When your mobile phone malfunctions, without repair possibilities, or when your charger stops working, what do you do with them? A lot of people just throw it in the trash. But the so-called waste of electronic equipment, or simply e-waste, cannot be disposed of in this way, as it carries risks to the environment and human health.

By the definition of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), e-waste is composed of the waste of any devices that are powered by electricity, which are discarded as no longer having utility.

In the Amazon, an initiative brings the opportunity to properly dispose of e-waste in some cities. The Correct Disposal Institute, created in Manaus, in the state of Amazonas, has already reached Belém and Santarém, in Pará; Boa Vista, in Roraima; and Porto Velho, in Rondônia.

According to Andreza Benone, communication advisor at the Institute, the organization has been operating for about 20 years in Manaus. “This work was so impactful that it began to expand throughout the Amazon. Then, about three years ago, we decided to come to Belém,” she says.

She reports that hundreds of tons of material have been already recycled, in addition to awareness raising among the population. “This work has reached several cities that have not yet had this awakening to the recycling of e-waste. People sometimes limit e-waste to batteries, cell phones, but there are a multitude of materials, such as headphones, TV, refrigerator, which have heavy metals that end up generating an unwanted impact for our city if disposed of incorrectly”, she evaluates. Among the municipalities served by the Institute, the record holder in volume of collected material is Manaus, followed by Belém. 
Andreza Benone explains that the material collected is sent to the reverse factory of the Institute. “There, we check what can be used or not. We remove gold, copper, heavy metals. What can be recycled, we give back to the industries, so they don't have to exploit the environment again. And we also have partnerships with plastic and glass cooperatives, which are materials that we do not recycle in our factory”, she details.

BELÉM

In the capital of Pará, the Correct Disposal Institute works in partnership with the Municipal Department of the Environment (Semma) in a campaign that began in June last year and has already collected 17 tons of e-waste.

“We started with itinerant collection points every Friday, somewhere in the city. These itinerant collections still take place, but now we have two fixed stations, one in Horto Municipal and another in Boulevard Shopping Mall; there is another that is being installed at Parque Shopping Mall”, informs Leonardo de Jesus, General Director of Semma. 

“This material is collected by the Institute and sent to their base, in order to be separated and reused. We work with the circular economy, because e-waste becomes other materials, with recycling and remanufacturing. There is also a social issue, because the correct disposal provides us with computer equipment in exchange for this partnership. These equipment are donated to social institutions, for the implementation of computer rooms”, completes the Director.

In the Metropolitan Region of Belém (RMB), another initiative promotes the collection of electronic waste, in a partnership between the State Secretariat for the Environment and Sustainability (Semas) and the Alachaster Institute. According to Semas, there are three ecopoints that receive this type of waste: at the Utinga State Park and at Usina da Paz in Cabanagem neighborhood, both in Belém; and at Usina da Paz in Icuí neighborhood, in Ananindeua.

From iron and steel to gold and silver, everything can be reused

The e-waste category includes mobile phones, computers, notebooks, cables, other computer equipment, household appliances, audio and video devices, LED lamps, remote controls, batteries, flashlights, and even CDs and DVDs.

In the composition of these materials, some chemical elements can be a source of contamination, such as lead, mercury, and arsenic. They not only contaminate soils, groundwater, fauna and flora, but also shorten the life of landfills and can cause diseases to humans, ranging from simple skin irritations to neurological damage.

On the other hand, electronic equipment contains various materials that can be reused, such as iron, steel, copper, tin, zinc, and even gold and silver, in addition to the parts in plastic, glass, and paper, which are already commonly recycled. It not only protects the environment, but also generates savings for companies, which reduce the purchase of raw materials. The entire production chain of recycling cooperatives can generate income.

REVERSE LOGISTICS

The 2010 National Solid Waste Policy (PNRS) establishes the obligation of reverse logistics for electronic products. If logistics is responsible for taking the product to the final consumer, reverse logistics does the opposite: it returns the used products to the business sector, for reusing, recycling or environmentally appropriate destination.

According to the PNRS, the correct disposal of waste, including e-waste, is a responsibility shared by everyone. Manufacturers, importers, distributors, and traders must be in charge of the collection, transport, treatment, and final destination of this type of product. Consumers, on the other hand, have the responsibility to deposit it at the appropriate collection points.

O Global E-waste Monitor 2024, a global monitoring on electronic waste carried out by the United Nations (UN), points out that Brazil is the largest producer of this type of waste in Latin America, the second in all of America, and the fifth largest in the world. 

There are 2.4 million tons of e-waste produced in Brazilian territory each year. The PNRS stipulates that the country must achieve 17% of recycling of this type of waste by 2025. According to estimates by the Brazilian Association of Electrical and Electronics Industry, only 3% of this material is recycled in Brazil currently. There is no specific data on the Amazon region.

Emaús is a reference in reconditioning

Many of the e-waste is disposed of as garbage. The reality is that this material still has the possibility of being used after reconditioning. That is, they do not need to go to disassembly and reuse of their materials: they can be repaired, receive new parts, and return to operate.

This is what the República de Emaús Movement does in Belém. Every year, the philanthropic entity acts for the benefit of people in vulnerability, by carrying out a large collection of used materials, including electronics, for reusing. In addition, the items are received in the headquarters of the non-governmental organization (NGO) on an ongoing basis throughout the year. Electronic material integrates the movement's Center for Digital Inclusion (CDI). 

"We receive donations of any type of computer material, from public and private companies and individuals. This material is taken to the Center and then it is selected. What can be reused, we put back to work. These refurbished computers are sold at affordable prices, to maintain the project, or donated to families or entities that we support”, says Reginaldo Nunes, coordinator of the CDI. 
Some of the computers stay in the CDI itself, to promote the digital inclusion of the young people who attend the Center. “This material is also used for classes, because we offer courses on computer operator, computer maintenance, computer reconditioning, and robotics, to generate employment and income,” adds Nunes. 

Over the 14 years of the Center's existence, about 14 thousand computers have already been received. “Every year, we get about a thousand computers. We can recover about 400 of them, to sell or donate. So, there have already been thousands of electronics taken from the incorrect disposal”, celebrates the coordinator.

EDUCATION

In addition to computer refurbishment, the Emaús Movement also promotes environmental education activities on e-waste. “During the year, we carry out campaigns in which we collect electronic equipment, with wide dissemination in the media, precisely to raise awareness about the correct disposal. We also have environmental awareness actions within schools, with dialogue circles about recycling,” says Nunes.

Interactive manual teaches you how to dispose of waste

The Bachelor of Law Moisés Santiago researched environmental education and e-waste during his master's degree at the Graduate Program in Natural Resources Management and Local Development in the Amazon, at Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA). The work entitled "Environmental Education as a Public Policy Instrument: an Analysis of the Management of e-Waste in Belém-PA”, had as one of the results the production of a manual on the correct disposal of this type of waste. 

“In the 'Interactive Manual on e-Waste and its Proper Disposal', which I produced together with Professor André Cutrim Carvalho, I provide information about the problems of electronic waste disposal, its composition, recycling and reverse logistics, the social companies that act in the collection and disposal of this waste in Belém, such as the Alachaster and Correct Disposal Institutes, using clear and accessible language,” highlights the researcher. He also addresses the effects of planned obsolescence, a strategy used by industries to create products with reduced shelf life, even when it is possible to produce them to be more endurable. This tactic forces consumers to change products frequently, generating more and more waste.

REFLECTION

Santiago ponders that environmental education is fundamental not only to inform about the correct disposal, but also to generate reflections on consumption habits. “With environmental education, we start to reflect on what we are consuming, on how we can reduce consumption, if we are disposing of solid waste, especially e-waste, correctly,” he says.

"When you are environmentally educated, you are aware of important concepts, such as knowing what each color of bin for waste segregation means, or that before consuming you have to think about the environment. If I have a cell phone that has not been in use for two years, why do I need to buy a new one?", questions Santiago, highlighting the impacts of our daily decisions for the future of the planet.

INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERSHIP
The production of Liberal Amazon is one of the initiatives of the Technical Cooperation Agreement between the Liberal Group and the Federal University of Pará. The articles involving research from UFPA are revised by professionals from the academy. The translation of the content is also provided by the agreement, through the research project ET-Multi: Translation Studies: multifaces and multisemiotics.