Modelling waste generation

by the telecom sector in

Nigeria: the grey side of the
impressive outing
By: O. Osibanjo, I.C. Nnorom, & K.C. Ogbonna.
Waste Management & Research. 2008:26: 317-326.

Presented by:
Nur Alyaa Syazwani binti Zainodin
D20091034410
Siti Masturah bte Abd Shukor
D20091034435

Introduction
The

aims of the paper:

To predict improvements in telephone penetration

and waste generation by the Nigerian
telecommunication sectors.
The need to introduce a framework for effective
management of waste from the sector.

The

countrys teledensity increased from about

0.7% in 2001 to 24.5% in 2006 an increase of
more than 3000% (The Guardian 2007).
This impressive performance has resulted in an
increase in waste generation. Estimation:

An average of 3 million phones (weight estimated at

about 3200 tons) in use in 2006 would be at end of
life (EoL) by 2010.
Volume of waste: 1800 tons of waste plastics, 15
tons of lead and 124 tons of copper.

Toxicity characterization of mobile phones

Metal

TTLC
threshold

Lincoln et at. (2007)

(N=34)

DTSC (2004)(N=4)

Mean

Range

Mean

Range

Pb

1000

10 140

8220-11600

4667

1514-5958

Cu

2500

203 000

186000-224
000

38 856

8466-89
372

235

77-398

Ag
500 reported65.9
9.28-177.0
Table 1: Metal levels
in mobile phone.

Copper was the metal that most exceeded the regulatory

limit by exceeding the TTLC threshold by over 81 times.
The lead levels of the studies of Lincoln et.al (2007) and
DTSC (2004) exceeded the TTLC threshold by 10 and five
times respectively.
TTLC: Total threshold limit concentration (a Californian
regulation)
DTSC: Department of Toxic Substances Control

Background
Large

quantities of mobile phone are replaced

annually around the world for various reasons.
Most available data on electronic waste (ewaste) are derived from estimation.
It usually relies on the following activities:

Importation of new and/or secondhand electrical

and electronic devices.
Household possession of Electrical and Electronic
Equipment (EEE).
Subscription data for mobile phones.
Amount of WEEE collected.
Life expectancy of EEE (BAN/SVTC 2002, Fishbein
2002, Karagiannidis et al.2003, Most, 2003, BAN
2005, Jefferies 2006, Liu et al.2006a,b, Osibonjo &
Nnorom 2007a).

Lifespan:

3-4 years to <2 years (actually 18

months)(Fishbein 2002, Most 2003).

 Reasons

for a product reaching its endof-life early:

Technical obsolescence - the product

itself is worn out and no longer function
properly.
Feature obsolescence new products
have come into market that offer more or
better features.
Aesthetic obsolescence new products
in the market have a nicer look or more
fashionable design from the view of the
consumer.
Psychological obsolescence new
product has greater emotional value;
present product has a negative emotional
value.

COMPARISON OF FIXED
AND MOBILE TELEPHONE SUBSCRIPTION
Fixed lines
100

Digital mobile lines

93
%

90

95
%

80
70
60
50
40

31%

30
20

5%

10
0
1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Generation of Waste
Material
Abandoned

mobile analogue telephone sets.

Abandoned fixed line telephone sets.
Replacement batteries and accessories (e.g.
earphones, battery charges).
Replacement plastic housing.
Replaced phones as a result of fashion
obsolescence, fault or incompatibility with new
features introduced by service providers.
Packaging for products and accessories
(polymer/plastic and paper).

CONCERNS
Electronic

devices

The increasing quantity of mobile phones and

accessories generated around the world

Form

a complex mixture of materials and

components, often containing several
hundreds of different substances,
Toxic Inappropriately disposed pollution

E.g.: mercury, lead, cadmium, chromium, & flame

retardants (polybrominated biphenyl/PBB,
polybrominated diphenyl ethers, PBDEs)

Waste

from ICT sector & electronic waste:

Increasing growth, its production is an environmental

burden where greatly exceed other types of waste (Most
2003, Jefferies 2006).

Effort?

CONCERN
S

Basel Convention in partnership with the industry to

create innovative approaches for the environmentally
sound management of end-of-life mobile phone
(IPMI 2003, BASEL/MPPI 2004).
MPPI or The Mobile Phone Partnership Initiative was
launched in 2002 with the participation of the worlds
leading manufacturers.

CHALLENGES

(Hicks et al. 2005; Liu et al. 2006, Osibanjo & Nnorom 2007a,

b).

Absence of legislation dealing specifically with e-waste

Ineffective/lax enforcement of existing legislation
Absence of waste management infrastructure
The consumers attitude towards waste
Ignorance of toxicity of e-waste among others.

Conclusion

Phenomenal improvement in telecom services in Nigeria.

An average of 4 years of EoL of a mobile phone estimated.

An average of 3 million phones are retired annually

Over 32 million phones in use in 2006 would be at their EoL by
2010.
Mobile phone penetration would be 40% by 2010.
, over 55 million mobile phones would be in use by 2010.

Integrated waste management approach for waste from

the telecommunication sector need to be revised from 2
perspectives:

Ecological perspective as a source of pollution, requiring a

toxic waste management strategy
Economic perspective as a potential source of recoverable
source
E.g.: introduction of formal recycling for material recovery of
wastes, energy recovery from waste plastic such as precious
metals and copper, the disposal of non-reusable items and
residues using appropriate landfill technology.