Person in the Port (PiP)
The StEP Project “Person in the Port (PiP)” has been satisfactory completed by StEP members BCCC Africa and UNU with support from US-EPA and BMZ/GIZ and the final report is now available here (directer link zum report – http://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:6349/PiP_Report.pdf ).
Findings of this 16 months lasting work show that:
- Thousands of tonnes of e-waste are shipped illegally to Nigeria inside used vehicles
- about 3/4 of 60,000 tonnes of used electronic equipment shipped to two ports in Lagos in both 2015 and 2016 originated from EU ports;
- At least 15,400 tonnes were non-functional
- TVs, monitors are largest category (almost one-third by weight), followed by photocopiers, fridges
- 70% — 41,500 tonnes — of the UEEE reaching Lagos each year arrived inside vehicles destined for Nigeria’s second hand auto market, an import route never before thoroughly assessed
- Overall, around 77 % of the assessed UEEE imports originated from ports in the EU, mainly from Germany and the United Kingdom (around 20 % each), followed, with some distance by Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain and Ireland (between 9 % and 6 %). China and the USA each account for around 7 % of the total imports.
- Almost all of the importers or their agents are Nigerians, of which 80% are located within the Lagos metropolis
The target of the project is to acquire funding for a comprehensive project in this area which can support decision making around the job creation potential of different e-waste policies.
Project lead: Colin Fitzpatrick, Limerick University
Project members: UNU, RLG, Memorial University, US-EPA, DRZ