The Philippines has launched a national project aimed at improving the management of electronic waste and promoting repair, reuse, and recycling as the growing consumption of electronic devices puts pressure on the country's fragmented collection and recovery systems.
Often sold without any labeling information and warning, these pretty ornaments from recycled plastic could be packed with some of the most harmful substances found in electronic waste or e-waste.
Environmental health groups EcoWaste Coalition and Greenpeace have nudged the Philippine government to ban the importation of electronic waste, or e-waste, like what Thailand has recently done.
A waste and pollution watchdog has urged the Philippine government to ban the importation of electronic waste as it noted that 53.6 million tons were generated of e-waste in 2019, according to a newly-released UN’s Global E-waste Monitor 2020.
A study has found harmful effects on human cells of dioxins in plastic children’s toys such as those made of black plastic, which is often obtained from recycled e-waste plastic with flame retardant chemicals.
Latest estimates show that the world now discards approximately 50 million tons of e-waste per year, greater in weight than all of the commercial airliners ever made or enough Eiffel towers to fill Manhattan.
Senator Nancy Binay has proposed the enactment of a law prohibiting the disposal of electronic devices and gadgets such as laptops, desktop computers, and flat TVs in any solid waste management facilities in the country.
