E-Waste to Increase 38% by 2030

E-Waste to Increase 38% by 2030

  • The Global E-waste Monitor, 2020 report has been released.
  • As per the report, global e-waste will increase by 38 percent in the decade between 2020 and 2030.
  • There was 53.6 MT e-waste in 2019.
  • That is a nearly 21 percent increase in just five years.
E-waste to increase 38% by 2030

Overview

  • In 2019
    • Asia generated – 24.9 MT
    • Americas generated – 13.1 MT
    • Europe generated – 12 MT
    • Africa generated – 2,9 MT
    • Oceania generated – 0.7 MT
  • Most E-waste in 2019 consisted of
    • Small equipment -17.4 MT
    • Large equipment – 13. MT
    • Temperature exchange equipment – 10.8 MT
    • Screens and monitors- 6.7 MT
    • Lamps – 4.7 MT
    • small IT and telecommunication equipment – 0.9 MT
  • E-waste is a health and environment hazard, containing toxic additives or hazardous substances such as mercury, which damages the human brain and coordination system.
  • According to the report, less than 18 percent of the e-waste generated in 2019 was collected and recycled.
  • E-waste consisting gold, silver, copper, platinum and other high value, recoverable materials worth at least $ 57 billion was mostly dumped or burnt instead of being collected and reuse.
  • According to the report, the number of countries, which have adopted a national e-waste policy, legislation or regulation has increased from 61 to 78 and India is one of them.
  • However, the trend is certainly positive, but is still far from the target set by International telecommunication Union to raise the percentage of countries with an e-waste legislation to 50 percent.
  • In India, the number of authorized e-waste recyclers is 312.
  • The capacity of these recyclers is 800 kilotonnes annually.
  • However, as the large majority of the waste is handled by the informal sector, formal recycling capacity remains under-utilized.
  • According to the report, 90 percent of country՚s e-waste is recycled in informal sector.
  • There is an urgent need to implement the regulations effectively to manage the e-waste in at least 115 countries in which it is yet to be regulated.
  • The Global E-waste Monitor 2020 is a collaborative product of the-
    • Global E-waste Statistics Partnership (GESP) , formed by the United Nations University (UNU)
    • International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
    • International Solid Waste Association (ISWA)
    • UN Environment Programme (UNEP)

Examrace Team at Aug 29, 2021