Problems include the low e-waste management capacities of NGOs, low citizens’ awareness about the e-waste hazards, the lack of statistical data on the quantities of e-waste and the lack of networked structures dealing with problems in the area of e-waste.

Electronic waste (e-waste), consisting of broken and old equipment, such as computers, TV sets, printers, video and DVD players, music systems, game consoles and many other similar devices will not impose a serious threat for our country and region as time passes by. Improper handling of these devices is dangerous for both human health and the environment because they contain toxic substances that are being released and spread through the soil and groundwater, and in the air through the smoke coming from landfills. In our country, electronic waste is still being treated like any other waste material, being disposed of along with the rest of the garbage, and many citizens and firms keep their old equipment in basements or warehouses.

However, this situation slowly began to improve, initially in terms of the legislation. Following the campaign led by the organization “4x4x4 Balkan Bridges”, the Assembly recently supported the Law on management of waste batteries and accumulators and forwarded it for further procedure. Lawmakers concluded that the provisions in the Law, aside from being in accordance with the European legislation, will also allow the dangers from contamination by these materials to be reduced to the minimum.

The opposition voted for the law as well, although they had a remark that Macedonia does not have the sufficient capacities to implement the law, i.e. lacks an appropriate landfill for such materials. However, the Ministry for Environment and Physical Planning responded that this situation is improving, because the procedure for a regional landfill is currently underway, and there is already a battery factory purchasing old devices.

The solution of the problem is not only in dealing with waste batteries. The project "Balkan e-Waste Management Advocacy Network" should contribute to the revision of the legislation in a way that the legislation would cover all appliances and items that fall into that category. The project is being implemented in Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Bulgaria, and it is being coordinated by the Metamorphosis Foundation in Macedonia. The project was launched last year, and will end next year.

Problems include the low e-waste management capacities of NGOs, low citizens’ awareness about the e-waste hazards, the lack of statistical data on the quantities of e-waste and the lack of networked structures dealing with problems in the area of e-waste.

So far, a regional network of organizations implementing the project and working locally has been created. They are currently conducting research in order to analyze the current situation in each country, as well as the legal frameworks in those countries.

The project is aiming to achieve the following results with its activities: increased cooperation and exchange of good e-waste management practices between all relevant stakeholders, raised public awareness about proper e-waste management, increased capacity of civil society organizations for lobbying and advocacy for proper electronic waste management, increased media coverage of e-waste related matters and a reduced number of devices that are still functional, but being disposed of.