The Earth’s human population is generating a huge and growing volume of electronic waste every year, posing a pollution risk and squandering recyclable natural resources, according to a new UN study.
62 million tonnes
The UN’s fourth Global E-Waste Monitor report has found that 62 million tonnes of e-waste was generated in 2022, at a rate of increase five-times faster than previously documented. This quantity would, if placed in 40-tonne truckloads end to end, be enough to encircle the Equator, the report notes.
Now growing by 2.6 million tonnes yearly, our e-waste output could reach 82 million tonnes by 2030, including an expected 2.4 million tonnes of obsolete solar, or photovoltaic, panels. It’s a problem that “requires urgent attention,” said Nikhil Seth, executive director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), one of the bodies behind the findings.
E-waste consists of all sorts of equipment and devices “from discarded televisions to dumped telephones”, explained Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director of ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau, partner of the report.
In 2022, 33% of the waste was classed as “small devices” including toys, microwave ovens, vacuum cleaners and e-cigarettes. In addition, 4.6 million tonnes of laptops, mobile phones, GPS devices, routers and other “small IT and telecommunications equipment” were thrown away.
Less than a quarter recycled
As little as less than 25% of 2022’s e-waste was appropriately collected and recycled. This means that we failed to recover resources to the tune of $62 billion and, worse, we are discarding e-waste that contains toxic materials without proper protections for the environment.
“The latest research shows that the global challenge posed by e-waste is only going to grow. With less than half of the world implementing and enforcing approaches to manage the problem, this raises the alarm for sound regulations to increase collection and recycling,” the report’s authors say.
Business can’t continue as usual
The UN wants to bring e-waste collection and recycling up to 60% by 2030 and is challenging the sector to address issues such as increased consumption, product lifespan and obsolescence and the difficulty consumers have in trying to repair items. Rare earth elements are a particular problem.
“No more than one percent of demand for essential rare earth elements is met by e-waste recycling. Simply put: Business as usual can’t continue,” stated Kees Baldé, UNITAR’s lead author. “This new report represents an immediate call for greater investment in infrastructure development, more promotion of repair and reuse, capacity building, and measures to stop illegal e-waste shipments. And the investment would pay for itself in spades.”
