The general flow of e-waste in Nigeria starts with the importers who in most cases double as brokers. They work closely with the Lagos sea port authorities. The importers operate under the umbrella of Computer and Allied Product Dealer Association of Nigeria (CAPDAN) a regulatory body in charge of coordinating affairs in the IT industry. Importers purchase containers by its weight and not by the value of what is inside them. Medium/high quality gadgets are taken for repair/refurbishing and then are sold, usually, in the Ikeja Computer village or Alaba International market. Those considered scraps or junk are taken to different land-fills spread around the city [5] [2] [3]. The Lagos state Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) delivers the collected waste to three official dumpsites in Lagos Olusosun dumpsite, Igodun and Ikorodu. In there, several thousands of non-registered individuals, including children, widely referred to as “scavengers”, work to collect and recycle e-waste. In few cases, waste picker communities or waste scavengers living on or next to the dump sites sort valuable e-waste and sell the recovered metals such as steel, aluminum and copper dealing directly with end-processing units (such as industries who re-melt and refineries). However, the common practice among recyclers is to sell extracted materials to middle-men who take them to end processing units. Many recyclers are also active in the collection of other kind of waste. [8] [5] [7]. |
The e-waste sector poses serious health and environmental risk for both the immediate neighbouring communities at the dumpsites and the workers. However, the latter are economically tied to continuing the occupation
| Name | E-waste in Lagos, Nigeria |
| Country | Nigeria |
| Province | Lagos State |
| Site | Lagos |
| Accuracy of Location | MEDIUM regional level |
| Type of Conflict (1st level) | Waste Management |
| Type of Conflict (2nd level) | Landfills, toxic waste treatment, uncontrolled dump sites |
| Specific Commodities | E-waste Industrial waste Domestic municipal waste Recycled Metals |
| Project Details | In Nigeria an estimated 500 containers carrying about 500,000 second-hand computer and related electronic equipment enter the country each month. It is estimated that 45% comes from the U.S and another 45% from the EU. About 75% of these devices is obsolete and unserviceable, so it is collected in to three official dumpsites in Lagos: Olusosun dumpsite, Igodun Dumpsite and Ikorodu. The dumpsites ages range between 12 - 25 years and they have a combined capacity of 63.67 hectares. In the decade 1997 – 2007 the estimated tonnes of waste deposited in the 3 landfill sites were about 27 Mio tonnes [9]. The Olusosun is the biggest of the existing three landfills in Lagos State, covering 41.7 hectares and receiving 40 per cent of the wastes being generated in the state. The Olusosun site receives 11,000 metric tonnes of wastes, delivered by 300 trucks everyday. The site had received 40 million metric tonnes since November, 1992 when it was established [4]. Working registered population at the dump sites at Olusosun, Odo iya alaro, Alaba rago is between 600- 4000 [9]. Obsolete computers are literally regarded as a ‘gold mine’: a metric ton of electronic scrap from used computers contains more gold than can be extracted from a 17 ton gold ore [8]. Medium/high quality gadgets taken for repair/refurbishing are then sold in the huge Ikeja Computer village. This huge market has a size of about 1.1 km, is no longer completely residential but occupies well over 3,000 businesses in new computers, mobile phones, printers and communication equipment. The market serves as an outlet for Lagos and Nigeria as well as the neighboring West African countries. As the market is unplanned, it has experienced growing pains. Some local residents are upset at the expanding market. Traffic around the area has become very congested, and it can be almost impossible to find a place to park. The electrical infrastructure, already overloaded and unreliable, has become highly stressed with the new market. Computer and electronics stores require power to work on computers and demonstrate their products to potential customers, and this added load has made the supply erratic [5]. |
| Type of Population | Urban |
| Start Date | 01/01/1992 |
| Environmental justice organisations and other supporters | Basel Action Network (BAN) http://www.ban.org/ |
| Intensity of Conflict (at highest level) | LATENT (no visible organising at the moment) |
| When did the mobilization begin | LATENT (no visible resistance) |
| Groups Mobilizing | Informal workers Neighbours/citizens/communities |
| Environmental Impacts | Visible: Air pollution, Fires, Floods (river, coastal, mudflow), Loss of landscape/aesthetic degradation, Noise pollution, Soil contamination, Waste overflow, Surface water pollution / Decreasing water (physico-chemical, biological) quality, Groundwater pollution or depletion, Reduced ecological / hydrological connectivity Potential: Biodiversity loss (wildlife, agro-diversity), Genetic contamination, Global warming, Soil erosion, Oil spills, Deforestation and loss of vegetation cover, Mine tailing spills, Other Environmental impacts |
| Health Impacts | Visible: Exposure to unknown or uncertain complex risks (radiation, etc…), Occupational disease and accidents, Other environmental related diseases Potential: Accidents, Mental problems including stress, depression and suicide, Infectious diseases, Deaths |
| Socio-economic Impacts | Visible: Lack of work security, labour absenteeism, firings, unemployment, Violations of human rights Potential: Increase in Corruption/Co-optation of different actors, Loss of livelihood, Social problems (alcoholism, prostitution, etc..), Loss of landscape/sense of place |
| Project Status | In operation |
| Do you consider this as a success? | No |
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| Contributor | Carla Petricca |
| Last update | 02/05/2017 |