Maida calls for conscious measures to reduce waste

The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, has canvassed for conscious measures to reduce the electronic waste generated by the use of information and communications technology (ICT) tools in the country.

Maida made this call at the 2023 ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue, which was held at the prestigious Welcome Centre Hotels, International Airport Road, Lagos, recently, with the theme: You can recycle anything with a plug, battery, and cable.

The EVC, who was represented by a director at NCC from the Department of Technical Standards and Network Integrity, Dr. Lawal Bello, said that this has become imperative given the dynamism in technology and economic changes.

Nigeria, EVC said, stands to benefit more by taking conscious measures to reduce the e-waste generated using ICT tools and equipment in the country.

"This will not only save the country’s expenditure but also make e-waste easier to manage," he said.

Maida listed some e-waste benefits and opportunities associated with conscious efforts, asserting that the environmental and economic benefits of recycling telecom equipment abound.

Recycling telecom equipment, for instance, he said, could reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, save energy, and prevent e-waste from polluting the environment.

"It can also generate value for telcos by reusing, repairing, or reselling hardware and devices," he said.

The best practices of telcos embracing sustainability, he said, would entail that some telcos should launch initiatives to promote recycling and circularity, such as UK Vodafone’s internal asset marketplace, which allowed operators to repurpose excess or decommissioned hardware, or its device trade-in programme, which encourages customers to return their old devices for recycling or refurbishment.

Pointing out that other telcos have set ambitious targets to reduce their carbon footprint and increase their use of renewable energy.

Nigerian telecoms operator and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) manufacturers, Maida advised, could adopt device trade-in.

This, EVC advised, would be nudged to adopt similar ideas on device trade-in programmes to reduce e-waste in the country, especially for mobile phones and tablets.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Group Executive Editor of ITREALMS Media and convener of the E-Waste Dialogue, Sir Remmy Nweke, applauded participants and partnering entities like the NCC, Internet Exchange of Nigeria (IXPN), Domain Name System (DNS) Women Nigeria, as well as the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), Nigeria IT Reporters Association (NITRA), Waste Managers of Nigeria, and E-waste Producer Responsibility Organisation of Nigeria (EPRON) for their consistency in supporting the advocacy, stressing the need to positively dispose of our mobile devices for the sake of the future and environment.