Study Finds Lack Of Policies In Caribbean To Deal With E-waste

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) – A study, carried out in 15 English, Dutch and Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries, has found that there is no policy regarding the E-waste from all kinds of electronics.

The Barbados-based Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU), in partnership with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), said, the Caribbean E-Waste Study highlights the current risks to Caribbean countries and their populations, regarding the absence of the policies dealing with the issue, including cellular phones and analogue televisions.

The authors of the study note, that Caribbean countries are aware of the relevance of adopting E-waste policies for key industries such as tourism, but in the absence of appropriate policies, has sprung up an “informal recycling sector that collects and recycles e-waste without the recommended security standards, leading to negative consequences for the environment and human health”.

The study provides specific recommendations, as broadcast services in the Caribbean undergo the transition to digital terrestrial television (DTT).

The ITU-CBU report recommends a number of policy measures to reduce the potential impact of E-waste from digital switch over (DSO), including limiting imports of cathode-ray-tube (CRT) TV sets and monitors; adopting labelling regulations to ensure the public is informed whether the TV sets being purchased are capable of receiving signals under the DTT standard chosen by the specific country.

It also calls for the conduct of awareness-raising campaigns on the DTT transition; restricting the importation and manufacture/refurbishing of devices that do not comply with the DTT standard chosen by a specific country; and implementing sales restrictions on equipment that is non-compliant with the digital television standard chosen.