The Ivorian government has launched a project to facilitate the management of electronic waste and used tyres. The project is divided into three phases and will help to rid Ivorian cities of the waste that has littered its streets to date. The completion of the project costs about €915,000 and will create many green jobs.
Ivory Coast wants to dispose of the electrical and electronic waste and used tyres that litter the streets of its cities. The government in partnership with the General Monitoring Company (SGS) and the African Recycling Company (SAR) wants to set up a system for the management of waste. The project was launched on Tuesday, November 27, 2018 in Abidjan, the Ivorian economic capital.
The first phase of the project will be mainly analytical. Products imported into the country will be registered and then competent officials will ensure that they are indeed second-hand, as declared, and not electronic or pneumatic waste prohibited for export under the provisions of the Basel Convention.
During the second phase of the project, it will be possible to collect the eco-tax on the products concerned, which are imported into Ivory Coast, in accordance with the “polluter-pays” principle and the extended producer responsibility (REP). The eco-taxes will be transferred to the government’s coffers.
The third and final step will be to set up a waste management system, consisting of collection, treatment and recycling centres for collected objects. These centres will be located in strategic locations throughout the country. The first two phases will be led by SGS and the last by SAR.
A project that benefits in more than one way
According to the coordinator of the national waste management programme, Jacques Kouassi Koffi, the project “will significantly reduce the environmental impact of this waste and enable Ivory Coast to make a major contribution to the fight against climate change”.
The waste management project will generate nearly 5,000 green jobs, according to government estimates. It is a boon for a country where the official unemployment rate is around 25%. The implementation of this project will cost the Ivorian government CFAF 60 billion, over 915,000 euros.
In the country, the quantity of used tyres and electronic waste is estimated at nearly 9,000 tonnes per year.
Luchelle Feukeng
