Robert Egbe

| The Nations Newspaper |

The E-waste Producer Responsibility Organisation Nigeria (C) has urged stakeholders to collaborate in achieving sound management of electronic waste (e-waste). It said this was key to implementing the Federal Government’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programme for the Electrical Electronics sector.

The organisation spoke in Lagos at the inaugural meeting of EPRON Advisory Council. EPRON is the Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) Industry led social enterprise which co-ordinates “efficient, cost-effective and environmentally sound management of end of life EEE.”

The meeting featured private and public sector members of EPRON’s board, including Director-General/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Environmental Standard and Regulatory Enforcement Agency (NESREA) Prof Aliyu Jauro, and Managing Director of Globetech Remedial Ltd Mr Ola Oresanya.

Prof. Jauro observed that EPR shifted responsibility for waste management from government to private sector, “obliging producers, importers and/or sellers to internalise waste management costs in their product prices and ensure environmentally safe handling of their products…” According to him, the “EPR programme has come to stay and it is an important strategy of the Federal Government to promote circular economy in e-waste management aid control. The decision of the council is key to the operation of the EPR value chain and it will have a direct bearing on the environment and human health.”

For Oresanya, who spoke has the EPRON’s interim board chairman, the effective operation of e-waste Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs) contained dynamics, such as “appropriate enforcement, involvement of the informal sector, development of appropriate collection and recycling standards, determination of collection incentives and fees for treatment of hazardous fractions.

“All of these are not issues a Producer-led PRO should face alone, you will agree with me that a multi-stakeholder approach is required. In that regard, the board of EPRON requires the collaboration of other critical stakeholders to drive the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) plan of the Electrical and Electronic Equipment sector.

“Hence the need for an advisory council and this inaugural meeting. This council would represent the interest of all stakeholder groups: Producers, Recyclers, the Informal sector, Private and Public sector and environmental authorities who would be responsible for overseeing the entire system.”

Other EPRON members at the event were Comptroller-General of Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) Muhammed Babandede; Director-General of Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) Babatunde Irukera, represented by head of FCCPC’s Lagos Office Suzie Onwuka.

Present too were Director-General of Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) Osita Aboloma; Director-General of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) Mr. Segun Ajayi-Kadir; and CEO of E-Terra Technologies Ltd Ifeanyi Ochonogor.