Lima, 3 February 2017 The SRI e-waste training course met high interest from the government and general public in Peru. Speaking at the opening day Environment Vice-Minister Marcos Alegre presented the key elements of the new Peruvian Law on Solid Waste Management. “Waste management has to be seen as resource management. Our recyclers are our future miners for raw materials” Alegre stated. Environmental Minister Elsa Galarza visited the training the following day and she said: “Peruvians need to know what to do with their obsolete electronics and MINAM has a commitment to raise public awareness”. Her visit was broadcasted life in the morning news of several Peruvian TV stations.

The training included practical exercises for the dismantling of electrical and electronic appliances, valorisation and disposal options for valuable and hazardous fractions respectively, and the discussion of economic aspects for professional recycling companies. The course benefited of the technical experience from Elisabeth Herbeck of the Dismantling and Recycling Centre DRZ Vienna, Austria. The e-waste training course was organised by SRI partner IPES for professional instructors of SENATI’s Centre for Environmental Technologies and Peruvian e-waste recyclers. SENATI is the Peruvian National Training Centre for Industrial Workers.The ultimate goal of the SENATI training is to further professionalize the e-waste recycling industry in Peru by establishing an nationwide education curricula for future recycling professionals.

The public opening day was co-hosted by the Environment Ministry (MINAM) and was attended by more than 350 participants. The day also included a comprehensive introduction into e-waste management on a global scale by Mathias Schluep (WRF Switzerland) and a status update for Latin America by Carlos Hernandez (CNPML Colombia).

SRI E-waste program in Peru

Between July 2009 and April 2013, the Swiss e-waste program for Peru was executed by the Swiss Federal Institute for Materials Research and Technology (Empa) and its Peruvian counterpart IPES. Since 2013 the project activities were prolonged through the Sustainable Recycling Industries (SRI) program in order to consolidate advances through the implementation of a legal e-waste framework, other aspects of communication and standardization, as well as producer led take back systems.

SRI is the Sustainable Recycling Industries program, led by the World Resources Forum, and supported by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO