A European study has found that large volumes of used electrical and electronic equipment (UEEE) that does not even work are being shipped to Nigeria, in breach of rules. Much of this arrives without being declared as UEEE, but is mixed instead with motor vehicles and furniture, for example. More than three quarters of the goods assessed came from the EU.
The two-year study co-authored by the Basel Convention Coordinating Centre for Africa (BCCC Africa) and the Sustainable Cycles (SCYCLE) Programme of United Nations University Vice-Rectorate in Europe found low regulatory compliance when it comes to exports of used electrical and electronic equipment (UEEE) to Nigeria, mostly from European ports.
The study found that none of the illegal shipments resulted in consequences for the exporters or importers. Due to the conditions in the ports, only basic functionality testing was possible, the report says. Actual volumes of non-functional UEEE imports are probably higher than estimated.
Limited functionality testing revealed that, of the UEEE sent to Nigeria from other countries in 2015 and 2016 -- assessed at around 60,000 metric tonnes in both years -- at least 15,400 tonnes did not function.
This annual volume of imported e-waste, prohibited under both the Basel Convention and the EU's Waste Shipment Directive, is enough to fill a 10 kilometre line of fully loaded, 36-tonne, eighteen-wheel trucks.
The study also revealed that almost 70 percent (41,500 tonnes) of the UEEE reaching Lagos each year arrived in vehicles destined for Nigeria's second-hand automobile market, an import route never before thoroughly assessed. Another 18,300 tonnes arrived in shipping containers.
The study says UEEE imported to Nigeria often arrives mixed with other goods such as bicycles, kitchenware, sports equipment and furniture. More than 60 percent of the UEEE imported in containers was declared in official paperwork to be household goods or personal effects.
UEEE imported in used vehicles was mostly undeclared. By weight, LCD-TVs and flat panel monitors made up the largest category (18%) of imported UEEE. Over half (55%) of these were found to be non-functioning e-waste.
The second largest category -- CRT-TVs and CRT-monitors (14%) -- are formally banned from importation. Photocopying machines made up 13 percent, refrigerators 12 percent, desktop CPUs 7 percent, air conditioners, speakers and washing machines, each 6 percent, printers 5 percent, and DVDs 4 percent.
Of the UEEE imported inside roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) used vehicles, the vast majority (98%) came from EU member states. The rest came from the US. Another 18,300 tonnes were imported in containers, originating predominantly from ports in the EU (29%), China (24%) and the US (20%).
Around 77 percent of the assessed UEEE imports originated from ports in the EU, mainly from Germany and the UK (around 20% each), followed by Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain and Ireland (between 9% and 6%). China and the US each accounted for around 7 percent of the total imports.
The report notes that some of the devices can and will be repaired in Nigeria. Nevertheless, exporting to and importing non-functional UEEE into Nigeria are illegal under the Basel Convention. Under it, only UEEE that is functional and for reuse may be shipped.
