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Introduction The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in conjunction with the International Lead Management Centre (ILMC) and the Carl Duisberg Gesellschaft (CDG), convened a participatory training workshop designed to familiarise participants with the Environmental Technology Assessment (EnTA) process and to develop their understanding by engaging them in a practical application of the EnTA methodology, using automotive battery recycling as a case study. UNEP viewed the workshop as part of its efforts to encourage the uptake of an emerging methodology for assessing the environmental and related impacts of industrial process, and other, technologies. To facilitate this uptake of EnTA, UNEP has prepared an environmental technology assessment (EnTA) Manual, Anticipating the Environmental Effects of Technology. Part of the workshop programme was devoted to characterising and illustrating the importance of macro and micro economic factors in establishing the parameters for a viable and thereby sustainable industrial process. EnTA is well suited to developing countries and those in transition as it facilitates selection of the "appropriate" technology, to suit the environmental (including social and economic) circumstances and priorities of the country or region. Hence there was particular value in conducting the workshop in South East Asia, and including several participants from other regions and countries in transition. The Workshop targeted those working in industry, Governmental environmental, regulatory and trade agencies, and in non-governmental organisations. Such people are among those often required to assess the environmental impact of a range of technologies, or make discerning choices between various competing processes. Focus , Objectives and Outputs of the Training Workshop The focus of the workshop was to assess the environmental and related performances of current and emerging technologies used in automotive battery collection and recycling sectors in Southeast Asia, particularly in the Philippines, including measures that enhance collection rates and avoid used batteries entering the waste stream. The objectives of the workshop were to ensure that participants would:
Consistent with the above objectives, the outputs of the workshop were:
To achieve these objectives extensive use was made of the simplified Environmental Technology Assessment (EnTA) Manual, Anticipating the Environmental Effects of Technology, prepared jointly by UNEP's Production and Consumption Unit and its International Environmental Technology Centre, both of UNEP's Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (DTIE). Participants from governmental environmental and other agencies, from industry, educational institutions and non-governmental organisations, were trained in the use and application of EnTA, with battery recycling used as a case study. The newly acquired knowledge and skills were intended to provide the basis for participants to make valid assessments of the real and potential environmental performances of the chosen battery recycling processes and, where applicable, make recommendations regarding procedural and technology improvements to the industrial sector, in order to achieve higher levels of health and environmental protection. The workshop was also intended to give participants the opportunity to equip themselves with the methods, tools and materials they could use to conduct EnTA training courses in their domestic institutions and national organisations. The potentially serious health and environmental impacts of inappropriate and uncontrolled practices in the collection and recycling of lead-acid batteries are well documented. All stages of the used battery collection and re-processing operations are associated with potentially adverse human health and environmental risks, for both small-scale operators and major plants. UNEP's technical report Recyclage des Batteries Plomb-Acide et Environnement, published in 1999, provides a global review of many of the technological options for improving the performance of the secondary lead industry. A report, in English, outlining the principles of sound battery recycling will be prepared in 2000, as a joint initiative of UNEP and ILMC. This report will contain information about the appropriate management of battery recycling operations, including best practices and cost effective environmental options for developing countries. As part of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) project on the impact of the proposed Basel Ban Amendment, ILMC and UNCTAD have undertaken an extensive study of automotive battery collection and recycling in the Philippines, focusing on the need to restructure the formal and informal sectors, and taking into account relevant Filipino social, economic and environmental needs and priorities. The Manila Office of UNDP and the Philippine Government's Department of Trade and Industry and Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) also support this study, and compliance with the resulting recommendations. The export-import of automotive batteries has become an element of the work of the Basel Convention, especially the procedures to regulate the trade in recyclable hazardous wastes. The use of environmentally sound technologies for recycling is one of the key elements in the global debate on this issue. However, the definition of "environmentally sound" needs to be expressed in operational and scientific terms that facilitate the selection of appropriate recycling technologies and procedures, by both the private sector and governments. In order to encourage the wider use of EnTA, UNEP has simplified the procedure, as described in the new Environmental Technology Assessment Manual, Anticipating the Environmental Effects of Technology. The revised Manual is for use by government officials, consultants and company process and environmental managers, to identify the health, environmental and social implications of any technology through application of EnTA. The workshop combined all the above elements into a training format that lead to the practical application of the EnTA methodology by the delegates. The workshop also provided an opportunity for UNEP to review and evaluate the EnTA Manual and to share policy advice. The four-day regional workshop in Manila was funded, sponsored, or in other ways supported by the following cooperating organizations:
The workshop programme is presented in Annex 1. The interactive and participatory workshop comprised the following major components:
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