The DSF teams up with Hewlett-Packard and the Empa to recycle electronic waste in Africa.

Whether newly acquired or recycled, electronic equipment (which contains toxic components) poses serious environmental and public health problems when it reaches the end of its life. As the DSF supplies digital equipment, it must also encompass its management, particularly its disposal.

The management of “e-waste” is all the more urgent in developing countries where, for economic reasons, second hand equipment is often used. We must ensure that the transfer of technology to developing countries does not prove to be more of a curse than a blessing for the most deprived populations.

Consequently, the DSF has decided to focus – through a partnership with Hewlett Packard and the Empa (the Swiss materials science and technology research institute) – on ways of effectively managing electronic waste. Projects are planned in four African countries: Kenya, Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal. The outcome of these projects will be concrete proposals designed to protect the people of Africa from the damaging effects of e-waste, and make the processing of e-waste more viable by creating jobs and improving working conditions in this sector. An e-waste recycling pilot project is also being carried out in South Africa, in collaboration with HP and the Empa.