Well supported, targeted and considered ICT projects have an enormous impact on the lives of people in developing countries but is send recycled computers a good idea? The first comment is a general one about using old computers in Africa. Reliable, clean electricity simply doesn't exist in much of sub-Saharan Africa, nor do dust-free classrooms. Any computer will have a much shorter useful life in these environments than they might in an air-conditioned office in London or Dublin. Laptops in particular are vulnerable - even new laptop batteries have a much shorter useful life in the heat of Africa, but old ones are virtually useless. When the recycled computers finally fail, many schools and clinics are too remote to easily access good PC support, and even if they can the cost of supporting increasingly unreliable computers becomes too burdensome. When the computers become unusable, often after only a short time, the recipients often feel a sense of guilt or embarrassment for not being able to use the "fantastic gift" and begin to worry about what to do next. The second comment follows on from this. It is generally recognized that the only way today of disposing of old computers is put them into landfill. But are old computers better in an African landfill than one in Europe? Simply transferring the cost and burden of first world waste to the developing world is simply and unequivocally wrong on so many levels. A New York Times noted: Every old computer monitor contains about two kilos lead, and other parts are filled with heavy metals like mercury, arsenic, cadmium and chromium. They have toxins that hover in the air after incineration or leach into the water supply when buried in landfills. When it is estimated that 70% of heavy metals in landfill originate from defunct computer equipment, it would seem, at the very least, unwise to shift the problem from wealthier to developing nations without creating the means to dispose of the eventual waste in a safe and environmental way. Particularly when many Africans lives directly off the ground water which an increasing number of defunct computers will be poisoning. Shifting the burden of computer disposal from the developed to the developing world is a health and environmental disaster waiting to come. Further, there is a growing problem of the poorest in society living on landfills in developing countries, scavenging old computer parts and circuit boards to recover the metals. This often involves using dangerous chemicals which dissolve the boards to put the metals into solution - leading to horrible health problems amongst the scavengers. And finally. It is often and well argued that technology is important for developing countries if their economies are to evolve and grow, helping them to compete in a global knowledge economy. But how does using unsupported versions of MS Windows and old applications help? The only way people in any economy can compete internationally is if they have access to the same tools as everyone else. A British business would no more be able to compete against US counterparts if their skills were only honed as far as Windows 2000 and Office 97. If countries want to use their old computers to benefit others, then perhaps a more sensible approach might be to recycle them for the less fortunate in their own domestic society, selling them through parent teacher groups so all children have access to computers. If this generates any revenue, then use that to buy new computers for ICT programmes in Africa - ideally ones which work with Nepad on a useful and localised curriculum. In this way everyone benefits but the burden of disposal remains with the root owner of the problem. For more on ICT and development read this article and contact CBN. |
