Why producer engagement is important for solving the e-waste challenge in displacement settings: Lessons from Cox’s Bazar
Solar lamp producers who supply humanitarian organisations in displacement settings have a critical role in supporting organisations managing electronic waste (e-waste). Explore how BRIGHT’s Repair Program supported impactful repair initiatives in Cox’s Bazar Kutupalong settlement.
The urgent need for producer engagement in humanitarian e-waste initiatives
Electronic waste (e-waste) is a growing concern in refugee camps and displacement settings. Humanitarian organisations have responded by promoting repair and reuse initiatives that extend the life of electronic products. These efforts not only minimise environmental impact but also empower communities by building skills in electronic repair and digital literacy, skills that support livelihoods and economic resilience.
However, these initiatives face a major hurdle: access to spare parts, tools, and technical knowledge. This challenge is especially critical when dealing with hazardous components like batteries. For repair programmes to succeed, producers must actively engage by providing the necessary resources and support.
Opportunity for collaboration
In 2021, BRIGHT launched its Repair Program to address the growing e-waste challenge in refugee camps and displacement settings. Cox’s Bazar, which had received over 360,000 BRIGHT products through long-term agreements with UNHCR (since 2017) and IOM (since 2020), emerged as a key location.
At the time, several local repair initiatives were already active, led by organisations such as BRAC, UNICEF, UNHCR and IOM. “This provided an opportunity to implement our repair program in collaboration with the existing structures,” says Madeleine Kjellevand, Head of Sales and Partnerships at BRIGHT.
The local missions of IOM and UNHCR facilitated a field trip to Cox’s Bazar in December 2023. During the trip BRIGHT was invited to visit and observe both the UNHCR and IOM repair initiatives, and to conduct training with local organisations running their own repair projects.
Despite these efforts, a common challenge persisted: repairing solar lamps was difficult due to a lack of spare parts and technical guidance. BRIGHT discovered that several of its solar lamps, still in repairable condition, had been discarded, contributing to local e-waste.
BRIGHT’s Repair Program: A collaborative solution
To support local repair efforts, BRIGHT expanded its Repair Program to Cox’s Bazar. The program has two main goals:
- Extend product life: Repair and refurbish solar lamps for a “second life” using spare parts, toolkits, and a tablet-based digital learning platform (now publicly available online).
- Build local capacity: Train community members in solar lamp repair, creating job opportunities.
The program was first piloted in Bidibidi, Uganda in 2022, as part of a landmark e-waste management project.
“We wanted to consolidate our Repair Programme in another displacement setting, support our partners, and learn from the experience,” explains Lorena Muñoz Carmona, Head of Humanitarian Partnerships at BRIGHT
Building on its experience in Bidibidi, BRIGHT conducted a field visit to:
- Evaluate local repair knowledge on solar lamps
- Assess the condition of damaged products
- Identify needed tools and spare parts
- Understand barriers to effective repair
Implementation and collaboration
Partnering with UNCHR and IOM Bangladesh, BRIGHT financed spare parts and supported training and capacity building that complemented existing repair initiatives. The Energy and Environmental Network, part of the Rohingya Refugee Response, coordinated the project.
Volunteers from UNHCR’s Green Innovation Hub collected damaged solar lamps from the community. Each lamp was tagged and assessed by trained technicians. Those deemed repairable were fixed and returned to households free of charge, while lamps that could not be repaired were salvaged for spare parts.
While the repair initiative was still ongoing at the time of publication, it had to be paused for some months because of aid budget cuts in early 2025.
Impact highlights:
- 80 individuals from the host and Rohingya refugee communities received training in solar lamp repair
- As of May 2025, a total of 339 solar lamps have been repaired
- BRIGHT’s Repair Program resources made available online for global access
Unlocking collaboration between producers and local repair initiatives
“Greater collaboration between UN agencies, NGOs, and solar companies in establishing local repair and recycling processes is essential, as demonstrated here,” says Aimee Jenks, Strategy and Partnership Lead at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Global Platform for Action on Sustainable Energy in Displacement Settings (GPA) Coordination Unit.
"Such partnerships can bridge the gap between the standard procurement and distribution practices of humanitarian actors and the private sector’s ability to support local repair desks for off-grid solar solutions,” she adds.
Madeleine points out that there are numerous well-organised local repair and e-waste initiatives in refugee camps around the world. “As a supplier, BRIGHT can effectively support these initiatives by providing technical knowledge, training, and spare parts. Our solution can be integrated into existing e-waste initiatives wherever our solar lamps are used,” she adds.
This project effectively demonstrates how producers can meaningfully support humanitarian e-waste efforts by:
- Sharing technical knowledge
- Providing spare parts
- Supporting training and capacity building
- Designing products with repairability in mind
“We need more private sector actors addressing the e-waste challenge in refugee camps and displacement settings, and promoting durable, repairable design,” concludes Lorena.
Interested in procuring BRIGHT solar lamps for humanitarian aid? Explore our partnership opportunities and get in touch to learn how we can collaborate on impactful humanitarian initiatives like supporting sustainable e-waste management in displacement settings and refugee camps.