E-waste in Kiribati

Abstract

The use and introduction of Electrical and Electronic Equipment has rapidly increased in Kiribati over the years, resulting in growing amounts of electrical and electronic waste (or e-waste for short) that are discarded and carelessly thrown away in our own backyard once they have reached their useful life. E-waste is categorized as hazardous waste, as it also contains hazardous substances like lead, cadmium and mercury. Incorrect disposal of e-waste, could cause serious damage to our environment and to our own health. To this end this base line study is launched to determine the problem on the amount of e-waste that has been generated with some self-induced due to lack of quality control at point of entry..