By Godfrey Bivbere & Abigail Ezenwafor
The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS and the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Agency,  NESREA, have supervised the repatriation of four container loads of e-waste shipped into the country in the last one year.

Container of the 1,100 Jojef Magnum Pump Action and Jojef Magnum Plastic Single Barrels Hunting Gun Pump Action Rifles seized by Customs at Lagos Tin-Can

E-waste  is a popular, informal name  for electronic  products nearing the end of their “useful life.” Computers, televisions stes, VCRs, stereos, copiers, and fax machines are the common electronic products in this condition. Many of these products can be reused, refurbished, or recycled.

Disclosing this to  Vanguard Maritime Report  at a Customs press briefing involving e-waste in Lagos, an official of NESREA at the Tin-can Island port,  Mrs. Amarachi Ezinwanyi Udechukwu, said such dangerous items had to be repatriated because of their harmful nature.

Udechukwu explained that while few imports of such items are sent to recycling centres, the large quantities are sent back to their countries of origin.

In her words, “No they are not going to be handed over to us, just like the Controller said, the containers will be repatriated.

“Within this last one year here, this is the fourth one we are having here for repatriation. There are others, we have had cases of used leather sea batteries which are hazardous substance that is not also allowed into the country.

“When we check the quantity if it is a few items, what we do is that we seize them and send to recycling centres but when they are large, they are also repatriated to their own country of origin.

“These ones are 3×40 containers and they are from Malaysia.”

On whether NESREA would be responsible for the repatriation, she said, “my agency will supervise the repatriation in collaboration with Customs; actually it is the consignee, that is the importer that will bear the cost as well as the shipping line because they are not supposed to bring in waste into the county. “So, they will bear the cost of  repatriation back to the country of origin,” she concluded.