By Ntokozo Nkambule
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Eswatini Environment Authority (EEA) Gcina Dladla says they are working on legislation that will ensure that companies or individuals that produce products in the country are held responsible for how the products are disposed of once they are no longer in use.
He said what this simply means is that companies or producers must ensure that the products they produce are disposed of in a healthy or sustainable way.
Dladla was speaking during MTN Eswatini’s Recycling Internal Campaign launch held at the telecommunications company’s headquarters in Ezulwini.
“Once you place a product into the market as a company you will have to be responsible for that product, even when the product has ended its life cycle. As the producer of that product, you will be responsible for its disposal.”
He noted that other countries have already put this practice in place and that extended producer responsibility is a preventive measure using a life-cycle or a cradle-to-grave perspective.
“Extended producer responsibility policies attempt to change how a product has produced the cradle to affect how a product may be disposed of the grave.”
He added that this will not be a new phenomenon as the beverages sector for instance long implemented this move.
Dladla noted that the recycling campaign by MTN Eswatini is encouraging because it sets the tone for most companies in the country, especially those that operate in the Information, Communication, and Technology (ICT) space.
Furthermore, the CEO revealed that as EEA they have recently developed a Waste Information System which is aimed at ensuring that companies that produce products can report on the quantity of waste that they have.
He concluded by imploring MTN Eswatini to have a comprehensive infrastructure plan for recycling in the technology sector.