Summary

Electronic waste, often known as e-waste, is the fastest increasing waste stream in South Africa and, if not managed properly, poses a severe environmental danger. E-waste generates significant revenue opportunities while saving the environment and decreasing the impact of climate change through suitable recycling methods and the recovery of raw minerals such as gold and copper. To capitalize on this source of economic development in South Africa, e-waste collection must be enhanced. This study investigates consumer views and behaviors about e-waste recycling using a home consumer survey done with participants in the Gauteng region of South Africa. It was found that there is a general lack of consumer knowledge regarding e-waste recycling and restricted pro-recycling behaviors, both of which are driven by inadequate collecting systems and infrastructure. Opportunities for increasing home recycling are investigated by evaluating worldwide collection programmes, and recommendations are offered in light of present local issues.

According to the research report “South Africa E-Waste Management Market Overview, 2028," published by Bonafide Research, the market is expected to add USD 0.10 Billion in the upcoming period, 2023–2028. According to the source type, the market consists of Household Appliances such as air conditioners, dishwashers, and induction cookers, among others. Mobile devices, wearable, TVs, set-top boxes, monitors, laptops, tablets, computers, printers, scanners, and so on are all examples of consumer electronics. IT & Telecom Equipment, IT Accessories, PCBs, Digital Boards, Datacenters, Medical Equipment and Accessories are all examples of Industrial Electronics. Household sectors dominate the market since electronic gadgets are needed for almost all household tasks such as cleaning and cooking. Based on the material type such as Metal, Plastic, Glass, and others. Metal material is highly generated from e-waste in South Africa. E-waste contains several base and precious metals such as gold, silver, copper, nickel, and palladium. Having an effective method to extract these metals means they can be reused or if the metals are extracted at high purity, can be sold to offset the cost of processing and recycling E-waste.

Long-term e-waste management solutions will necessitate a fair and economically sustainable approach to extended producer responsibility (EPR). EPR compels producers - such as makers, importers, or distributors - to assume responsibility for the end-of-life management of electronic devices supplied on the market. This involves returning products, recycling them, and finally discarding them. Many African nations have defined e-waste management and EPR in their legislation. Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Ghana, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Africa, for example, place greater emphasis on a person or individuals introducing, importing, and producing electronics rather than companies. This makes determining who has to register with the linked EPR programme more efficient. Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Ghana, Madagascar, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Africa, for example, underline that "producers" include importers, distributors, and electronics makers. This makes determining who must register with the linked EPR system more efficient.

South Africa has implemented a PRO model in a variety of waste streams, including lighting, electrical and electronic equipment, and packaging. This illustrates how an EPR plan may be tailored to fit the requirements of various industry sectors. In Rwanda, the government has made direct investments in large-scale e-waste collection and recycling through a successful public-private partnership with Enviroserve, a significant e-waste recycling firm. Although this strategy differs differently from PROs, it has the potential to be scaled up and served in Rwanda's neighbouring nations.

South Africa recycles 9.7% of its produced e-waste, which is deconstructed and the valuable portions sent for recycling (beneficiation). The distinction between the two is because the informal sector generally does not "recycle"—they collect for recycling, they fix for reuse, but they do not beneficiate, which would necessitate expensive pyrometallurgical or hydrometallurgical equipment. The complexity of recycling varies throughout the continent, with South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Namibia, and Rwanda having some sort of legal recycling e-waste business (backed by an informal economy) [4, 24, 25]. In Ghana and Nigeria, the informal sector drives the industry. Long-term treatment sites, such as Agbogbloshie (Ghana), have vertically integrated informal e-waste recycling into a viable e-waste industry.

The majority of WEEE plastics remanufacturing in South Africa (80%—7500 t) is exported, and this is expected to be comparable in other African nations. The leftover plastic fractions are landfilled in the best-case scenario, but are more likely to be unrecovered and scattered into the environment in a variety of sizes due to fragmentation caused by informal recycling procedures. Furthermore, recent research have revealed that bigger plastics fragment and landfill leachates may operate as another source of microplastics, depending on landfill features. Sorbed toxic and persistent hazardous compounds in microplastics released from these places may offer significant threats to human and environmental health.

Some of the E-waste management companies in South Africa are eWASA, Desco Electronic Recyclers, Oricol Environmental Services, ORICOL ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES SA (PTY) LTD, Ez Electronic Recycling, EWaste Africa, Ez Electronic Recycling, CAPE E-WASTE RECYCLERS, iLanga EWaste Management, Electronic Cemetery e-Waste Management, Cape E Waste, eWaste Technologies Africa, E-Waste Limpopo, GreenABLE e-Waste Management Centre and many others.

Considered in this report
• Geography: South Africa
• Historic year: 2017
• Base year: 2022
• Estimated year: 2023
• Forecast year: 2028

Aspects covered in this report
• South Africa E-Waste market with its value and forecast along with its segments
• Various drivers and challenges
• On-going trends and developments
• Top profiled companies
• Strategic recommendation

By Application Type
• Trashed
• Recycled

By Material Type
• Metal
• Plastic
• Glass
• Others

By Source Type
• Household Appliances
• Consumer Electronic
• Industrial Electronic

The approach of the report:
This report consists of a combined approach of primary as well as secondary research. Initially, secondary research was used to get an understanding of the market and listing out the companies that are present in the market. The secondary research consists of third-party sources such as press releases, annual report of companies, analysing the government generated reports and databases. After gathering the data from secondary sources primary research was conducted by making telephonic interviews with the leading players about how the market is functioning and then conducted trade calls with dealers and distributors of the market. Post this we have started doing primary calls to consumers by equally segmenting consumers in regional aspects, tier aspects, age group, and gender. Once we have primary data with us we have started verifying the details obtained from secondary sources.

Intended audience
This report can be useful to industry consultants, manufacturers, suppliers, associations & organizations related to E-Waste Management market, government bodies and other stakeholders to align their market-centric strategies. In addition to marketing & presentations, it will also increase competitive knowledge about the industry.