[Kictanet] Poor Nations Are Littered With Old PC's: Lets be careful!

[Dorcas Muthoni]

NB: Sorry for a very long posting

Kindly lets do our homework. Lets be careful about what we support lest 
we shoot ourselves in the foot.
*
Definitions:
*
Old Computers: Computers that have reached the end of their useful lives 
in an organisation/ A computer that has reached the end of its useful 
life to the owner.
Second-hand/ Refurbs : Old or used computer equipment that has been 
restored to working condition. Restoration involves repalcement of 
hardware components with similar or newer ones.

*Facts:*

Most of the environmental concerns with computers lie with the monitor 
(27% of the weight of a CRT monitor is due to its lead content), 
specifically its cathode ray tube (CRT). Each color monitor contains, on 
average, four to five pounds of lead, considered hazardous waste when 
disposed off. Computers also contain other hazardous materials, 
including mercury, cadmium (a known carcinogen), and hexavalent chromium 
(shown to cause high blood pressure, iron-poor blood, liver disease, and 
nerve and brain damage in animals).

In the US alone more than 315 million computers were expected to become 
obsolete by the year 2004, containing an estimated 1.2 billion pounds of 
lead, 2 million pounds of cadmium, 400,000 pounds of mercury and 1.2 
million pounds of hexavalent chromium.

Imagine a worst-case scenario: Groundwater, (enough Kenyans draw 
drinking water directly from rivers,) near a landfill becomes contaminated.

If you can contact NEMA or our renowned Mother Nature (Prof. Wangari), 
let them know these and start preparing a law.

*Action:*

In US and Europe, laws have been passed to address disposal of 
electronoc waste:
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) in US and the Waste 
Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive in Europe address 
how computer equipment disposal should be carried out.
It is important to note that the RCRA rules regarding computer disposal 
are restricted to landfilling. Disposal usually does not include 
recycling, donations, or trade-ins. An organization, therefore, comes 
under the auspices of the RCRA only if it chooses to throw away its old 
equipment.Failure to comply, attracts high penalties from the authority.

*What does it take to comply:*

Did you know that implementing an in-house computer disposal program can 
cost up to $400 per computer in the US?

1. Computer Storage - $360+

Many companies rely simply on storing a few retired computers a month 
somewhere hoping that they’ll discover a viable solution for reuse or 
disposal. In so doing, the company is paying a rental fee each and every 
month on assets that are no longer producing any income. These 
organizations may also be paying support and maintenance fees, software 
license fees, or even leasing fees on unused equipment. Storing 
equipment for up to 3 years results in an average cost of $360 per 
device; and, when eventual disposal occurs, the organization will spend 
another $200 — or more — in removal fees.

2. Computer Disposal - $320+

Laws and state regulations prohibit placing the plastics and toxic 
chemicals found in computers and monitors in landfills. Organizations 
have to manage the hard costs of safe disposal of computer equipment. 
Alternatively additional payment to a third party for disposal or 
recycling of outdated equipment is necessary. When all the costs are 
totaled, an average of $320 is spent getting each computer out of the door.

3. Cascading (handing down/ employee sales) equipment - $275+

Older equipment replaced by newer equipment, and cascaded down the 
hierarchy, will require upgrades to remain compatible with newer 
applications or run the risk of creating an incompatible environment for 
file formats and networking. Resale to employees means that, first 
systems must be identified, removed from the enterprise network, 
cleaned, tested, and priced, and the employees must be notified of the 
sale. Upon completion of the sale, there must be a reconciliation of 
equipment information with financial systems, a record of all sale 
transactions, and review of the accounting — all real, hard costs. The 
average cost for the two options is approximately $275+.

4. Donating equipment - $300+

Donations of equipment to schools or charities requires all of the same 
hard costs associated with the administration of a sales effort. But, 
added to that are the issues of selection of the charity, logistical 
planning for pick up, disk wiping, maintenance of tax records and 
licence records. Crucially, in a donation scenario, any residual value 
of the equipment is lost. Thus, what began as a philanthropic effort, 
turns out to be one of the most time consuming and costly disposal 
alternatives; about $300 worth

5. Employing a recycler - $150+

The most cost effective disposal option is using a computer recycler 
with a strong remarketing organization. While the disposal cost remains 
the same — about $318 — it is offset by an average wholesale price of 
approximately $200; resulting in a disposal cost of only $150 per device.

California faces a mounting bill for handling toxic waste from obsolete 
computer monitors that could total U.S. $1 billion by 2006, according to 
a study released by a coalition of environmental groups.

*New industry:*

The problem has created a boom for PC recycling businesses in US and 
Europe (remarketers) that resell or dispose of these systems. They 
dispose by:

*Reuse*. The term “reuse” refers to giving (or selling) computers to 
someone or some other organization to use. Donating computers to 
charitable organizations and schools provides a company with tax 
benefits that may exceed the expected realizable value from selling the 
computers via a secondary market.

*Recycle.* Depending on where it is done, recycling computers can be 
simple or difficult. Computers contain many metals that can be recycled.
In Africa for example it could be extremely difficult to recycle.

*Trade-in.* Most major computer manufacturers (e.g., Dell, Gateway, 
HP/Compaq) have trade-in programs. Individuals who donate their used 
computer to the manufacturer gets a cash refund.

If an old equipment still holds significant value, a remarketer can 
resell this equipment and share the profits with you. They can also help 
with employee purchase programs. A remarketer will handle donation of 
your equipment to a needy charity or developing country, even refurbish 
your equipment and redeploy it to another site. The remarketers provide 
these services and more for a fraction of what it would cost to do it 
yourself.

To verify that disposal was done according to the law, the remarketers 
present a “Certificate of Disposal” providing evidence of services to 
the companies.

*Receiving old computers:
*
Organisations are advised to have the recipient of the used computer 
equipment sign an agreement accepting responsibility for its proper 
disposal. This is necessary whether it is sold, given to an employee, or 
donated. In the event of future litigation, this documentation supports 
the position that the recipient has accepted responsibility for the 
equipment’s disposal. This is where Africa will be trapped.

*Africa as an ideal market:*

Africa accepting old computers makes it an ideal target for dumping. 
This can earn the remarketers millions of dollars. The law for example 
in the US does not cover donated computers abroad but those that are 
disposed within the country. Safe disposal costs are not incurred since 
the equipment is leaving the country. But how do the computers get to 
Africa anyway?

Talk to someone bringing old computers: (*These are estimates*)
A computer unit comes at a cost of about $50
1. Organize and pay for shipment (costs about $40 )
2. Arrange and pay for transport from the port to the refurbishment 
center costs about $10.
3. Unpack the containers: Contain a lot of junk,some containers have 
even been found to contain materials not related to computer equipment, 
lack of compatible hardware components, going to a store the components 
are no longer being supplied, takes enough time to assemble a complete 
working unit.
4. Assemble one working computer unit ( this usually involves picking 
bits and pieces from about 8 assumed computer units)
5. Arrange for delivery to schools

Since most of the organisations carrying out refurbishment are NGOs and 
Non-profits, they have donor funded budgets for salaries and operations. 
This takes care of salaries and wages of technical staff and the rest.

Africa is indeed going to save the Europe and North America billions of 
dollars. Before you know it, another clause will be in WTO agreements 
requiring that we abind by a certain computer equipment disposal law. We 
shall of course not have the the infrastructure to safely dispose all 
the WORLD'S COMPUTER WASTE. THE CRISIS WILL BE HERE WITH US.This will be 
10 to 15 years to come. The youth (leaders of tomorrow) will be dealing 
with this crisis above HIV/AIDS, famine, poverty, wars etc. Heaps and 
heaps of absolete computer equipment waiting to be safely disposed. 
Scanty computer hardware industry. We are already quite challanged by 
our environment. Control over dumping in Kenya for example is a big 
challenge. Environmental degradation is a rampant.

*What happens to the schools:*

When schools receive the refurbs, they pay about $250 per unit. They 
take care of their networking. These costs are either met by the schools 
directly or through some donor fund. The schools either sign a 
maintainance contract with the supplier or take care of their problems 
whenever they occur. Most suppliers indeed supply the computers with 
pirated software. Free and Open Source Software is also being used.

In most African countries, Kenya included, goverments have not made 
clear policies for ICTs in schools. This means that it is up to the 
schools to know how best to use the facilities. In most cases, capacity 
is limited or non-existance. Also, the hidden costs associated with 
computers start bitting into the schools budgets. Maintance costs go 
high and soon out of the initial 20 computers, a school has only 10 
working units. Teachers have to take up the role of maintainance in 
order to deliver using the facilities. The teacher's core business is to 
deliver the curicullum. Maintainance eats into their core business which 
is teaching.

When the end of useful life comes for the refurbs, it will be the 
responsibilty of the schools to take care of the safe disposal. The 
NGOs/Non-profits will be gone. When a book is supplied to a school, and 
after two years the syllabus changes, it becomes the responsibility of 
the school to know where to take the book if there is limited space in 
the library.

*In Conclusion*

If we are going to have 1 million old computers coming to Africa or 
Kenya, it means that the containers will have to deliver about 1.5 
million or more in order assemble the parts that will be missing and to 
better the specifications.

The remarketing/"disposal" industry in the Europe and US will *generate* 
about:

1,500,000 * 400 (levy for originating company, tax benefits, sale to 
African refurbishment centers) = $600,000,000

Africa will *loose* (worth of local computer hardware industry):

1,500,000 * 100 (purchase of old computer, shipping, delivery from port) 
= $150,000,000
NB: Computers have not been refurbished and are yet to go to schools, 
utilization has not started, full capacity to use is not even guaranteed

KINDLY NOTE THAT THIS WILL OPEN UP KENYA and AFRICA FOR ALL THE OLD 
COMPUTERS, INDEED IT WILL KICKSTART THE OFFLOADING OF OLD COMPUTERS TO 
AFRICA

*What i would like to bring out is this:*

Donors fund these projects. Donor funds, in most cases amount to 
goverment loans payable over a long time. Therefore Kenya and Africa 
will be loaned the money to acquire old computers and pay for what it 
takes to deliver the computers to schools. If then the donors goodwill 
is to support positive development in Africa and economic growth why 
invest in a process that is going to eventually destroy the continent?

If an investment fund of $150 million was granted to Dell/HP or even a 
Chinese company (these being examples) in a public-private partnership 
to invest in Africa, i believe they would willing come since the 
computers will be sold at a cost with returns. This would spur and 
develop the industry, create jobs, get new computers and all that comes 
with a new industry. 10 years down the line, we could be speaking a 
different language. Glad about something; having earned mileage in this 
effort to close the so called "digital divide".

Indeed many companies are already assembling new computers (clones) in 
Kenya and this kind of approach will grow and enhance Kenyan businesses 
hence sustainable development.

However, with the old computers, 10 years down the line, we will be 
weeping at the overwhelming heaps and heaps of e-waste, that we borrowed 
money to acquire, are paying back with interest. Further, concerning 
disposal of the waste, the developed countries will be telling us they 
have technology to safely dispose e-waste, but at our cost. At this 
point we shall go back to the same donors and ask for money to get all 
these waste out of our countries with a lot of environmental degradation 
already done. And the African debts will continue to grow, with or 
without debt relief. How shall Kenya and Africa ever exit this vicious 
cycle?

This is what i would like to trigger in the minds of everyone listening. 
As Kenyans we have the responsibility to define our destiny which is 
wholesome for all our people. Lets take a leaf from the west, who always 
plan with the future generations in mind.

AT THIS POINT, I WOULD REQUEST YOU WHO HAS READ THROUGH UP TO THIS POINT 
AND UNDERSTANDS THE PERTINENT ISSUES THAT I HAVE RAISED TO TALK TO THOSE 
AROUND YOU AND GET THEM TO UNDERSTAND THE ISSUES AT STAKE. SPREAD THIS 
MESSAGE TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN FOR THE SAKE OF THIS CONTINENT. 
THOSE IN POSITIONS OF INFLUENCE, I PRAY THAT YOU INTERVENE. I HAVE 
NOTHING AGAINST OTHERS BUT AFRICA HAS TO TAKE CONTROL OF HER DESTINY AND 
MORE SO THE ONE THAT PLACES HER PEOPLE FIRST.

KENYANS, LETS SAVE OUR COUNTRY'S FUTURE AND GERMINATE A HARDWARE INDUSTRY!

TO ALEX: Please consider retracting your call!

Dorcas Muthoni
Sent In my individual capacity


Alex Gakuru wrote:

> I ask of Americans currently using the 63 million computers to 'dump' 
> all of them in Kenya and pay a small dumping fee per computer.
> Reasoning:
> 1. They are using them today so why cant we use them for the next 5 
> years ( 2010 MDGs?)
> 2. The newspaper does not offer an alternative beyong the 'dumping' 
> health scare
> 3. In Kenya 10,000 pcs are purchased every month in a population of 31 
> million. When shall Kenya have 15 million people connected to the 
> internet?
> 4.What about those old 386s stilll in circulation? should be dump into 
> the sea?
>
> Americans, please dump all the computers in Kenya. The little dumping 
> fee shall be used for Universal Access Fund to transport them to 
> Mandera, Loki, Kajiado, Bondo, Nanyuki, Nandi, Turkana...... the rural 
> folks need internet not just the economic gems in Nairobi and Mombasa.
> Many Kenyans long ago made child's play out of Schroedingers' equation 
> and their intelligence should not be under-estimated. They are 
> innovative enough to develop solar, wind power. Technology Should NOT 
> be a preserve of a handful of city-based CEOs.
> Gakuru


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