Lima, 1 June 2017: On the national Recyclers Day the Swiss International Cooperation and the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment (MINAM) are looking back on a successfull 8 years joint engagement in the management of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). The event, held in the residency of the Swiss Ambassador in Lima was chaired by the Swiss Ambassador to Peru Hans-Ruedi Bortis, and Vice Minister Marcos Alegre, and brought together the main actors involved in the management of WEEE in Peru.

Swiss Ambassador Hans-Ruedi Bortis

Swiss Amabassdor Hans-Ruedi Bortis stated in his welcoming words, that “SRI has been able to make a substantial contribution in addressing a relatively new challenge of our modern society and is well aligned with future strategies of the Swiss international cooperation”. In 2016, about 160,000 tons of WEEE were generated in Peru, meant to increase substantially in the future and posing both challenges through the treatment of hazardous waste and opportunities through the recovery of valuable resources.

Vice Minister Marcos Alegre complemented that “The implementation and facilitation of the National Technical WEEE Committee CAT-RAEE is one of the key contribution of the project”. CAT-RAEE is a multisector group chaired by MINAM and dedicated to the promotion of both the compliance with WEEE regulations and the commitment of the different actors in the country. More specifically, SRI contributed to the development of a set of Technical Standards for the treatment of WEEE (NTP-RAEE), approved by the National Quality Institute.

Vice Minister Marcos Alegre

The project has also provided training for the improvement of WEEE management and recovery of resources – around 800 key actors have already been trained so far. Recently a training curiculum for future recycling professional has been implemented with the Peruvian National Training Centre for Industrial Workers (SENATI).

In a discussion panel, representing the key actors, such as recycling companies, producer led take back systems and MINAM, achievements of the project and key challenges were discussed. The event included the first screening of the Peruvian SRI project video, which includes testimonies from the various project partners highlighting the main achievements of the project.

WRF Program Director Mathias Schluep

In his closing words of the event, Mathias Schluep, Program Director of the World Resources Forum (Switzerland), highlighted the outstanding role of the Peruvian enterpreneurs, who are evolving through their own initiatives, innovation and investment into a professional recycling industry in a relatively short time. The event concluded with a surprise show led by the Kimbafá group, which closed the event with special sounds and percussions performed with recycled materials.

The Sustainable Recycling Industries (SRI) Project in Peru was made possible thanks to an inter-institutional agreement between the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment (MINAM), and has been implemented by IPES-Promoción del Desarrollo Sostenible together with the World Resources Forum and Empa.

Discussion panel moderated by Jorge Arollo (IPES) with Marcos Alegre (MINAM), Joyce Vallejos (Peru Green Recycling) and Cecilia Rosell (Aspager)