What happens to your phone when you upgrade to the latest model? Or the microwave once your new air fryer proves better in every way? They may still work, but the moment you decide to part with them, they become e-waste—short for waste electrical and electronic equipment, or ‘WEEE’.
E-waste is the fastest-growing waste stream in South Africa, yet most of it is not being appropriately managed, ending up at dumpsites or stockpiled in drawers and garages. Landfills are reaching capacity, valuable materials like precious metals and critical raw materials are being lost, and hazardous toxins are seeping into the environment. A better e-waste management system is clearly necessary—starting with urgent remedial action.
South Africans are working together to manage e-waste more responsibly—and we’re not alone. Around the world, other countries are also facing this growing challenge and must find ways to tackle it. Some of their approaches to finding solutions offer valuable lessons for South Africa to improve its own recycling efforts. We can bring much-needed progress to our country’s efforts by sharing knowledge and working together.
Critical elements and strategies that have been shown to drive positive change globally include the foundational e-waste management building blocks described below:
- A well-structured national—or even better, regional—WEEE policy like the EU’s WEEE Directive would establish clear guidelines on e-waste collection, processing, and funding responsibilities. This would help hold electronics manufacturers accountable for their products from production to disposal, leading to better recycling and recovery efforts. South Africa has been developing guidelines for e-waste management and has published a Draft National WEEE Policy, learning from previous policy development experiences in Colombia.
- Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations ensure manufacturers take responsibility for financing e-waste collection and recycling systems. This means they are legally required to fund and support systems that properly manage discarded electronics. South Africa has had EPR regulations in place since 2021. While there is still work to be done, learning from other countries has been crucial in addressing and overcoming challenges and clearing obstacles to enable much-needed multi-stakeholder collaboration.
- Public-private partnerships play an important role in bridging the gap between formal recycling programmes and informal waste collectors, especially in developing countries (often called the “Global South”). These collaborations help improve recycling rates and make e-waste collection safer for those involved. In South Africa, various initiatives have been introduced to connect the informal and formal recycling sectors. While progress has been made—along with some setbacks—each step provides valuable lessons for improving e-waste management.
- Retail and municipal drop-off points make it easier for consumers to dispose of and recycle their electronic waste responsibly. Ideally, this system would be supported by laws requiring retailers to accept old electronic items when selling new ones (“take-back” responsibility) and encouraging consumers to return their e-waste (“bring-back” obligation), with incentives to participate. In South Africa, some retailers, including Woolworths, Makro, and other major chains, have voluntarily set up consumer drop-off sites to support responsible e-waste disposal.
- Educational campaigns help teach people how to dispose of electronic waste safely. By raising awareness about the risks of improper disposal, these campaigns encourage consumers to take responsibility and ensure their e-waste is disposed of and recycled correctly. When people understand that hazardous materials in electronics can harm the environment, they are more likely to take action and dispose of their unwanted devices responsibly. WEEE are South Africa is committed to raising awareness to educate people on safe e-waste management. We highlight practical solutions, such as drop-off sites, to make responsible disposal easier and more accessible for consumers.
A well-structured e-waste system not only has the benefit of reducing pollution through targeted isolation, recovery, and decontamination of any hazardous materials; it also has significant economic potential due to specific “value fractions and materials”. Electronics contain valuable materials such as gold, copper, and rare earth metals, which can be recovered and reused in manufacturing new products instead of being lost in landfills. By investing in practical strategies to recycle electronic waste, South Africa could reduce its dependence on mining and imports, create more jobs in the recycling sector, and move toward a more sustainable, circular economy—where resources are reused instead of wasted.
Case studies: What other Countries are doing to Better Manage and Recycle Electronic Waste
India’s E-Waste Management: Integrating the Informal Sector
As the third-largest producer of e-waste globally, India has faced significant challenges in managing its growing electronic waste stream. In just 5 years (between 2019 and 2024), India’s e-waste surged by 73%. India’s reliance on an extensive informal recycling sector, widespread illegal dumping issues, and a lack of proper treatment facilities make e-waste management a complex challenge for the country. The informal sector (made up of waste pickers and small dismantlers) plays a crucial role in e-waste collection but often functions under hazardous conditions and lacks proper disposal facilities. However, India has made strides with progressive regulations, public-private partnerships, and formalisation efforts aiming to manage and recycle electronic waste more safely and efficiently.
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations
First introduced in 2011, India’s e-waste regulations focus heavily on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). Under EPR mandates, manufacturers, importers, and retailers must:
- Collect and recycle electronic waste through registered recyclers.
- Meet strict collection targets (set at 20% of 2024-2025 sales for 2025-2026).
- File annual and quarterly reports on e-waste management.
- Raise consumer awareness about responsible disposal.
- Collaborate with Producer Responsibility Organisations (PROs) to streamline efforts to recycle electronic waste.
These policies push producers to take accountability while incentivising the shift toward a formal recycling system.
Public-private partnerships
With 90% of India’s e-waste processed informally in hubs like North East Delhi, the government has recognised the importance of integrating informal workers into the formal economy. This includes incentivising informal collectors, improving working conditions, and offering training programmes to strengthen safe dismantling and recycling practices. One such initiative is E[co]work, a structured co-working space designed for WEEE waste pickers and small e-waste businesses to improve working conditions and efficiency. Partnerships between PROs and informal collectors have also helped scale up responsible e-waste recycling.
Lessons for South Africa: Strengthening regulations & creating a safe work environment for informal waste collectors
Like India, South Africa relies heavily on informal waste collectors. Without their efforts, around 90% of the post-consumer packaging waste that gets recycled today—waste that often starts in household bins, on curbsides, or in landfills—would never reach a recycling facility. We can take inspiration from India’s e-waste model by strengthening laws and regulations surrounding e-waste, improving the integration of informal recyclers (referred to locally as ‘waste pickers’) into the WEEE value chain, and establishing public-private partnerships to improve e-waste management.
Ghana’s E-Waste Management: Transitioning to Safer, More Sustainable Solutions
Ghana’s e-waste sector has long been dominated by informal collectors and recyclers, who focus only on extracting valuable materials like copper, steel, and aluminium from discarded electronics—a practice known as “cherry-picking”. They use unsafe methods to recover these materials while leaving behind low-value waste, which often leads to serious health and environmental risks. Agbogbloshie was once a scrapyard in the heart of Accra, cited globally as one of the most polluted places on earth.
With growing domestic e-waste consumption and global restrictions on waste exports, Ghana has recognised the urgent need to transition toward a safer, more structured e-waste management system. In recent years, government regulations, international partnerships, and formalisation efforts have begun reshaping the country’s approach to e-waste.
Government initiatives
A key milestone was the introduction of the Hazardous and Electronic Waste Control and Management Act (Act 917) in 2016, which introduced stricter controls on e-waste imports and mandated the payment of an eco-levy on electronic goods. Formal regulations were established around how to recycle electronic waste to ensure environmentally sound waste management, in line with international agreements like the Basel Convention – a global agreement in charge of the sales and movement of hazardous waste between countries to prevent pollution and protect people’s health.
Formalisation efforts
Act 917 helped set the foundation for a formalised e-waste sector in Ghana, requiring recyclers, refurbishers, and collection centres to register with Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). However, informal methods to recycle electronic waste remain dominant, as unregulated waste collectors offer quick cash incentives. This makes it difficult for formal recyclers, who must adhere to health and safety standards (for which they incur additional costs) to compete. To address this, stakeholders are exploring Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) systems – a model that has been successful in other countries like India. This would require manufacturers to take financial and operational responsibility for the disposal of their products.
International partnerships
International support has also been instrumental in pushing sustainable e-waste initiatives in Ghana. Funded by the European Union, the E-MAGIN Ghana project is helping to implement Act 917 by establishing e-waste collection networks, supporting micro-enterprises in safe dismantling practices, and raising public awareness about safe ways to dispose of and recycle electronic waste.
International organisations like the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have stepped in, launching the Waste Recovery Platform to connect key players in the waste sector, facilitate stakeholder engagement, and provide funding and training opportunities for waste collectors. These partnerships have accelerated the development of formal recycling centres, reducing reliance on hazardous dismantling methods while creating employment opportunities in the circular economy.Initiatives like the Sustainable Recycling Industries (SRI) project are also working to bridge the gap between formal and informal sectors by merging informal waste collectors into a regulated system: offering technical training, improving recycling technologies, and developing sustainable business models for e-waste entrepreneurs.
Lessons for South Africa: Strengthening policy, financing, and global partnerships
Ghana’s experience offers South Africa valuable lessons in the importance of strong legislation, financial mechanisms like EPR levies, and international collaborations in driving sustainable e-waste management. Equally important is establishing legally enforced minimum operational framework conditions. These should leverage the strengths of the informal sector—such as its efficiency in collection—while discouraging unsafe practices, particularly the hazardous extraction of valuable materials. Financial disincentives should be in place to prevent e-waste handling and salvaging that harms workers and the environment.
Brazil’s E-Waste Management: Government-led Take-Back Programmes and Reverse Logistics
Brazil is the largest generator of e-waste in Latin America, producing approximately 2.1 million tonnes of electronic waste annually. Only a fraction of this e-waste is recycled properly, with much of it either stored in homes, disposed of in landfills, or processed through informal channels. To address this growing issue, Brazil has introduced government-led take-back programmes and reverse logistics regulations aimed at holding producers accountable and improving waste recovery efforts.
Regulations & collaborations
The introduction of the National Solid Waste Policy (PNRS) in 2010 established a polluter-pays principle requiring manufacturers, importers, and retailers to take responsibility for the lifecycle of their products. Under the PNRS, the reverse logistics system for e-waste was formalised, requiring that producers, distributors, and retailers provide collection systems and ways to recycle their electronic waste.
Electronics manufacturers now collaborate with waste management entities to establish dedicated collection networks, ensuring that e-waste is properly processed rather than ending up in landfills or informal recycling operations.
Challenges with enforcement and public participation
The success of policies like the PNRS depends on effective enforcement and public participation—two areas where Brazil faces issues. The country’s vast geography and scattered waste management system make it challenging to bring all individuals and businesses that manage and recycle electronic waste into a unified process. While some regions, particularly the South and Southeast, have established formal e-waste recycling facilities, many municipalities lack adequate infrastructure, leading to high transportation costs and reliance on exporting materials to foreign facilities for processing.
Public awareness of e-waste practices in Brazil additionally remains low, with many consumers discarding e-waste alongside regular household items or storing obsolete devices at home rather than taking advantage of designated drop-off points.
Another key challenge is to meaningfully and, most importantly, safely integrate the informal sector, which plays a significant role in Brazil’s waste management system. Many waste pickers operate outside of regulatory frameworks, recovering valuable materials from e-waste – but often under unsafe and environmentally hazardous conditions. Some initiatives, such as waste picker cooperatives and training programmes in São Paulo, have shown promise in transitioning informal workers into the formal sector, but inconsistencies in regulation enforcement and lack of proper documentation remain a drawback to Brazil’s success in this area.
Lessons for South Africa: How policy enforcement can drive accountability
Brazil’s experience highlights for South Africa the importance of policy enforcement in driving producer accountability, expanding formal infrastructure to recycle electronic waste, and creating an enabling environment for informal recyclers and their valuable contributions.
Kenya’s E-Waste Management: Leveraging Technology and Community Engagement
Kenya is tackling its e-waste challenges through tech-driven collection solutions, innovative start-ups, and strong community engagement. With over 50,000 tonnes of e-waste generated annually, improper disposal remains a major concern. However, a growing number of mobile-based waste management applications, awareness campaigns, and recycling enterprises are transforming Kenya’s approach to dispose of and recycle electronic waste responsibly.
App-based e-waste collection solutions
One standout initiative is the Clean Kenya app, developed by SnooCODE, which allows users to report waste management issues by capturing and geotagging photos. This technology-driven approach ensures faster and more efficient waste collection by directly linking consumers with waste service providers. Similarly, Taka Pay, a Machakos-based recycling start-up, has launched a digital platform using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to map customer locations, track waste collection routes, and monitor the performance of waste operators. These innovations make waste collection more streamlined and accessible, encouraging higher participation for individuals to responsibly dispose of and recycle any waste, including electronic waste.
Role of start-ups in e-waste awareness and responsible disposal
Kenyan start-ups have also played a vital role in e-waste management. The WEEE Centre, based in Nairobi, has established collection centres across Kenya, where electronic waste is collected, dismantled, and separated into valuable materials such as plastics, copper, and rubber for resale to manufacturers. This approach not only diverts e-waste from landfills but also supports job creation and a circular economy. What makes their work particularly unique is that some recovered materials and components from e-waste are repurposed into entirely new products.Meanwhile, E-Waste Initiative Kenya (EWIK) focuses on community education and youth training programmes, running workshops and public campaigns across regions like Mombasa, Kitui, and Nairobi to raise awareness about e-waste hazards and opportunities to recycle electronic waste. By equipping young people with skills in refurbishment, repair, and recycling, these programmes help create employment while encouraging environmental responsibility.
Lessons for South Africa: Leveraging technology to improve collection rates
For South Africa, Kenya’s success highlights the potential of technology-driven solutions to improve e-waste collection rates. By leveraging mobile apps for reporting and tracking waste, expanding localised collection centres, and engaging communities in education and skills development, South Africa can develop a more inclusive and efficient system to manage and recycle electronic waste, encouraging responsible disposal at all levels of society.
Key Takeaways for South Africa
The studies of India, Ghana, Brazil, and Kenya showcase innovative and effective approaches to tackling e-waste management challenges. While each country has its unique strategy, the common thread is strong policies, legally enforced producer responsibility, multi-stakeholder-based dialogue, technological integration, and community involvement. For South Africa, these examples provide a blueprint for building a more structured, inclusive, and sustainable e-waste system.
By learning from these global examples, South Africa can take key steps to improve its efforts to responsibly manage and recycle electronic waste.
EPR regulations
- Strengthening EPR regulations ensures that manufacturers take full responsibility for the collection, recycling, and safe disposal of electronic products.
Waste picker integration into the WEEE value chain
- Recognising and integrating waste pickers into the formal WEEE value chain creates entrepreneurship and job opportunities and improves working conditions.
- Proper enforcement of Waste Picker Integration Guidelines will help promote inclusive and responsible waste management.
- Training and upskilling programmes provide waste pickers with safer, more efficient methods to recycle electronic waste responsibly and safely, leading to better income stability.
E-waste collection networks
- Expanding retail and municipal drop-off points make it easier for consumers to responsibly recycle electronic waste.
- Public-private partnerships encourage investment in regional collection centres, improving nationwide e-waste recovery rates.
Technology-driven waste management
- Digital solutions like mobile waste tracking apps optimise collection efficiency and reduce operational costs.
- GIS-based systems improve route planning, making e-waste collection faster and more cost-effective.
Stronger public-private collaboration
- Partnerships between government, manufacturers, PROs, and waste management entities drive innovation and investment in sustainable e-waste solutions.
- Access to global funding and technical expertise enhances local recycling infrastructure and boosts circular economy initiatives.
Increased public awareness and consumer participation
- National education campaigns promote responsible ways to better and more inclusively manage electronic waste, leading to higher collection rates and reduced environmental pollution.
- Encouraging communities to reuse, repair, and recycle electronic waste promotes long-term sustainability and reduces reliance on raw material extraction.
The Future of E-Waste Management in South Africa
The road ahead requires commitment, innovation, and collaboration, but the future benefits are undeniable. A structured system to dispose of and recycle electronic waste will help reduce environmental harm, create economic opportunities, conserve resources, and drive South Africa toward a circular economy. The time to act is now—bold e-waste solutions can pave the way for a cleaner, more sustainable future for South Africa.
We invite you to share your experiences and tips to recycle electronic waste in the comments below or join our discussions on social media platforms. Explore our resources, find certified recyclers that fit your needs, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn to learn more about e-waste.
Further Resources
To find out more about local e-waste management solutions and to find certified recyclers in South Africa, check out these resources:
- eWASA: Visit eWASA for a map of members, including e-waste recyclers across the country.
- Circular Energy: Learn about their e-waste collection services at Circular Energy.
- ERA: Find more recycling options and drop-off points through ERA.
- SRI: Learn about Sustainable Recycling Industries’ recycling initiatives.
- WEEE are SA: Reach out to us or find out more about us on our website.
