Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Professor Umar Garba Danbatta explained the importance of having a proper legal framework to regulate e-waste in the telecommunications sector, stating that e-waste was now becoming the fastest growing waste stream in the world. In his address, the EVC cited a recent report by the World Economic Forum which estimated that this waste stream increased by about 48.5 million tonnes in 2018. He defined e-waste as electrical or electronic equipment that is waste, including all components, sub-assemblies, and consumables that are 2 part of the equipment at the time the equipment becomes waste. While noting that over 75% of electronics imported into Nigeria were irreparable and toxic junk, he stated that this menace remains rampant due to the low GDP per capita/low income and the desperate quest for information by Nigerians. He further opined that the prevalence of e-waste has raised a lot of pollution issues which should be managed, because of the resultant effects on humans and the environment.
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