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Algeria, like other countries in the world, is increasingly producing IT and electronic waste (waste from electrical and electronic equipment). This waste can be transformed into a wealth through recycling, an activity increasing in other regions. What about in Algeria? What should be done to develop this activity whose economic impact has proven? The teacher at the Faculty of Economic, Commercial and Management Sciences at the University of Tizi Ouzou, Arezki Chenane, makes an inventory of the development of this activity and evokes the prospects of his development.
We all have a phone, an charger or an unusual electronic equipment. On the other hand or has become obsolete, this equipment must not be at the bottom of the trash. A “second life” should be given to this equipment and a wealth can be created from this waste, through recycling. For this teacher, waste management in general is “a challenge and an opportunity” for all countries, in particular for Algeria “due to the development of production activities and the evolution of consumption methods”.
Chenane noted the particularity of this waste from electronic and electric equipment, from computers to freezers, from mobile phones to televisions. “The waste of electrical and electronic equipment (D3E) grows faster than the other categories of waste due to the shortening of the lifespan of these products,” he said, saying that their management must obey the principles of the circular economy by adopting the recycling or reuse method for certain products.
D3E recycling, a timidly emerge sector
In this sense, Mr. Chenane highlighted the rehabilitation of the legal framework by in depth revising law 01-19 relating to the management, control and elimination of waste by adopting law 25-02, February 25, 2025, thus completing the law of 2001.
Saying “an entrepreneurial dynamic specializing in the collection, treatment and recycling of D3E”, this teacher, however, reported “a very low rate occupied by the recycling of this waste”. This situation is explained, according to him, by “the non-mastise in the recycling technique”, but also by “the administrative heaviness of reform of cushioning computer equipment belonging to communities and public administrations”. This “makes the auction of this restrictive waste auction”, added Mr. Chenane, stressing the importance of developing this activity segment, especially since its role in the creation of wealth and jobs is demonstrated, in addition to the environmental impact.
“The development of this activity not only allows the protection of the environment but also the recovery of raw materials (metal, plastic, lithium, etc.)”, he explained, adding that the latter can be integrated into the electronic industries and household appliances. “But this challenge remains dependent on the manufacture of electronic components locally to ensure a high level of integration,” he added.
What is certain is that this activity can be the bearer of wealth and jobs if this sector were to be structured, according to the details of this professor, who emphasized the need to organize this activity.
Awareness and incentives to develop activity
This, he noted, must start with “the establishment of a system for recovering these types of waste in appropriate places”, in addition to the need to focus efforts on consumer awareness but also companies on the importance of recycling of IT and electronic waste.
It is mainly useful “to raise awareness among consumers of the danger of keeping this waste at home or dumping it in places that affect the environment and the natural ecosystem”, a situation that generates water pollution and the degradation of biodiversity, wanted to highlight the university professor.
In terms of businesses, the company’s social responsibility must be, he said, “at the heart of this problem by promoting eco-design and eco-functionality contained in the principles of the circular economy”.
He estimates that companies must recycle or reuse certain products, or the implementation of the market mechanisms of this waste, which are distinguished from the waste scholarship set up by the National Waste Agency.
The development of this activity segment must also go through the implementation of incentives. “Tax and parafiscal incentives must be put in place to develop this activity, mainly due to the depreciation duration of this equipment which is very reduced in the context of technological innovation, which is at the service of economic performance”, he advocated, also pointing out the possibility of putting in place other incentives in the relaxation of procedures for passing the markets relating to the auctions public administrations.