After partnering with Phenix Recycling in Tanzania, Mobisol has signed up a partnership with Rwanda’s Enviroserve and Kenya’s Associated Battery Manufacturers to recycle off-grid solar components, such as waste from solar products, consumer electronics and lead-based batteries.
Mobiso says this milestone comes at a time where the off-grid solar industry increasingly acknowledges the importance of finding end-of-life solutions for its products.
According to Guy Jack, Managing Director of ABM: “ABM is very content to have found an ambitious, environmentally-conscious partner in Mobisol. The decentralized solar industry is one that will face further challenges with regards to recycling in the future; experienced, long-standing recyclers like ABM have the responsibility to provide clear and transparent end-of-life solutions to those who are willing to tackle the challenge of informal and inappropriate practices sustainably.”
E-waste recycling was one of the emerging topics of discussion at the Off-Grid Solar Forum in Hong Kong last month. At the event, attended by over 600 sector representatives, the importance of collaboration and exchange in order to improve existing methods for safe disposal of e-waste and batteries was strongly emphasized.
By joining hands with e-waste and battery recyclers in all operational countries, the firm aims to help end the menace and address the immense challenge of the informal recycling sector that uses practices which do not meet acceptable, sustainable standards.
On December 7th of last year, the Government of Rwanda officially inaugurated its first e-waste recycling facility in Kigali. The event was attended by several public representatives, demonstrating the national will to create an infrastructure for responsible recycling. Building on a long-standing partnership with the Government of Rwanda since 2014, Mobisol is proud to be able to establish ties with Enviroserve, a Dubai-based international recycling expert taking over the operation of the Kigali facility since January this year.
Stuart Fleming, Group CEO of Enviroserve, says Enviroserve is looking forward to becoming a recycling hub in East Africa in the future.
