MTN's Ivory Coast subsidiary has installed e-Waste boxes in three Ivorian supermarkets to facilitate the collection of electronic waste. This operation is being carried out in partnership with the Promusa supermarket and the company Ewa-Paganetti, which will take care of the transport and recycling of the collected waste. A similar initiative launched in February 2019 recycled ten tonnes of waste.
Electronic and electrical waste will be able to stop hanging around with customers of Promusa supermarkets, agencies in the South Cape, North Cape and Djibi, in Ivory Coast. Over the next 12 months, they will be able to dispose of their e-waste and place it in boxes that are now located on either side of these supermarkets. Waste consists of remote controls, used batteries, telephones, etc. After the collection phase, they will then be transported and recycled by the company Ewa-Paganetti, a partner in the operation. The collection period is one year, renewable
MTN Côte d’Ivoire wants to give a second life to the electronic and electrical waste of supermarket customers through this initiative, in collaboration with its partners. A method that helps to preserve the environment and the health of populations. For MTN’s Senior Manager of Corporate Affairs, Naminsita Bakayoko, “the collection of waste from electrical and electronic equipment is a real opportunity to raise awareness among customers and the public about the need to implement responsible recycling and thus protect the health of the population.”
An electronic waste collection operation was launched the 13th of February 2019 in the municipality of Treichville, in the Abidjan area of the Petit Bassam Island. In eight months, it enabled the pan-African mobile phone company and its partners to recycle nearly ten tons of waste. In 2016, a similar operation enabled MTN Ivory Coast to recycle 72 tonnes of electronic equipment waste.
The management of electronic waste remains a concern for Ivory Coast, as for all African countries, some of which, such as Nigeria, often serve as a dumping ground for waste from Europe.
Moreover, Ivory Coast alone produces 9,000 tonnes of electronic waste each year. At the end of 2018, the government invested nearly 915 thousand euros to finance an electronic waste recycling project in the country. But the struggle is far from being over…
Luchelle Feukeng
