Summary of World E-Waste Day 2026

Nit Tekna Logik has been developing the IDEES project (Impact de déchets électroniques sur l’environnement et la santé) for more than three years to raise public awareness about the impact of electronic waste. On this occasion, we planned an ambitious event, which we carried out thanks to the collaboration and support of SETEM.

The main objective was to reach a diverse audience, because the issue of electronic waste cuts across multiple sectors, and from that diversity to generate a cross-cutting conversation in which each sector could share its experiences and analysis of the situation.

We had around 60 participants during the day, whose diversity was undeniable, as it included students, members of the Dalifort town council, members of Bokk Diom (an association of waste pickers from Mbeubess), several members of Dalifort Public Lighting, CCJS, Maison de la Femme de Dalifort, the Dalifort municipal councillor for the environment, AJE, Sonaged, RALSEN, etc.

The first half of the day consisted of a two-part workshop. In the first part, participants had to answer the question: what is the impact of electronic waste on the environment and health? In the second part, they had to answer the question: “What are the economic opportunities of electronic waste and how can the working conditions of workers in the sector be improved?”

To encourage the participation of everyone present, three groups were created so that effective interaction and enriching exchange could take place during the workshops. The main conclusions regarding environmental impacts were air, water and soil pollution, which worsens the health of people in direct contact and also of those who are less directly exposed. We handed out some ezines in which we wanted to share the implications of environmental pollution for health. The associated illnesses that came up in the debate were: diarrhoea, allergies, asthma, fertility problems, kidney, skin and heart diseases, etc.

After a break, we moved on to the second part of the workshop, where we wanted to identify the opportunities associated with electronic waste. We had as special guests the association and cooperative of waste pickers from Mbeubess Bokk Diom, which highlighted the countless opportunities associated with electronic waste. As a conclusion, the need was identified to create e-waste collection points, raise awareness about the reuse and recycling of electronic devices, provide training in the professions associated with the sector, create cooperatives, value repair, and ensure producer responsibility.

After the workshop we took a break and enjoyed the catering from Restaurant Kiné Diop, before moving on to a press conference.

In the afternoon, we began the session with the performance Le cycle infernal, performed by Anael Nkeoua, dit Prince Art, with costumes made by Suma XamXam. One of the objectives of the IDEES project is to be transdisciplinary, making art serve to open up imaginaries and explain complexity, while also providing scientific data that help to understand the scale of the impact of electronic waste.

And to finish, we held a panel discussion, “Let’s repair our links, recycle our ideas, for a fairer technology”, which two speakers were unable to attend due to last-minute unforeseen circumstances, but which we were still able to hold with the presence of M. Soumare, from the WEEE section of Senegal Numérique, and M. Niass, spokesperson for the Bokk Diom association and cooperative, moderated by Abdoulaye Sene, from Zero Déchets Senegal.

We would like to thank everyone present — participants, panellists, artists, representatives of the various collectives, the organising team and the Dalifort town council — for making this day a success, to which we hope to give continuity.