Switzerland has been successfully operating an e-waste management system for more than 15 years. From the beginning, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (Empa) has been part of the technical control bodies for the Swiss system operators.
Building up on this experience the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) first mandated EMPA in 2003 to implement case studies of the situation of e-waste recycling in developing and transition countries in Asia and Africa. The case studies are envisaged to share knowledge and experience gained through this system and to establish "Knowledge Partnerships in e-WasteRecycling".
In 2007, the first programme was extended to Latin America. In addition, two new e-waste initiatives funded by Hewlett-Packard (HP) and UNIDO/Microsoft were implemented with case studies in various African countries. In 2009 the e-waste Africa project under the Secretariat of the Basel Convention has been kicked-off.
The ultimate aim of the e-waste programmes is the improvement of living conditions for local residents based on better managed e-waste streams, resource protection, reduced health risks and an improved economic situation.
The Case Studies section is searchable either by country or by programme.
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