The world is ‘losing the battle’ against electronic waste: UN says
On Wednesday, a UN expert warned that the global struggle against electronic waste is faltering. This caution comes in the wake of a report revealing that a staggering 62 million metric tons of mobile phones and devices were disposed of worldwide in a single year—a figure projected to rise by a third by 2030.
Electronic waste, commonly called e-waste, encompasses discarded items incorporating an electric plug or battery.
It poses environmental and health risks, contains toxic additives and hazardous substances like mercury, and presents a significant challenge to manage effectively.
Also read: Why recycling needs a new perspective?
“These goods are often not easy to repair. They easily become waste and hence global waste generation is increasing,” said Kees Baldé, senior scientific specialist for the Sustainable Cycles Programme at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).
“The vast majority of this e-waste is not being managed well,” Baldé said. “It can end up in landfills, such as smaller items such as your mobile phone or your toothbrush that people just discard in the residual waste.”
Also read: Amazon and Glacier partner to advance recycling technology and reduce waste
UN experts attribute this surge to various factors, including heightened consumption patterns, limited repair options, shorter electronics lifespans, and insufficient infrastructure for e-waste management.
Baldé emphasized that even products designed to lower energy consumption, like solar panels, have added to the e-waste dilemma. Baldé stated that in 2022 alone, approximately 600,000 metric tons of photovoltaic panels were believed to have been disposed of.
“The manufacturers have got responsibilities in terms of standardizing and making sure that they don’t short-change the consumer, so the product that they produce should not have a short life cycle,” said Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a UN agency.
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