UNITED NATIONS, May 13 -- Metal recycling was promoted Thursday by the UN Environment Program. Inner City Press asked about the conflict metals and minerals like coltan mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and if the UN is doing anything about the working conditions of those who work in recycling.
UNEP's Achim Steiner, who until this final question in the press conference had presented recycling as an unmitigated good, now described waste dumps as "killer sites," and said that the International Labor Organization is on the case.
U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Riefsnyder acknowledged safety as a problem, but said that in the U.S. it is a matter of local (state) rather than federal law.
Professor Thomas Graedel said that coltan is made up of cobalt and tantalum. The former, he said, is 24 to 30 percent recycled. But tantalum is not. One third of global supply comes from Africa, he said. Cassiterite is a form of tin. He added, "we are not locked into the Africa situation there." Video here, from Minute 40:12.
The UN system has disparate goals, which are rarely reconciled or working together. If the UN is concerned about conflict metals being mined, perhaps it should focus its call for recycling there. And if it cares about worker safety, this should be worked into the campaign from the beginning, and not be an afterthought. We'll see.
