Four sub-regional neighbors will conduct a study to formulate electronic-waste management plans and determine costs for putting up material recovery facilities in their respective countries.

The study will be done by the environment cluster of the BIMP-EAGA, Luwalhati Antonino, chair of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) and Philippine Signing Minister for BIMP-EAGA, said in a statement Thursday.

BIMP-EAGA stands for Brunei Darussalam Indonesia Malaysia the Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area, a sub-regional economic cooperation designed to spur economic development in lagging sub-economies of the member countries by boosting trade, tourism, and investments.

“The study will look into proper and holistic ways to manage and dispose e-wastes in the sub-region, and the results of the study will be subsequently used as supporting data for the setting up of an e-waste material recovery and treatment facility in every BIMP-EAGA member country,” said Antonino.

The study was identified as a priority project at the 17th BIMP-EAGA ministerial meeting held in Manado, Indonesia recently, following a series of field visits to e-waste facilities in Beijing and Guandong in May and June last year.

“Bigger nations like China are already ahead in terms of green technology development, and this has greatly motivated the environment cluster to prioritize the same environmental effort in the BIMP-EAGA sub-region,” Antonino said.

E-wastes can include household appliances, Information Technology (IT) and telecommunications equipment, lighting equipment, medical devices, and electronic tools.

The proposed facility will include necessary machinery and technical expertise for equipment repairs, metal recovery system, and electronic recycling.

“E-wastes are not only dangerous for the environment, but also contain toxic materials that can be hazardous to human health. A good system for recovery and recycling of these wastes is one of the best solutions to reduce these hazards,” said Antonino.

She added funding requirements for the two components of the e-waste project are expected to be completed by the end of the year.

The project will be jointly undertaken by the environment and ICT cluster, with Malaysia taking the lead in the project conceptualization and implementation.

For the Philippines, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources shall spearhead the implementation of the project as the lead agency for the environment cluster. — Danessa O. Rivera/JDS, GMA News

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