Brazil Adopts New Battery Rules
Friday, September 12th, 2008Brazil’s National Environment Council (CONAMA) just replaced the country’s groundbreaking 1999 rules on the environmental management of batteries and piles (pilhas) with even tougher ones. Manufacturers should take note, since legislators and regulators in other Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) nations will. The original rules served as a reference point for many LAC policymakers, particularly […]
Cell Phone Battery Agreement Signed in Colombia
Wednesday, May 9th, 2007Synopsis in English: Last Friday the agreement (convenio) between the Colombian Government and the cell phone industry concluded a few weeks back was formally signed in Bogotá. In the process, a few of the questions I posed in my prior post were answered –well, partially at least. But it also raised a few new ones.
Colombia Gets Cell Phone Battery Agreement
Friday, April 20th, 2007According to a Colombia daily, El Tiempo, the Ministry of Environment, Housing and Territorial Development (MAVDT) has signed an agreement (“convenio”) with the cellular telephone industry to collect and export spent cell phone batteries. The agreement was signed by the major providers of cell phone service in the country, including Avantel, the industry associations for […]
The Other Side of the Cell Phone Revolution
Monday, September 4th, 2006Not Our Problem? A few years ago I was chatting with someone who is involved with the process of formulating a national policy on the management of solid wastes in Brazil. We had gotten to the question of which, if any, end-of-life (EOL) products should be declared to be “special wastes” and therefore subject to […]