10 07 29 Master thesis Juliana Leon - e-Waste. This guide

3.3 Operation of the informal sector in Colombian main cities
In Colombia, there is no specific law that regulates e-waste recycling yet. The lack of
control and regulation combined with high unemployment rates and poverty in the
country has led some groups of people to find an economic benefit by doing
collection, disassembly, sorting, and trade of valuable parts of waste electronic
equipments. These processes are carried out with unprofessional methods while
simply dumping the often-hazardous non-profitable components.
For the representation in the MFA, activities performed by the IS concerning e-waste
management can be simplified into four processes: informal collection, informal
disassembly, informal refurbishment, and informal metal extraction. The same person
can perform two or more processes and almost all stakeholders realize additionally
storing, buying, and selling. Although these processes are informal, all except metal
extraction have also positive impacts: they contribute to employment and income
generation, stimulate the repair-and-refurbish industry, increase the lifespan of
disposal sites and promote sustainable resource use. Based on the field
observations, relevant activities performed under the four mentioned processes are
explained below.
3.3.1 Informal collection
Informal collection is in most cases performed by recicladores who also gather other
recyclable materials (paper, glass, plastics, etc.) and useful devices. The informal
waste harvesting currently practiced in Colombia includes activities such as door-todoor
collection, retrieval of waste from public places, dumpsite recovery and waste
exchange involving households, middlemen, recicladores, traders, and wholesalers.
Through door-to-door collection, the recicladores collect materials such as paper,
glass and plastics directly from households or businesses, generally “as a donation”.
Street waste picking consists of the recovery of materials or commodities from mixed
waste thrown on the streets or from communal bins. In the case of computers, the
possibility that a device found in the street is broken or incomplete is quite high. In
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