TURKEY GETS REAL

Demand rises for centers to assess electronic waste

Wednesday, September 9, 2009
ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency
As many new tech retailers open in Turkey, the need for the collection of electronic waste also rises. Currently, there is demand for 850 collection centers nationwide and 15 regional centers for electronic waste, an official says
One official says the electronic waste centers should be formed by municipalities. Bloomberg photo

One official says the electronic waste centers should be formed by municipalities. Bloomberg photo

Turkey’s electronic waste totaled 330,000 tons in 2008 and is expected to rise to 400,000 tons by 2015, said a ministry official, expressing the need for collection centers.

“There is a demand for 850 collection centers nationwide and 15 regional centers for electronic waste,” said Kemal Kurusakız, head of the special waste section at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

Speaking at a conference on the Sustainable Management of Istanbul Local E-Waste, or SMILE, led by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Kurusakız said the European Union has two directives on electronic waste. The ministry has issued the Restriction of Hazardous Substances, or RoHS, directive, but a good audit mechanism and laboratories are required to implement this regulation, he said.

In EU member countries, a total of 8.5 million tons of electronic waste was released in 2005, and the figure is predicted to reach 12 million tons by 2020, Kurusakız said. Regarding Turkey’s situation, there is an evaluation study covering 2007 and 2015. “There is a demand for 850 collection centers nationwide and 15 regional centers for electronic waste,” he said. “However, these centers should be formed by municipalities.”

İbrahim Demir, director of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Department of Environmental Protection and Development, said most of the regulations introduced in Turkey are not applicable.

“In order for the regulation on electronic waste to be applicable, we will express the knowledge and experience we have attained from the 30-month-long project to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.”

Project target

The Environmental and Cultural Heritage Conservation Association, or ÇEVKU, and Greek ecological recycling societies are also taking part in the SMILE project, which is supported by the EU, said Eyüp Korkut, director of the Waste Management Department of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s Department of Environmental Protection and Development.

The project, which aims to minimize the damage on the environment by collecting computer waste, has a budget of 1.6 million Turkish Liras, he said, adding that it started on March 12, 2007, and will end on Monday but because it is a sustainable project, it will continue.

The goal of the project is to prepare plans, databases and pilot projects for the collection, recycling and disposal of electrical and electronic waste in Istanbul, Korkut said.

The project aims to prepare a feasibility report, collect computer waste of at least 6,000 units, repair at least 60 percent of the collected items, form the inventory of the collected parts and conduct market research for the parts that cannot be used again. It will also contribute to the applicability of the waste electrical and electronic goods regulation, which will be issued soon.

Within the framework of the project, 11,720 units have been collected, 681 units have been put into use again while 7,988 units have been recycled, 324 units granted and 3,051 units are still waiting, he said.

In EU member countries, 14 kilograms of electronic waste per capita is created annually on average and 90 percent of the amount is disposed unregulated, said Talat Yüksel, vice managing director at MESS Entegre Geri Kazanım ve Enerji Sanayi Ticaret, a company active in integrated recycling.

The aim in Europe is to collect 4 kilograms electronic wastes per capita, he said, adding that there are noteworthy revision activities in European countries. Now, producer firms are responsible for waste recycling, he said.

Turkey is Europe’s second- or third-largest white goods producer, Yüksel said. Therefore, the upcoming regulation in Turkey should be extensive and applicable.