asian governments launch action to tackle ‘e-wastes’

Governments of Asian countries have launched a response to \"e-Tianjin (China), 21 November (
United Nations Information Service--
Officials from eight Asian governments met here under the auspices of the Basel Convention on the cross-border transfer of Hazardous Wastes and their disposal to seek solutions to the growing proliferation of electrical and electronic waste ---
Commonly known as \"e-wastes”.
Klaus Tepfer, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, said: \"decades ago, very few families in rich countries and communities had personal computers or other electronic devices (UNEP)
Under its auspices, the Basel Convention was adopted in 1989.
\"Today, PCs are becoming more and more common in the home, everywhere in the business world and in various organizations.
This emerging issue: \"e-
As production and use of personal computers continue to increase significantly, waste \"needs to be dealt with urgently,\" he said \".
Some Asian countries are often considered major importers of \"e-commerce\"
Waste generated around the world.
Importing countries can get a lot of revenue from renovating old computers and dismantling old computers, monitors and circuit boards, and then recycling gold, copper and other precious metals. End-of-
Home PCs as well as printers and other related equipment are made of highly complex mixtures of metal, plastic and other materials.
They also often contain harmful substances such as lead, cadmium and mercury. Workers in “e-
In the event that health, safety and environmental standards may be compromised, the waste \"operation may face dangerous working conditions.
Various potential solutions are being discussed at the Tianjin conference.
By incorporating these issues during the design phase, for example, disassembly can become easier and safer.
Manufacturers can be responsible for managing the waste generated by the equipment they sell.
National capacity and legislative framework for monitoring and controlling cross-border transfers of this priority
Waste logistics can be strengthened.
The meeting will also consider how to start producing authoritative data on \"E-Commerce\"
It will begin to evaluate current technical practices.
The environmental sound management of electronic waste is an important part of the strategic plan currently being developed by the governments of the Basel Convention member states.
The plan will be finalized at the sixth meeting of the parties to the convention in Geneva, Switzerland, from December 13. The Asia-
The Pacific regional Scoping Workshop on the sound management of e-waste environments was the first inter-governmental meeting on \"E-waste\"
Waste in Asia.
The meeting, organized by the Beijing Basel Convention Regional Centre and the Basel Convention Secretariat initiative, was held in November 22.
Participants included government delegates from China, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
Experts are from the Secretariat of Canada, China, Japan, the United States and the Basel Convention.
The conference was hosted by China and received financial support from Australia, Canada and Japan.
Please contact Ibrahim Shafii or professor for interview or other information
Li Jinhui of Tianjin calls (86)
22 262 88888, and requires \"e-commerce\" in Basel\"
Waste Conference on the third floor.
In Geneva, get in touch with UNEP information officer Michael Williams41)22 917-
8242/8244 per 8196 ,(41)79 409-1528 (cell)or michael. williams@unep. ch.
For information on the Basel Convention, please see www. basel.