Colombia

As in the rest of the world, Colombia has also experienced the global trend of increasing generation of electrical and electronic equipment waste (WEEE or e-waste). In 2010, the country introduced its first e-waste regulations, based on the extended producer responsibility (EPR) principle. Despite these regulatory efforts, numerous challenges for sustainable practices still lay ahead.

In 2008, Switzerland initiated a partnership program on e-waste recycling with Colombia to address these challenges. Later in 2013, this collaboration continued through the Sustainable Recycling Industries (SRI) programme in 2013.

The initial challenges were a weak regulatory framework, with a partial coverage of the waste streams; unclear technical standards for the processing of e-waste; recycling infrastructure was underdeveloped with low collection rates. Furthermore, the newly introduced legislation demanded the treatment of hazardous wastes (some of which are part of e-waste) for which no local solution existed.

Today, Colombia has established itself as a leading country in Latin America in the management of WEEE, thanks to the positioning that it has achieved in the government’s environmental agenda, the commitment of the private sector and the initiative and change of perspectives of the recycling sector. It boosts a solid legal and regulatory framework, an e-waste collection network made up of several take-back agreements and a growing recycling industry of close to 80 companies. The volumes of WEEE formally treated have grown from near 2000 tons in 2013 to over 15000 tons in 2023, resulting in an estimated rate of formal recycling of 12%.