DENR outlines steps for electronic waste

by Janina C. Lim, Businessmirror, Apr 6, 2017

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has launched a $35 million project designed to deal with the expanding problem of electronic waste (e-waste), which contains hazardous substances like mercury and lead.

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The Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) conducted last month a workshop for the new project to be implemented in five years, according to the agency’s statement released Wednesday

The project will support the safe disposal of 600 tons of Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) oil and PCB-contaminated equipment from 26 of the country’s 121 electric cooperatives, as well as 1,150 kilograms of Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) from 50,000 cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors.

It will further ensure the safe disposal of around 225 tons of lead-containing glass.

The project aims to protect human health and the environment through sound management of PCBs for electric cooperatives and PBDEs in e-wastes,

PCBs and PBDEs are highly toxic chemicals of global concern that are targeted for elimination under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), an international treaty to which the Philippines is a party.

The project will support the safe disposal of 600 tons of PCB oil and PCB-contaminated equipment from 26 of the country’s 121 electric cooperatives, as well as 1,150 kilograms of PBDEs from 50,000 CRT monitors.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) will fund the project with a grant of $6.2 million, with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) as the GEF implementing agency.

Public and private stakeholders, including the Development Bank of the Philippines, are also co-financing the project.

“This is a long standing global issue. However, for a developing country like ours, so much have to be learned about POPs, especially by the workers who are vulnerable to exposure and by women whose exposure can be passed on to their children,” said DENR Assistant Secretary for International Affairs and Foreign Assisted and Special Projects Rommel R. Abesamis in the statement.

The project seeks to strengthen legislation and institutional capacity in implementing the PBDE Action Plan, as well as the reducing and gradually eliminating POP-PBDE releases from e-waste to mitigate adverse potential health and environmental impacts.

It also aims to draw up ways for the effective implementation of the management plans of selected electric cooperatives for PCB oil and PCB-contaminated transformers, capacitors, circuit breakers and other electrical equipment. —