Tunisian Startup takes to e-waste challenge

The engineer converted social entrepreneur Sabari Cheriha over a washing machine on a washing machine in a small depot in a suburb in the capital of Tunisia, which was a uninhabited house of a startup that he launched to deal with the country’s growing electronic waste problem. Did

Cheriha said that at present there were about eight million home appliances and nine million cellphones in Tunisia, but once these devices are broken or replaced, “there is no service to deal with them properly”.

Wafics, Startups who won the regional social entrepreneur award at the second place last year, stood out by offering a “all-in-one service”, providing collections, repairs and recycling to reduce e-waste.

Its purpose is “an environmental and social influence, but also an economic benefit”, Cheriha said, saying that renewed products can be cheaper by up to 60 percent in a country where average monthly salary around 1,000 dinars ($ 310) Is.

The startup, according to its founder, avoided 20 tons in 2023 and 80 tonnes in 2023 last year, which estimates another 120 tonnes this year.

“When we talk about ‘avoiding waste’, we are also considering the resources required for the manufacture of a single washing machine – 50 or 60 kg finished product require more than a ton of raw materials It happens, “They explained.

“So our environmental influence is doubled.”

While Tunisia vows to deal with the waste normally, the e-waste presents a special challenge, and there is a lack of institutional route to deal with it.

Tunisia produces an estimated 140,000 tonnes of e-waste per year, a waste management specialist Walid Murdsi.

He said that 80,000 tonnes are estimated per year – it is generated in homes, which do not have any official recycling system, they said.

Mardasi said that the government should need to withdraw the machines used to manufacturers and retailers, and 13 local companies in recycling to remove and export valuable raw materials like gold, copper and platinum from those devices Encourage

Meanwhile, Wafix is ​​progressing at its own pace, rather than promoting the sales of renovated equipment rather than new purchases, Cherry said.

He said that Cheriha eventually expects to expand the wafix in Morocco, despite the challenges of scaling at the national level, he said.

He said, “Finding skilled workers in the electronics sector is becoming increasingly difficult”, there are many in Europe where the demand for renewed equipment is high, he said.

© 2025 AFP