THE AMOUNT of waste from smartphones, televisions and other electrical devices will break records in 2022. The UN also assesses that waste from the electronics sector will pollute the planet.
Less than a quarter of the 62 million tonnes of e-waste generated in 2022 was recycled, resulting in heavy metals, plastics and toxic chemicals leaking from used devices.
“This is a major environmental disaster,” said Global E-waste Monitor Lead Author Kees Balde.
It also poses health risks, particularly in poor countries where much e-waste is shipped from rich countries. Far from worthless rubbish, the UN estimates the value of the metal in all these used items at US$91 billion or IDR 1.4 trillion.
But less than a third can be recovered, the rest is lost due to e-waste being burned, thrown into landfill or recycled incorrectly.
This disaster will worsen as demand for new technologies, including solar panels and electric vehicles, exceeds the ability to recycle, the report said.
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About double the amount of electronic waste will be generated in 2022 compared to 2010. That is equivalent to the weight of 107 thousand of the world’s largest and heaviest passenger jets.
This includes small everyday items such as e-cigarettes and tablets, household appliances such as electric toothbrushes and toasters, and large items such as television screens, electric bicycles and scooters.
On average, each person on earth produces about 7.8 kilograms of e-waste annually, according to reports from the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
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However this varies greatly around the world, with someone in Europe generating around seven times as much e-waste as someone in Africa.
Consumers can only do so much if governments and businesses don’t make these products easier to recycle, Balde said. “It’s very easy to buy something. It’s just a few clicks. It’s much harder to throw it away,” he said.
Reverse the Situation
What is not claimed are only raw materials such as gold, copper and iron, but also important metals such as cobalt which is important for making batteries and has strategic value.
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“We currently rely heavily on a handful of countries around the world for the production of these critical raw materials, so this also has geopolitical consequences,” said ITU’s Vanessa Gray.
The highest e-waste recycling rates occur in developed countries and the lowest in Africa, where less than 1% is handled properly.
About 18 million tonnes of e-waste is processed in developing countries, often in informal settings without adequate equipment and workers exposed to hazardous substances.
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Every year, unmanaged e-waste causes 45,000 tonnes of hazardous plastic and 58 tonnes of mercury to pollute the environment, the UN says.
Much of this e-waste is generated in rich countries but sent to poor countries disguised as used goods that in reality no longer function, Balde said.
“The facts have come out. We need to turn this around,” he said.
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The switch from fossil fuels to greener forms of energy will also present challenges for the growing use of batteries, heat pumps and solar panels, the report said.
The UN estimates that the number of photovoltaic cells being phased out will quadruple from 600 thousand tonnes in 2022 to 2.4 million tonnes in 2030.
Gray said a third of the world’s population still lacks access to the internet, and when they do, we will inevitably produce more e-waste. (AFP/Z-3)
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