All Photos by Kale Luaton, PMPI Comms Unit.
Quezon City, Philippines – A book entitled, “The Number You Have Dialed cannot be Reached: The Social Life of Retired Cell Phones” highlighting the problem of electronic waste in the Philippines and its global character was launched today April 22 in time for the Earth Day celebration.
The research paper was done under the auspices of Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc. (PMPI) by Prof. Eli Guieb III of the University of the Philippines.
The PMPI is conducting a campaign to push for alternatives to mining – urban mining in particular – which seeks to recycle and recover minerals inside discarded electronic products particularly cellphones, the most popular electronic products in the Philippines. The research tried to uncover the afterlife of cellular phones and other Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (WEE) through the eyes of informal and formal WEE collectors, recyclers, & traders.
According to Prof. Eli Guieb III, “These vigorous informal trading of e-waste supports our argument that to many, an old cellular phone is poised for the trash bin but for communities of Aroma and Payatas, e-waste are re-used and recycled, and are therefore rendered different, if not, better socio-economic values. He said, “We propose the term E-Scrap as the more appropriate term in this context.”
Moreover, the book explains the nexus of mining and production of electronic gadgets, citing minerals inside a cellular phones “…contain(s) 3,800 milligrams (mg) (or 0.0038 kg) of silver, 1,500 mg (0.0015 kg) of gold, 300 mg (0.0003 kg) of palladium, and 330,000 mg (or 0.33 kg) of copper.”
Thus if multiplied to 41 million subscribers in the Philippines, PMPI said that it can recover a sizeable amount of minerals if proper technology is applied. Moreover, if these mineral can be mined, recycled, and re-used in future manufacturing of products this will lessen the need to open new mines.”
E-Waste is a Global Problem
It’s either thrown as residual waste, incinerated, or disposed in land-fills in higher income countries, while the rest are traded, collected, and recycled in alarming conditions. The amount of e-waste generated at the global level was about the same size as 4,700 Eiffel Towers, but only 20% end up in landfills or incineration facilities.
The United Nations University Global E-waste Monitor published in 2017 also report that e-waste generation have reached 44.7 Million Metric Tonnes but 80% end up in undocumented places.
The same report said that Asia is the largest producer of e-waste in 2016, with China being the highest in the region and the world, producing an average of 7.2 Metric Tonnes, while the Philippines produced just under 3 kgs. per inhabitant.
The E-scrap book by Guieb III and PMPI states otherwise, “The Philippines is an importing country of e-waste from neighboring Asian countries and the U.S, citing several studies, the research reveal – 300,000 units of used mobile phones from Hongkong, 50,000 mobile phone parts and 10,000 pre-owned computers from South Korea in 2009 alone”.
Extended Producers Responsibility Bill Important
In response to another potentially growing environment and health hazard in the form of e-waste, the Philippine Misereor Partnership, Inc. and other environmental groups Ban Toxics, EcoWaste Coalition, and Greenpeace Philippines will lobby for the passage of the “Extended Producers Responsibility Bill” this coming 18th Congress. The bill seeks to broaden the responsibility of electronic and electrical manufacturers to engineer long-lasting and higher quality products and materials and effective policies for re-use, recycling, and reduction of wastes’ impact on the environment.
Yolly Esguerra, National Coordinator of PMPI during the book launch stated, “The results contained in this book is our contribution to the on-going public discussion on the protection of our environment. She added, “There are no current environmental policy in the country that governs the nature of e-scrap and its potential environment and the health risks.
We also hope that this becomes part of the agenda of candidates from the local to the national electoral arena. We intend to share this to our legislators and hopefully become the basis for the passage into law the “Extended Producers Responsibility Bill” Esguerra added.
Thony Dizon of EcoWaste Coalition added, “Our proposal is a partnership between the National Government, business sector, environmental groups, and informal and formal recyclers on the take-back of discarded electronics and electrical equipment under a more environmentally-responsible, humane and healthy conditions.“
Call to Protect our Common Home
Fr. Edu Gariguez, CBCP/NASSA Caritas Executive Secretary, a known environmental advocate, during the book launch said, “We are one with Pope Francis in critiquing the culture of consumerism which promotes irresponsible use and disposal of gadgets, with no plan for recycling. This so called throw-away culture has to stop, and recycling strategy such as E-Scrap has to be pursued.
PMPI in its statement also echoed Pope Francis’s call for protecting our common home and an ecological conversion, “There are many things that need to change course, but it is we human beings above all who need to change. We lack an awareness of our common origin, of our mutual belonging and a future to be shared by everyone. This basic awareness would enable the development of new convictions, attitudes and forms of life: “A great cultural, spiritual and educational challenge stands before us, and it will demand that we set out to on the long path of renewal to protect our common home”
The E-Scrap campaign also calls for personal change in lifestyle, a Sapat-Lifestyle campaign where the rich are called to divest and share its excess while the poor should have more towards sufficiency.
The Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc. (PMPI) is a social development and advocacy network of 250 plus Philippine church/faith-based groups, non-governmental organizations and people’s organization spread all over the country, in partnership with Misereor, a social development arm of the German Bishops based in Aachen, Germany.
