Practices of E-Waste management among people living in African Cities: The case of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

East African Journal of Environment and Natural Resources pp. 73-88

Rapid turnover in technology across the cities of the world creates a rapidly growing e-waste stream. This is the case for the city of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Currently, the city lacks the capacity for handling and recycling the hazardous materials contained in e-waste. Further, Tanzania has neither a specific policy nor a law on e-waste management. The paper focuses on e-waste management practices in Dar es Salaam. The key question is what are the practices of stakeholders in e-waste management in the city? This study was conducted in Ilala and Temeke municipalities in the city Participants for the study were purposively selected. The selection ensured the representation of key stakeholders in e-waste generation and management. The number of participants for key stakeholders was determined by the data saturation point, a point where no new information was obtained. To gain an in-depth understanding, several ethnographic methods were employed. Based, on the study findings, some of the practices on e-waste management in the city of Dar es Salaam include: storing e- waste, landfilling, reusing, selling, and recycling. Overall, the practices of e-waste management in the city of Dar es Salaam remain informal and hence lack any operational legal framework. Although the existing legal framework for the management of e-waste has the potential for operationalization, it has no clear guidelines or procedures. The authors are aware that the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) has developed operational standards for e-waste management. However, the operational standards remain inaccessible to other key Government entities, the public and other key stakeholders. One, including Government agencies, must pay to access them. The authors strongly recommend that the standards should be made available free of charge and be operationalized at all levels. The authors further recommend the development of suitable frameworks to deal with the management of e-waste, recycling, and circular economy.