The University of Johannesburg (UJ) and the Gauteng Department of e-Government have collaborated to establish the Gauteng e-Waste Management System, which is aimed at tackling the province’s mounting e-waste problem and addressing the challenges of poorly coordinated e-waste management in the province.  

The project will be launched on February 18.

The system is being implemented as a way to help improve the collection, recycling and safe disposal of defunct electronic devices in Gauteng. The project aims to instil a culture of recycling electronics by helping to educate Gauteng residents on issues of e-waste.

As the economic hub of South Africa, Gauteng continues to accumulate significant quantities of e-waste owing to widespread use of electronic technologies such as home appliances, mobile phones and computers by residents.

About 360 000 t of e-waste is generated each year across South Africa, with Gauteng responsible for about 55% of that. 

According to the United Nations’ ‘Global E-waste Monitor 2020’ report, about 53.6-million tons of e-waste were generated globally in 2019, with about $57-billion worth of gold and other valuable metals discarded rather than recycled. Only about 17.4% was recycled.

“Through this project, the Gauteng provincial government aims to achieve a sustainable e-waste management solution that will ensure a clean, healthy and safe environment.

“The e-waste management system will also assist in inspiring creativity among the youth, to be able to recycle and create something meaningful from discarded gadgets,” said Gauteng e-Government MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko on February 16.

Nkomo-Ralehoko will be leading the e-Government project on behalf of the provincial government. She added that the project would further assist in stimulating the economy through small, medium-sized and microenterprise (SMME) support and job creation.

UJ Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Internationalisation Professor Saurabh Sinha noted that the rapid pace of the Fourth Industrial Revolution had compelled all sectors of society to consider novel solutions to current problems.

“Among other issues, South Africa and Africa as a whole are confronted with massive mountaintops of unused electronic devices, most notably computers, which are either stored, dumped or imported, as well as tumultuous electrical and electronic waste that is growing at an exponential rate,” he said, adding that the growth of e-waste outstripped Africa's contemporary information and communication technology challenges. 

Sinha said the collaboration between the Gauteng Department of e-Government and UJ represented a “coming together of minds” to implement a strategy that would create an enabling environment for unlocking the potential of e-waste in South Africa by allowing for an equitable profit distribution across the value chain and allowing for participation in public-private partnerships by SMMEs and the informal sector.