Imported Toxic E-Waste in the Philippines

E-waste is becoming an increasing problem where disposed electronic and electrical equipment from developed economies are exported in developing countries like the Philippines in large amounts. The e-waste brings alarming risks to the environmental safety and human health of these countries.

According to the United Nations’ Global E-waste Monitor in 2020, the Philippine government was urged by a pollution and waste watchdog group to ban the importation of e-waste as the production of these wastes across the globe generated up to 53.6 million tons in 2019 due to the higher consumption rates of electronic and electrical equipment.

Based on research by numerous universities, environmental groups, and the United Nations, e-waste is a globally increasing issue, especially for developing countries like the Philippines, which function as destinations for exported e-waste from developed countries. The e-waste is an appealing proposition to poor communities, where it is mostly processed by hand, to extract metals such as palladium, gold, copper, and silver.

The generation of e-waste globally, which is determined under the agreement of the Basel Convention as hazardous waste because of  the presence of lead, mercury, brominated flame retardants, and other toxic substances, is expected to reach about 74.7 million tons by 2030.

According to the report of the Global E-Waste Monitor, low and middle income countries have either not yet fully developed or have an entirely absent e-waste management infrastructure. Therefore, e-waste management is mostly done by the informal sector. In this case, the handling of e-waste is often done under inferior conditions, causing grievous effects on health to workers as well as to the children who often work, play, and live near activities that manage e-waste.

In March 2020, the report "Waste Trade in the Philippines" was released where EcoWaste Coalition and Greenpeace Philippines warned that other numerous waste shipments, toxic or municipal waste from all over the world, were entering the country regularly through both illegal and legal means.

In 2018, the waste imports from Pyeongtaek City, South Korea, arrived at the Mindanao Container Terminal in Tagoloan in two batches, and even despite complex diplomatic channels amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, these were packed in 364 containers in seven batches between Jan 13, 2019 and Sept 15, 2020. 

Canada is another country that imports e-waste to the Philippines during the years 2013 and 2014 by using a private company without the consent of the government. 

There was about 2,400-ton of trash that was mislabelled as plastics for recycling, and these were sent back in May 2019 to Canada after it was declared illegal by a local court.

According to the EcoWaste and Greenpeace report, the Philippines will remain vulnerable to the continuous exploitation if policy measures were not made to close its borders against waste trade. The report further stated that while Asean states like Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia have established the Basel Ban Amendment, which forbids hazardous wastes from developed countries to be imported to those less developed ones, the Philippines has yet to take action on this issue. 

References:

Gomez, E. J. (2020, July 7). Govt urged to ban E-waste imports. The Manila Times. https://www .manilatimes.net/2020/07/07/business/business-top/govt-urged-to-ban-e-waste -imports/738935

GoodElectronics. (2016, September 28). Philippines a 'legal dumpsite' for imported E-waste. https://goodelectronics.org/philippines-a-legal-dumpsite-for-imported-e-waste/

Kritz, B. (2016, September 15). PH a legal dumpsite for imported e-waste. The Manila Times. https://www.manilatimes.net/2016/09/15/business/green-business/ph-a-legal-dumpsite- for-imported-e-waste/285869

The Straits Times. (2021, January 27). Philippines is not a dumping ground: Inquirer. https:// www.straitstimes.com/asia/philippines-is-not-a-dumping-ground-inquirer