E-Waste Management in

the Philippines
By Charles Tito R. Aguilar
JD 4203

What is E-waste?

What is E-waste?

E-Waste (electronic waste) is the term used to describe the rapidly growing
stream of waste from discarded electronics and appliances. These items
include anything from computers, TVs and phones to washing machines and
refrigerators to everything else in between. Most of these electronics or
appliances are often not trash, but simply outdated and traded up for the
latest version on the market.

What laws regulate e-waste?

Locally there is no special law on e-waste. Instead, discarded electronics fall

under the special waste category of Republic Act No. 9003, or the
Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. The act, which is a general
law that aims to reduce and properly manage solid waste in the Philippines,
identifies the local government units to be responsible for the collection and
handling of special wastes, and to identify current and proposed programs to
ensure proper handling, re-use and long-term disposal of such.

What laws regulate e-waste?

In addition to RA 9003, Republic Act No. 6969, also called the Toxic Substance
and Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Act of 1990, seeks to, among others, with
regard to chemical substances and mixtures that present an unreasonable risk
or injury to health or the environment to regulate, restrict or prohibit the
importation, manufacture, processing, sale, distribution, use and disposal
thereof. With regard to hazardous and nuclear wastes RA 6969 seeks to
prevent the entry, even in transit, as well as the keeping or storage and
disposal of hazardous and nuclear wastes into the country for whatever
purpose.

What laws regulate e-waste?

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Administrative

Order 29 (DAO 29), series of 1992 is the Implementing Rules and Regulations
of RA 6969. DAO 29 outlines the processes, including the requirements, in the
management of toxic and hazardous wastes, as well as the penalties that may
be imposed in violation of the law.

What laws regulate e-waste?

The Basel Convention was created in 1989 by the United Nations Environment
Program to help control the transboundary movements of hazardous wastes
and their disposal and currently includes over 180 participants and which the
Philippines is a signatory. One stipulation the treaty ensures, is that before
the export of hazardous waste can occur, sending parties must confirm that
waste will be managed in an environmentally safe manner in the country of
import.

E-waste as a rising global concern

According to the most recent report released by the United Nations University
(UNU) on e-waste, findings show that globally we produced 41.8 million tons
of e-waste in 2014. Even more startling -- it is believed that less than onesixth is properly recycled or reused.

E-waste as a rising global concern

An issue of toxicity

Not only does the phenomenon of e-waste pose volume management

problems for countries, it also creates serious environmental and health
concerns. E-waste contains a cocktail of hazardous materials that can pollute
groundwater and surrounding bodies of water, and contaminate the air and
ultimately affect biodiversity. Moreover, people exposed to such materials
may be more prone to brain and reproductive system problems and different
forms of cancer.

E-waste is classified as Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment by

DENR procedural manual on toxic and hazardous waste management. It is
defined to include all waste electrical and electronic equipment that contain
hazardous components such as lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent
chromium, polybrominated biphenyls, polybrominated diphenyl ethers that
include its peripherals i.e., ink cartridges, toners, etc.

E-waste as a rising global concern

An issue of volume

The Philippines, in its own capacity, can generate an overwhelmingly large

amount of e-waste. A 2005 study on the current and future quantity of e-waste
in the Philippines estimates that approximately 2.7 million units of televisions,
refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines and radios became obsolete
by the end of 2005, with around 1.8 million units going to landfills. From 1995
to 2005, approximately 14 million units became obsolete, with an additional
14 million units projected to follow the same route by 2010.

However, a significant amount of e-waste also enters the Philippines as

surplus electronics from other countries such as the United States, South
Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Thailand. Importation of secondhand home
appliances and electronic equipment is controlled by the Environmental
Management Bureau of the Department of Environment & Natural Resources,
following the provisions of the Basel Convention.

What Is Being Done?

The DENR has a list of accredited companies that provide recycling services
for e-waste, which is considered special waste. They are called Treatment,
Storage, and Disposal (TSD) facilities.

The DENR Environmental Quality Division-Hazardous Waste Management

Section held a public consultation last April 08, 2015 at EMB Central Office in
order to solicit inputs and comments from the different stakeholders on the
draft guidelines on the Environmentally Sound Management of Waste
Electrical and Electronic Equipment. It was attended by representatives from
EMB, concerned government agencies, industries and other stakeholders.

What Is Being Done?

In July 2010, the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC), an

attached agency of the DENR, developed a safety module for the informal
waste sector. The module, which focused mostly on chemical safety, aimed to
educate the different people engaged in the sector about the occupational
hazards they are exposed to, as well as some immediate measures that can
be taken to minimize health and environmental risk.

What Is Being Done?

Malls have e-waste collection days to allow mall-goers to bring all their
unwanted electronics. SM has its Trash to Cash Recycling Market and Ayala has
its Recyclables Fair. A person can bring old batteries, old cassettes, old
appliances that are no longer working and there are people who come and
buy them from you in bulk.

What can you do?

While we all have busy lives, we can still do our part to help. For instance, we
can easily implement the three R's we learned in school.

Research. Know which companies produce safe and environmentally

sustainable electronic gadgets. Websites such as those set up by Greenpeace
have guides that rank the top electronics manufacturers according to their
policies on toxics, recycling, and climate change.

Purchase electronics that have the RoHS logo. This means that the
equipment complies with the European Unions Restriction of Hazardous
Substances directive that prohibits the sale of electronics that contain
common toxins found in electronic gadgets.

What can you do?

Buy energy-efficient electronic products. Less energy used means lesser

power consumed. Which is good not only for Meralco but for the climate as
well.

Look for brands with good warranty and take-back policies. Reputable
manufacturers should stand behind the products they sell.

Go for quality, not quantity. Most of the cheap items will wear out after a few
months. Buying a product of good quality is a much better investment and
better for the environment, too.

What can you do?

Look for electronics with rechargeable rather than disposable batteries.

Dont dump or burn your e-waste. Look for reputable recyclers who can
manage the toxic waste in an environmentally sound manner.