Electronic trash piles up as recycling fall behind — UN

UN agencies have warned that waste from electronics is piling up worldwide while recycling rates remain low and are likely to fall even further.

The agencies referred to "e-waste," as discarded devices with a plug or battery, including cellphones, electronic toys, TVs, microwave ovens, e-cigarettes, laptop computers and solar panels. It does not include waste from electronic vehicles, which fall into a separate category.

In a report released Wednesday, the UN’s International Telecommunications Union and research arm UNITAR said some 62 million tons of “e-waste” was generated in 2022, enough to fill tractor-trailers that could be lined up bumper to bumper around the globe. It’s on track to reach 82 million tons by 2030.

According to the report, metals — including copper, gold and iron — accounted for half of the 62 million tons, worth around $91B. Plastics accounted for 17 million tons and the remaining 14 million tons include substances such as composite materials and glass.

'Staggering growth'

The UN says 22 percent of the e-waste mass was properly collected and recycled in 2022. It is expected to fall to 20 percent by the end of the decade because of the “staggering growth" of such waste due to higher consumption, limited repair options, shorter product life cycles, growing “electronification” of society, and inadequate e-waste management infrastructure.

The report states that around 50 percent of e-waste is generated in Asia, where only a few countries have regulations or targets for e-waste collection. In Europe, where per-capita waste generation is highest, recycling and collection rates exceed 40 percent. In Africa, recycling and collection rates are only about 1 percent, the lowest of any of the five major global regions.

“The latest research shows that the global challenge posed by e-waste is only going to grow,” said Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, head of the ITU telecommunication development bureau.

E-wastes harvest to sustain a living

For some, e-waste represents a way to earn cash by rummaging through trash in the developing world to find coveted commodities, despite the health risks.

At the Dandora dumpsite where garbage collected from Kenya's Nairobi ends up — even though a court declared it full over a generation ago — scavengers try to earn a living by picking through rubbish for e-waste that can be sold to businesses as recycled material.

A Kenyan resident, Steve Okoth who hopes to earn an income from says “When the e-waste comes here, it contains some powder which affects my health," he said, adding that when electronic devices heat up, they release gases and “can’t come to work because of chest problems.”

He also said, "We are now used to the smoke because if you don’t go to work you will not eat.”

'Can be reused'

Recycling plants, like Nairobi’s WEEE centre, have collection points across Kenya, where people can safely get rid of old electric equipment.

“We take inventory of the items," said Catherine Wasolia, WEEE's chief operating officer, to check for data on submitted devices and wipe them clean. Then they test each to assess if "it can be reused or repurposed.”E-waste expert George Masila worries about the impact of electronic waste on soil.

“When you have all this e-waste — either in the dumpsites or mercilessly deposited anywhere else — it could have major effects on the soil," Masila said. "Every year it rains and water flows and attracts all these elements that are deposited into the environment. You have water getting contaminated.”