-waste.[22] The Bamako treaty is “a continental framework which aims to place an outright ban on the importation of hazardous waste.”[23] In addition to an outright ban on toxic waste importation into Nigeria, still others call for an international tribunal on toxic waste dumping so “the state can develop laws regarding liability and compensation for the victims . . .”[24]
It is evident, that Nigeria’s e-waste pollution is an ongoing environmental risk, as well as an example of blatant environmental racism. Western nations are taking advantage and dumping large amounts of e-waste into Nigeria, and their environment and people suffer as a result. Steps need to be taken, both internally, as well as externally to shield Nigerian citizens from the harms of e-waste and the environmental racism that goes hand-in-hand with it.
Picture Credit: Getty Images
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[1] Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood, Toxic Waste Dumping in the Gulf of Guinea Amounts to Environmental Racism, THE CONVERSATION (Dec. 2, 2020), https://theconversation.com/toxic-waste-dumping-in-the-gulf-of-guinea-amounts-to-environmental-racism-148542.
[2] Id.
[3] Y.A. Adediran & A. Abdulkarim, Challenges of Electronic Waste Management in Nigeria, 4 INT’L J. ADVANCES IN ENG’G & TECH. 604, 604 (July 2012).
[4] See Okafor-Yarwood, supra note 1.
[5] See Adediran & Abdulkarim, supra note 3, at 642.
[6] See Okafor-Yarwood, supra note 1.
[7] See Adediran & Abdulkarim, supra note 3, at 642.
[8] Shola Lawal, Nigeria Has Become an E-Waste Dumpsite for Europe, US, and Asia, TRT WORLD (Feb. 15, 2019), https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/nigeria-has-become-an-e-waste-dumpsite-for-europe-us-and-asia-24197#:~:text=In%20Lagos%2C%20Nigeria%2C%20truckloads%20of,human%20health%20and%20the%20environment.&text=It%20is%20mostly%20plastic%20waste,to%20be%20far%20more%20dangerous.
[9] Id.
[10] Id.
[11] Id.
[12] See Okafor-Yarwood, supra note 1.
[13] Id.
[14] Id.
[15] Press Release, UN Environmental Program, Nigeria Turns the Tide on Electronic Waste, (June 19, 2019).
[16] Id.
[17] Id.
[18] Stephanie Itimi, Circular Economy: Tackling Electronic Waste in Nigeria, STEARS BUS. (Jan. 21, 2020), https://www.stearsng.com/article/circular-economy-tackling-electronic-waste-in-nigeria.
[19] Id.
[20] Id.
[21] See Lawal, supra note 8.
[22] Id.
[23] Id.
[24] See Okafor-Yarwood, supra note 1.