- The United Nations agency has warned that the accumulation of e-waste is escalating around the world, coupled with declining recycling rates.
- This waste, known as ‘e-waste’, includes discarded devices with batteries and plugs, such as mobile phones, televisions and laptops.
- Approximately 62 million tons of e-waste will be generated in 2022, which is expected to rise to 82 million tons by 2030.
The United Nations agency has warned that while electronic waste is piling up around the world, recycling rates remain low and could fall further.
Officials are referring to “e-waste,” defined as discarded equipment with plugs or batteries, such as cell phones, electronic toys, televisions, microwave ovens, e-cigarettes, laptop computers, and solar panels. . This does not include waste from electric vehicles, which falls into a separate category.
In a report released Wednesday, the United Nations’ International Telecommunications Union and research agency UNITAR say about 62 million tonnes of “e-waste” will be generated in 2022, which puts the world bump-by-bump. That’s enough to fill a tractor-trailer. It is expected to reach 82 million tons by 2030.
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Metals such as copper, gold and iron accounted for half of the 62 million tonnes, worth a total of about $91 billion, according to the report. Plastics account for 17 million tons, and the remaining 14 million tons include materials such as composite materials and glass.
A worker dismantles laptop waste at a dumpsite where people can drop off their old electrical equipment on March 20, 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
The United Nations states that in 2022, 22% of the mass of e-waste will be properly collected and recycled. ‘Staggering increase’ in e-waste due to increased consumption and limited repair options, shortening of product life cycles, ‘electrification’ of society, expected to fall to 20% by end of decade The authorities said the problems include the progress of waste management and inadequate e-waste management infrastructure.
They said some of the discarded electronic equipment contained toxic elements such as mercury and rare earth metals coveted by high-tech manufacturers. Currently, only 1% of the demand for the 17 minerals that make up rare metals is met through recycling.
According to the report, about half of all e-waste is generated in Asia, where few countries have enacted laws regarding e-waste or what it can collect. Europe has recycling and recovery rates of over 40% and generates the highest amount of waste per capita, approximately 18 kilograms (39 pounds).
In Africa, which has the lowest emissions of the world’s five largest regions, recycling and recovery rates are only around 1%.
“The latest research shows that the global challenge posed by e-waste will only continue to grow,” said ITU Telecommunications Development Director Kosmas Luckisson-Zavadzava. “Less than half of the world’s countries have implemented and enforced approaches to managing this problem, raising the alarm for sound regulation to encourage collection and recycling.”
For some, e-waste has become a way to scavenge the trash of developing countries to find coveted products and earn some cash, despite the health risks.
At the Dandora dump, where trash collected from Kenya’s capital Nairobi ends up, scavengers scavenge for e-waste, even though a court declared it full more than a generation ago. They are trying to make a living by recycling and selling it to companies. material.
Steve Okoth hopes the trend continues and brings in income, but he knows the risks.
“When e-waste comes here, it contains powders that affect my health,” he said, adding that when electronics heat up, gases are released and “I can’t go to work because of chest problems. I can’t go,” he added.
But Okoth said he had no other choice. “We’re used to the smoke. We can’t eat unless we go to work.”
Recycling factories like the WEEE Center in Nairobi have collection points across Kenya where people can safely dispose of their old electrical equipment.
WEEE Chief Operating Officer Catherine Wasouria said the company is “taking inventory” of submitted devices to ensure they are checked and completely wiped of data. Each is then tested to assess whether it can be reused or reused.
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E-waste expert George Masila is concerned about the impact of e-waste on soil.
“When this much e-waste is placed in dumps or ruthlessly dumped elsewhere, it can have a huge impact on the soil,” Masila said. “Each year, it rains, the water flows, and it attracts all the elements that get deposited in the environment. The water gets polluted.”
He said greater recycling and reuse of such materials is “part of what we need to consider.”
The report’s authors acknowledge that many people in developing countries pay their living by collecting such e-waste, and call for training and equipment to make such work safer. asked them.
“We have to try to support people who are trying to find their niche,” said Rüdiger Kühl, senior manager of UNITAR’s Sustainable Cycles Program.
