NSWMA's E-Waste Collection Pilot Project - Why End-of-life Policy for E-Waste Collection needed in Jamaica

Jamaicans are slowly getting hip to the idea of recycling E-Waste (Electronics Waste).

This as the NSWMA (National Solid Waste Management) has declare that the six (6) month Electronic Waste (E-Waste) pilot project was a success as reported in the article “NSWMA Reports Positive Results From E-Waste Pilot”, Published Monday August 31, 2015, The Jamaica Gleaner. 

The E-Waste Collection Pilot Project, which began in May 2015 as explained in my blog article entitled “NSWMA e-Waste Collection Initiative – Telecom Providers, Jamaica's E-Waste Problem and Starting Electronics Manufacturing Industry”, is slated to come to an end on Sunday, September 27^th, 2015.

Based on the results thus far, the NSWMA Collection Team will compile the results from the E-Waste Collection Initiative as noted by Community relations manager at the NSWMA, Shauna Guthrie. This data will be used by the Ministry of Local Government to make a decision as how best to expand this project islandwide to collect E-Waste all across Jamaica!!

Dear reader, a quick recap of what the E-Waste Collection Pilot Project was all about is necessary at this point!

NSWMA's E-Waste Collection Pilot Project - Ending in September may mark a new chapter in E-Waste Collection in Jamaica

The pilot initiative was aimed at getting Jamaicans into the habit of recycling E-Waste such as:

1.      CPUs

2.      Mobile phones

3.      Printers

4.      Monitors

5.      Laptops

6.      Keyboards

7.      Computer mouse

8.      Chargers

9.      Cables

E-Waste collected exposed to a very strong oscillating magnetic fields so as to depolarize any storage media and thus permanently erase any data stored on Flash drives, Hard Drives, SD Cards and Floppy discs.

The E-Waste Collection Pilot Project wasn't aimed at of the communities in Kingston and St. Catherine, but mainly at the following communities:

1.      Duhaney Park

2.      Patrick City

3.      Harbour View in St. Andrew

4.      Hellshire in Portmore, St. Catherine

5.      Angels 1, 2 in Portmore, St. Catherine

6.      Angels Grove in Portmore, St. Catherine

Persons outside of these areas can participate by dropping off their E-Waste at the following locations:

1.      NSWMA head office, 61A Half-Way Tree Road in Kingston;

2.      Dermason Plaza, in Independence City, Portmore

3.      King Street in Spanish Town (next to the fire station)

The data collected will help the NSWMA to decide the best way to scale up the collection, storage, and monetization of the Electronics they receive from the participant in the Project.

It'll also be used by the Ministry of Local Government, which controls the NSWMA, to guide the creation of a Law regulating the proper disposal of E-Waste generated by Telecom Providers, manufacturers and MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise) in Jamaica!

More on this when the NSWMA’s E-Waste Collection Pilot Project goes islandwide!