for the agents reducing cost tobin's nights before the war starts to simmer down on t.w. . did you know that in 29 war than 50000000 tons of electronics did the want, but sadly, hardly any of it was recycled? well, welcome to this special edition of focusing on electronic waste. i am here in uganda's capital come and i am now coming to you from nigeria's frederick capital

territory. yes, electronic waste is definitely an issue that needs solving in search of answers. we traveled across africa and europe. here's a look at what's coming up on the show today. south africa looks for ways to enable countries to mine precious metals for military waste. in germany, we follow the debate on electronic waste, advices and what they're calling the right to repair and amanda zion, matilda pain shows us how one person's trash really ease another person's treasure . what happens to be environment when we fail to use our resources sustainably? at the major theme here on eco africa where we try to present not just the problems, but some possible solutions to. today we turn the spotlight on electrical and electronic waste, meaning this crowded refrigerator, cellphones,

televisions computers and things like that. but 1st, here are some facts about the impact it has on the planet. from a consistent to kitchen, t.v.'s and smartphones every year we throw away more and more electrical appliances . according to a u.n. report, the world produced over 53000000 tons of electronic waste in 2019. equivalent in weight to 350 crees. linus europe was the area with the highest volume in waste per capita income growth, urbanization and increased mobility leading to a constant increase in demand for electronic products. many of them have a very short life span. as a result, the waste is growing faster than any other kind of refuse just 17.4 percent of the waste was recycled. a sizeable proportion of phased out

products are exported illegally and end up on unregulated landfills, dumps and scrapyards in eastern europe, asia, and africa. the un assumes that the vast majority of non-recyclable waste is not disposed of appropriately. and trying to contain significant amounts of hazardous substances that contaminate the land and water. and can cause serious health problems. up to 50 tonnes of the highly toxic heavy metal mercury released into the environment every year. joined by chemicals that are used to cannibalize old equipment. 2019 also saw a major increase in the number of discarded and conditioning systems. refrigerators . their disposal cools the release of around 98000000 tons of greenhouse gases into

the atmosphere. electronic devices also contain valuable metals such as i and as well as gold and rarer it's in total. the value of natural resources in the waste last year amounted to $57000000000.00 us dollars only a small fraction of annual is recycled. this means that the quantity of extract used to keep up with ever increasing consumer demand continues to grow. show that a problem that we need to there have been mining could help. it's an expression, very 1st of the process of recovering viable metals, mechanical and chemical treatment that doesn't just apply for i am. these days you find some very rare metals in your electronic devices, such as right? and in cities, you often find huge quantities of electronic waste recycling. these materials saves

time and money and it is much better for the environment outside the university of cape town. one professor wants to introduce that idea, not just in south africa, but across the entire continent with its resembles a meat grinder, but this machine grind subcircuits broods instead of pork. this started this part of an innovative research project in south africa. finding out how to recycle the precious bits of circuits broods can do when johnson ph is in from the university of cape town, figured out a way we were trying to crush the circuit board so that we can access the in the live for the copper that sandwiched in between layers within the board, access in the metals like copper will move valuable. gold is difficult and costly.

most of south africa's eat waste is purses to overseas by companies that operate huge furnaces. it was a realisation that we have in south africa. a lot of people who just collect a few circuit boards and take them to recycle, who then just crush them up and since them overseas. and we said walk on, we process this material here, create jobs with that. the challenge for the scientists finding a method where i think smaller scale and price point that also had this not to contaminate the environment. they developed a chemical extraction process for copper, a fiend, ammonia solution trickles through to ground out circuit boards. over the course of several days, the solution extracts the copper, indicated by the blue coloring. the a menu mixture can be used to several times which makes it even more environmentally friendly. the concept of recovering bread metals from electronic

waste is called urban mining. like many african countries, south africa only recycles a minority of its waste. so far more than 50 percent of it ends up in landfills or as in the case of waste is shipped overseas. monitoring waste streams, experts say as one key incentive to up recycling. you wouldn't recycle wise just for the goodness of your hard earned income, ideally make it at least a small profit on it. and so the idea is to say what is valued as mature. also, if you can extract a value, then it is worthwhile taking small and medium skill businesses such as circuit board manufacturer tracks where the research project is set up could make a profit while reducing waste. there is a social responsibility for you to try to look at the waste you produce and circuit

board manufacturer saying, look, you know, you circuit boards that end up in products that become obsolete. how does one recycle them? the corner reuse them? but if you can reclaim the copper from them, then there is some commercial very in the moment you can, you can give something, commercial value, preventive ending up in a landfill. the idea of the waste recycling project was developed here at the hydro mythology lad of the university. currently, the team is still in the research phase through day terkel lection. they want to refine and demonstrate the effectiveness of the chemical extraction. not only for copper, also a little retrieve in gold, of parts from lower energy in such a costs. the method has another advantage. but what excites me about this project is the fact that we are trying to develop technology for our local in uses for the african case where we're dealing with very low volumes of electronic waste relative

to what other countries handle, but still being able to find green technologies that can help us recover from it without doing much harm to our environment. in cape town's industrial area judgement, peterson visits a local recycling company that is still exporting eve waste. peterson is looking for new good material. up until now, the researches have used identical model food still make results comparable. want in future, the method has to work for any type of circuits. the project could reach pilot phase by 2022. the approach is not limited to south africa. the scientists are convinced it is transferable to every other country on the continent to europe. now, if you're struggling to repair a new household appliances, but he's broken,

do not wiring you are not alone. they are sometimes surprisingly difficult to fix. one problem is that a lot of modern machines and other devices can't be repaired, not even by professionals. in many cases, products are designed to wear out after a certain period of time. this is expensive for the consumer and a waste of valuable resources and energy. so the right to repair movement is growing in many countries. we joined a global gathering of repairers, tinkerers, and activists in germany. take a look. electronic goods are the fastest growing away stream in the world. in less than a decade, the lifespan of a television in germany dropped from more than 10 years to less than 6. of the best ways is the ways that you don't produce. but when you look into the container, you see is a really old laundry. machines are some really old dishwashers, which are the, could not be repaired which consume so much energy. better then makes sense to have

a new arm put, some can be repaired, has discarded products account for less than 10 percent of all municipal waste in the european union. but extracting the rare earth metals used in many devices typically requires sulphuric acid and creates more toxic waste. activists like a calling for a radical change. the social costs and environmental costs are completely externalize. they're not integrated into the rise. that's why, while much of it's about ritzy. another important aspect of the debate is the planned obsolescence of hot products. the american bernard london came up with this term in 1932. he thought it would be a good way to boost the economy because it would force customers to buy more all the argument. it's incredibly flawed because what we're seeing is a type of innovation that actually does not put meat on the planet,

nor people at the center. who call valerie is a co-founder of the restart project, a u.k. based organization that supports repair initiatives. the european commission has recently ratified a new set of regulations that will make repairing easier from 2021. it will force manufacturers to make spare parts available to repair shops, but crucially not to customers. now that doesn't make any sense and that's why people want a real breakthrough is not something that is designed to limit what people care the pressure is mounting for, right to repair based on 3 key pillars. first, access to spare parts for all of the products for everyone. secondly, to access to repair manuals and 3rd design of products, so that very easy to take apart. while our devices are increasingly complex,

the solution to the problem doesn't have to be a comprehensive right to repair, has the potential to benefit both the customers and the environment. starting with the theme of repairing and reusing, we head back to africa. now rhonda is one of the leading nations here on the continent for digital technology, but the increased use of a look for new devices has also led to a mosque increase in waste. now with the help of the was bank, the one and government house opened a state of the, the west dismantling recycling facility. in addition to benefiting the environment . it also created jobs. and given that a kitchen system was to each of the 450 pupils in this school in bogus sarah really does have a lot to fulfill us. not all of those a new many are recycled. all the models, which breakdown, get prepared with

a city. good reason, this is a doozy because to help us to expand on the age, the whole country is committed to recycling dommage and discarded electronic devices in hospitals, schools, government offices, and companies picked up by employees in virus of an international recycling company . the hardware is taken to in virus salves plant in fukushima 60 kilometers from the cup. he told here it's recycled and restored. it's one of the biggest plants of this kind in, on of africa, one to have the horses to system for a 20, west management establishment. one that's, that's our main, our main target. and we want russia to be a model for 4 other countries. not so many countries have to spend the facility

in viruses. business model is to sell their refurbished equipment more than 50 people in a walk here, showing him it ever since he started walking with in virus of collecting. i've been able to support my from line up and they've got health insurance and had no problem doing that for me. children's education of your with rhonda is seen as the i.t. innovation hobby in east africa. that's why this sector is attractive to the younger generation. it attracts people like that, it is here. all right, eric, he left school early but begun collecting electronic was 2 and he was 17. now he has his own company employing 35 people to get requests by these electronics from different places and from people who don't need it yet. but for us, these electronics are valuable. after collection, we saw the electronic equipment to separate the ones which can be reused and resold after being repaired. if you take a mark,

the government wants to make sure the countryside doesn't get clogged up with a bundle in west. so it has imposed strict regulation. as one day set up, the horrible technology we want seduce developing in the system the way we've been clean and here the involvement of gender technology because we want to see our countries developing but with minimum impact in terms of environmental consequences . back at school, the laptops are given to pupils for free. since you started using computers, many things has changed. this shouldn't have started to knowing that he did this source of information is and is not only did a pretty we can no longer imagine life without them. and they know these laptops won't go to waste, but will be recycled. so most to dance can benefit to electric vehicles,

a growing popular in europe. they are called to switch to renewables. and he, we've also looked many examples. that's right, sandra. the problem is some people think mobility is good for the environment. while those points to the top of the substances contained in the car, batteries until now, only about a 3rd of those chemicals could be separated and reclaim it. but now a company in germany has this come about a way to push up the recycling efficiency. considerably. germany is car country. statistically every 2nd president owns an automobile. christiane harnish does to. the engineer also knows that when old cars end up in the junkyard, a mountain of scrap and waste is created. harnish wants to salvage and recycle as much of the old cars as he can. and he'd like to make

a living from it. christiane hunnish founder of a small company that recycles car batteries. it specializes in batteries for electric vehicles which contain a lot of valuable raw materials, especially metals. but it's not easy to extract them and it can also be dangerous. but that didn't discourage the businessman. the batteries are already out there, so it makes sense to extract the raw materials and reuse them. we saw the huge potential in that 10 years ago, the process engineer founded the dusun felt company. this special shredder is at the heart of the firm. it shreds the scrap batteries, turning them into a granular. there's a good reason for the thick steel plates in the machine. they protect the inner walls from the liquid components in the battery electrolyte, which is highly explosive. finding a way to separate the electrolyte from other components was the biggest challenge

they took on is 10 years of drawing, calculating and testing. now the pure battery fluid flows into a steel tank. this is the electrolyte fluid. no one else can do that. the company sells it to the chemical industry, the granulate from the scrap batteries, lands in the sorting machine, which results in a raised powder. at 1st glance, it doesn't look like it's worth much that i thought it would be fooled. this is the fuel for electrum ability, it contains lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese. and that's what we want to extract to do that tarnish needed experts on chemical processes. he found them at a university close by professor tobias'. albert knows exactly which acids can be used to extract the precious metals without dissolving them. but isolating numerous metals from the grey powder is a challenge even for the specialist in hydro metallurgy. he was so taken with the

idea that he became a partner at does in fact eventually a method was developed that breaks down the great powder step by step into its components. cobalt sulfate, lithium carbonate, nickel sulfate and manganese sulfate. in this pure form, the precious raw materials can be used in the production of batteries, hives, 50 i wanted to keep the impact on nature as small as possible. it's not truly desirable to keep the cycle of raw materials as small as possible. the dusun failed company has proven that it can extract precious metals from batteries, albeit on a small scale. soon though, these special shredders will be placed at various locations around europe. the aim is to sell not the recyclable powder, but the precious metals for that. a specialized chemical factory is needed and i

didn't hear that. i know a lot of thinking about it all, but it's wonderful when you see that what you come up with is being put into effect . duzen felt as already reached a recycling rate of 91 percent per battery. the standard is just 32 percent. as a pioneer in recycling, christiane harnish has shown what's possible. that's a promising development for the even more villages sector. it's encouraging to know that people all over the world. i working hard to reduce the amount of how we do to nature are not environment. i might report creature of the woman in ghana who is able to see beauty in things that others do not. right, see more? oh, pretty cool earrings right, well, damage from the west. these country chairs are also called just like these funky

coffee table design, in my opinion, time stretch into treasure. she finds her role materials and both grow. she dumpsite for electronic waste. it's a place where old computers and keyboards wind up along with stacks of car tires, the smell of burning rubber fills the air. a lot of people here upon the trash to recover pieces of coal park that they can sell on. but my kid has painted, it's not hunting. she's on the lookout for inspiration. so we've just get the positives for you. so we've got a final solution to this problem, so not all small we. so need to get climate change. we decided to come here, pick the house for wings. use is forwards. this scrap yard has an army not sneak them and camera. it's about the size of 20 so-called built,

which means there's plenty of material for my children to sort through. she comes here several times a week and this time abuse computer circuit boards have called time. what's going to work with anything, whether it's broken, all is new or is all those that some one says that's what we call them once in a while commander. so fine, i'm all for new tools for real. the 1st stage of the transformation is a good clean. then the material is cut into smaller pieces and sundered down to make smooth ages. finally, matilda paint puts the finishing touches to how unique earrings killed those projects require time and team work space is obvious challenge. we will have a bigger space so we can alter, employed more and we can do more for us. on the 2nd, one is machinery,

as you can see around we have just simple tools that will work with what the team certainly isn't lacking. is imagination that they can try on all generate electric scrap into lampshades tables or clocks. matilda paid regularly exhibits have designs conferences. it's not only opening to i think rather than taking all this amazing stuff that all this money has been poured into. it just put the world with it. why not turn it into art? a lot of places across the world were having a problem with an increase in ways. i'd like managing the ways to getting rid of it . pain has won several awards, recognizing how to create a way of doing heartbeat for the environment. and she has even bigger things planned for the company we are looking at, it's really able to train more women too,

which are into what we're doing now to be able to stuxnet your own business is also like to empower the youth expression between come into produce like us for every item already donates 5 percent of the money she mixed to the education of underprivileged young girls. she doesn't only want to bring these candidate i'd back to life. she also wants to give something back to society. a great idea for the environment and for education too. if you have any more ideas, why our contractors and social media, i show us what you've managed to do with your ways our military, where i'm afraid it's time to say so long. see you next week. i just want to repeat one number from our show before we go 57000000000 u.s. dollars. that is how much the world electronic waste was worth in 2019. so remember

that before you throw away your old phone in the trash, it is a good buy for me. here in company uganda the big

you know that 77 percent of market are younger than the bottom. that's me and me and you think you know what? it's time all voices. i watch the 77 percent. you talk about the stock market up

from one point to flash from how's it going to top? this is where they are. welcome to the 77 percent this week and r t w h from the get go to parliament. you gotta know, bobby was a pop star, rails against corruption filings determined to shock despite coming from a poor family loves to become president and he challenges and god doesn't meet the incredible story of bobby wind starts december 10th on t.w.

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