A record 62 million tonnes (Mt) of e-waste was produced in 2022, 

Up 82% from 2010; On track to rise another 32%, to 82 million tonnes, in 2030; Billions of dollars worth of strategically-valuable resources squandered, dumped; 

Just 1% of rare earth element demand is met by e-waste recycling

Geneva / Bonn – The world’s generation of electronic waste is rising five times faster than documented e-waste recycling, the UN’s fourth Global E-waste Monitor (GEM) reveals today.

The 62 million tonnes of e-waste generated in 2022 would fill 1.55 million 40-tonne trucks, roughly enough trucks to form a bumper-to-bumper line encircling the equator, according to the report from ITU and UNITAR.

Meanwhile, less than one quarter (22.3%) of the year’s e-waste mass was documented as having been properly collected and recycled in 2022, leaving US $62 billion worth of recoverable natural resources unaccounted for and increasing pollution risks to communities worldwide.

Worldwide, the annual generation of e-waste is rising by 2.6 million tonnes annually, on track to reach 82 million tonnes by 2030, a further 33% increase from the 2022 figure.

E-waste, any discarded product with a plug or battery, is a health and environmental hazard, containing toxic additives or hazardous substances such as mercury, which can damage the human brain and coordination system.

The report foresees a drop in the documented collection and recycling rate from 22.3% in 2022 to 20% by 2030 due to the widening difference in recycling efforts relative to the staggering growth of e-waste generation worldwide.

Challenges contributing to the widening gap include technological progress, higher consumption, limited repair options, shorter product life cycles, society’s growing electronification, design shortcomings, and inadequate e-waste management infrastructure.

The report underlines that if countries could bring the e-waste collection and recycling rates to 60% by 2030, the benefits – including through minimizing human health risks – would exceed costs by more than US $38 billion.

It also notes that the world “remains stunningly dependent” on a few countries for rare earth elements, despite their unique properties crucial for future technologies, including renewable energy generation and e-mobility.

Additional data highlights are appended.

Comments

“Amidst the hopeful embrace of solar panels and electronic equipment to combat the climate crisis and drive digital progress, the surge in e-waste requires urgent attention.”
Nikhil Seth, Executive Director, UNITAR

“From discarded televisions to dumped telephones, an enormous amount of e-waste is generated around the world. 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 boost collection and recycling. The Global E-waste Monitor is the world’s foremost source for e-waste data allowing us to track progress overtime and to make critical decisions when it comes to transitioning to a circular economy for electronics”
Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director, ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau

“No more than 1% of demand for essential rare earth elements is met by e-waste recycling. Simply put: Business as usual can’t continue. 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.”
Kees Baldé, lead author, UNITAR

“Many in today’s society use multiple computers and phones, an ever-growing number of new appliances, monitors and sensors, e-bikes, e-scooters, clothes, toys, and furniture with embedded electronics, electric tools, and energy-saving equipment such as LEDs, photovoltaics, and heat pumps. Urban and remote areas are increasingly connected to the Internet, and a growing number of data centers cater to the needs of the digital transformation. In the face of all this, concrete steps are urgently needed to address and reduce e-waste. Improved e-waste management could result in a global net positive of US $38 billion, representing a significant economic opportunity while addressing climate change and health impacts.”

Ruediger Kuehr, Senior Manager, Sustainable Cycles (SCYCLE) Programme, UNITAR / Adjunct Professor, University of Limerick (Ireland)

The Global E-waste Monitor shows that we are currently wasting US $91 billion in valuable metals due to insufficient e-waste recycling. We must seize the economic and environmental benefits of proper e-waste management; otherwise, the digital ambitions of our future generations will face significant risks.”

Vanessa Gray, Head, Environment & Emergency Telecommunications Division, ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau

By the numbers:

62 million tonnes: e-waste generated in 2022, equal to the weight of 107,000 of world’s largest (853-seat), heaviest (575 tonne) passenger aircraft – enough to form an unbroken queue from New York to Athens, from Nairobi to Hanoi, or from Hong Kong to Anchorage

14 million tonnes (22.3%): estimated mass of e-waste trashed, mostly landfilled, in 2022

31 million tonnes: estimated weight of metals embedded in e-waste in 2022, along with 17 million tonnes of plastics and 14 million tonnes of other materials (minerals, glass, composite materials, etc.)

US $91 billion: The value of metals embedded in 2022 e-waste, including US $19 billion in copper, US $15 billion in gold, and US $16 billion in iron.

US $28 billion: value of secondary raw materials (mostly iron) reclaimed by “urban mining” of e-waste in 2022

900 million tonnes: Primary ore extraction avoided by reclaiming materials through documented e-waste recycling

93 million tonnes: CO2-equivalent emissions avoided by formal e-waste management – recaptured refrigerants (41 million tonnes), avoided metals mining (52 million tonnes)

Recycling rates

42.8%: Formally documented collection and recycling rates in Europe

<1%: Formally recycled e-waste in African countries

~50% (30 million tonnes): E-waste generated by Asian countries (of which relatively few have enacted legislation or established clear e-waste collection targets)

17.6 kg: Per capita e-waste generation in Europe, followed by Oceania (16.1 kg) and the Americas (14.1 kg). These regions also have the highest documented per capita collection and recycling rates (7.5 kg in Europe, 6.7 kg in Oceania and 4.2 kg in the Americas)

16 million tonnes: e-waste collected and recycled outside of formal systems in high- and upper-middle income countries that have developed e-waste management infrastructure.

18 million tonnes: e-waste managed mostly by the informal sector in low and lower-middle income countries with no e-waste management infrastructure. Any material values recovered by the informal sector are largely (perhaps more than) offset by extremely high health and environmental costs

5.1 million tonnes (8.2% of the global total): e-waste shipped across borders in 2022, of which ~3.3 million tonnes (65%) was shipped from high-income to middle- and low-income countries through uncontrolled, undocumented movements

E-waste by category, selected examples

33% (20.4 million tonnes): Proportion of e-waste made up of small devices (e.g. toys, microwave ovens, vacuum cleaners, e-cigarettes), of which 12% are recycled

4.6 million tonnes: e-waste in the small IT and telecommunication equipment category (e.g. laptops, mobile phones, GPS devices, routers), with only 22% documented collection and recycling rate

2.4 million tonnes: Expected mass of retired photovoltaic panels in 2030, four times as much as the 600,000 tonnes in 2022

Among the report’s many observations:

Typically, collection and recycling rates are highest for heavier and bulkier equipment categories, such as large devices, temperature exchange equipment, screens and monitors

81 countries had e-waste legislation in 2023, up from 78 in 2019. Of the 81 countries, 67 had a legal instrument governing e-waste management with provisions promoting extended producer responsibility (EPR)

The enforcement of e-waste policy, legislation, and regulation “remains a genuine challenge globally, and the stagnation of the global e-waste collection and recycling rate is likely exacerbated by the fact that only 46 countries have collection rate targets and only 36 have recycling rate targets.”

Selected report infographics (available at https://bit.ly/3wcjfz5)

Media coverage highlights:

The Global E-waste Monitor

Since 2014, the Global E-waste Monitor (www.globalewaste.org) has been the world’s foremost source of up-to-date data and reporting on progress in policy, regulation, and offering projections.

The 2024 edition is a collaborative product of the Global E-waste Statistics Partnership with support from the Fondation Carmignac.

Earlier global and regional reports: https://ewastemonitor.info

Join the conversation on social media using hashtag #eWaste

The UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), unitar.org

As a dedicated training arm of the United Nations System, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) provides innovative learning solutions to individuals, organizations and institutions to enhance global decision-making and support country-level action for shaping a better future. UNITAR was created in 1963 to train and equip young diplomats from newly independent UN Member States with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate through the diplomatic environment. Over the years, UNITAR has acquired unique expertise and experience in designing and delivering a variety of training and learning activities, benefiting learners mainly from developing countries. With the strategy fully aligned with the 2030 Agenda, we support Governments and other stakeholders to achieve Sustainable Development Goals.

The Bonn, Germany-based Sustainable Cycles (SCYCLE) Programme, hosted by UNITAR, provides world-class research and action on e-waste. SCYCLE aims to enable societies to reduce the environmental burden caused by the production, consumption and disposal of ubiquitous goods.

The International Telecommunication Union, itu.int

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs), driving innovation in ICTs together with 193 Member States and a membership of over 1,000 companies, universities, and international and regional organizations. Established in 1865, it is the intergovernmental body responsible for coordinating the shared global use of the radio spectrum, promoting international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, improving communication infrastructure in the developing world, and establishing the worldwide standards that foster seamless interconnection of a vast range of communications systems. From broadband networks to cutting-edge wireless technologies, aeronautical and maritime navigation, radio astronomy, oceanographic and satellite-based earth monitoring as well as converging fixed-mobile phone, Internet and broadcasting technologies, ITU is committed to connecting the world.

Fondation Carmignac, fondationcarmignac.com

Fondation Carmignac was founded in 2000 by Edouard Carmignac, a French entrepreneur, CEO and Chairman of asset management company Carmignac. Today, it is structured around three main pillars: the Carmignac Photojournalism Award, which annually funds the production of investigative photo reportage on human rights violations and geo-strategic issues, the Carmignac Collection, which has over 300 works of contemporary art, and Villa Carmignac, an art venue offering annual exhibitions and a rich cultural programme in a 2000-square-meter gallery set in a 15-hectare estate at the heart of a protected site on Porquerolles island.

Fondation Carmignac contributes to the Global E-waste Monitor photographs by laureates of the 13th edition of the Carmignac Photojournalism Award. Investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas and photojournalists Muntaka Chasant and Bénédicte Kurzen explore the complexities of e-waste trafficking from European ports to Ghana scrapyards, revealing its complex, globalized cycle and highlighting the opportunities and environmental impact of the e-waste economy.

* * * * *

Media coverage highlights

The Associated Press, via The Washington Post, United States (46,834,485)UN says e-waste from trashed electric devices is piling up and recycling isn’t keeping pace https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/03/20/electronic-waste-kenya-united-nations-ewaste-environment/736f825e-e6c4-11ee-9eba-1558f848ec25_story.html

Reuters, United Kingdom
World ‘losing the battle’ against electronic waste, UN findshttps://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-13219285/World-losing-battle-against-electronic-waste-UN-finds.html

Agence France Presse, via Yahoo! News, United States (20,965,545)Rising scourge of e-waste a ‘catastrophe’ for environment: UNhttps://www.yahoo.com/news/rising-scourge-e-waste-catastrophe-151400470.html

ANSA, Italy (17,787,503)Rifiuti elettrici ed elettronici -3,1% nel 2023, meno tvElectrical and electronic waste -3.1% in 2023, less TVhttps://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/economia/2024/03/21/rifiuti-elettrici-ed-elettronici-31-nel-2023-meno-tv_1f53a287-1538-4467-9a78-c81f9c820036.html

Deutsche Presse Agentur, via DIE WELT, Germany (16,339,581)Die Welt produziert Jahr für Jahr mehr Elektroschrott GermanyThe world produces more electronic waste every year https://www.welt.de/newsticker/dpa_nt/infoline_nt/wissenschaft_nt/article250670507/Die-Welt-produziert-Jahr-fuer-Jahr-mehr-Elektroschrott.html

Scripps News, United States, via MSN.com (132,453,294)The world’s e-waste problem is getting worse, the UN sayshttps://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/the-world-s-e-waste-problem-is-getting-worse-the-un-says/ar-BB1kkepL
Daily Mail, United Kingdom (76,191,155)
The vast scale of Earth’s e-waste: 62 million tonnes of phones, TVs and vapes were discarded worldwide in 2022 – weighing the equivalent of 6,000 Eiffel Towers, report reveals https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-13218177/waste-phones-tvs-gadgets-quantity.html

CBS News, United States (44,417,564)There’s so much electronic waste in the world it could span the equator – and it’s still growing https://www.cbsnews.com/news/electronic-waste-ewaste-span-equator-growing/

Livemint, India (30,717,494)Electronic waste increasing at concerning rate: Reporthttps://lifestyle.livemint.com/smart-living/environment/electronic-waste-recycling-pollution-itu-technology-report-111711022324740.html

Le Monde, France (25,370,042)« Explosion » des déchets électroniques menace l’environnement et la santé, alerte l’ONU“Explosion” of electronic waste threatens the environment and health, warns the UNhttps://t.co/EWFKMNA9iE

La Repubblica, Italy (21,211,147)Nel 2022 abbiamo generato 62 milioni di tonnellate di rifiuti elettroniciIn 2022, we generated 62 million tons of e-wastehttps://www.repubblica.it/green-and-blue/2024/03/20/news/raee_rifiuti_elettronici_produzione_globale_riciclo-422345465/

Salon, via Yahoo! News, United States (20,965,545)Silicon mountain: Our obsession with electronics is drowning the world in e-waste https://www.yahoo.com/news/silicon-mountain-obsession-electronics-drowning-093005426.html

O Globo, Brazil (18,416,874)Afundando na sucata: lixo eletrônico cresce cinco vezes mais rápido do que reciclagem, diz ONUSinking in scrap: electronic waste grows five times faster than recycling, says UN https://oglobo.globo.com/economia/tecnologia/noticia/2024/03/23/afundando-na-sucata-lixo-eletronico-cresce-cinco-vezes-mais-rapido-do-que-reciclagem-diz-onu.ghtml

Full coverage summary: click here

News release in full, click here

2022 International E-waste Day slogan: ‘Recycle it all, no matter how small!’ Despite world-leading e-waste management, ~30% of Europe’s stock of mobile phones no longer used; Most are long hoarded before becoming waste; #1 reason for hoarding end

Experts expect roughly 5.3 billion mobile / smartphones will drop out of use this year.

Stacked flat atop one another at an average depth of 9 mm that many disused phones would rise roughly 50,000 km – 120 times higher than the International Space Station; one-eighth of the way to the moon.  

And, despite their valuable gold, copper, silver, palladium and other recyclable components, experts expect a majority will disappear into drawers, closets, cupboards or garages, or be tossed into waste bins bound for landfills or incineration (see background notes, appended).  

And, surprisingly, mobile phones rank 4th among small EEE products most often hoarded by consumers.

Organizers today released the results of surveys conducted to reveal why so many households and businesses fail to bring Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) in for repair or recycling.

The surveys were conducted from June to September, 2022 by the members of the WEEE Forum and the results were consolidated by the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) Sustainable Cycles (SCYCLE) Programme.

The surveys show that, of 8,775 European households in six countries representing the diversity of the European Union – Portugal, Netherlands, Italy, Romania and Slovenia, and separate UK survey, the average household contains 74 e-products such as phones, tablets, laptops, electric tools, hair dryers, toasters and other appliances (excluding lamps). 

Of that 74 average total e-products, 13 are being hoarded (9 of them unused but working, 4 broken).

The top 5 hoarded small EEE products (by number of pieces*), Europe:  

1. Small consumer electronics and accessories (e.g. headphones, remote controls)
2. Small household equipment (e.g. clocks, irons,)
3. Small information technology equipment (e.g. external hard drives, routers, keyboards, mice)
4. Mobile and smart-phones
5. Small equipment for food preparation (e.g. toasters, food processing, grills) 

(* By weight, discarded washing machines and other white appliances outweigh all other types of e-waste by far.)

Meanwhile, LED lamps rank tops the list of products most likely to be trashed.

Hoarded small kitchen and household equipment, laptops and tablets as share of total stock of those products in households:

1. Italy (29%)
2. Netherlands (17%)
3. United Kingdom (14%)
4. Slovenia (12%)
5. Romania (9%)
6. Portugal (8%)
7. Lebanon (4%)

Top 5 reasons for hoarding WEEE of any kind, Europe:

1. I might use it again in the future (46%) 
2. I plan on selling it / giving it away (15%)
3. It has sentimental value (13%)
4. It might have value in the future (9%)
5. I don’t know how to dispose of it (7%)

Others

• Didn’t have time, forgot about it, does not take up too much space (3%)
• Planned use in secondary residence (3%)
• Presence of sensitive data (2%)
• There is no incentive to recycle (1%)

Says Pascal Leroy, Director General of the WEEE Forum, the organisation behind International E-Waste Day: “We focussed this year on small e-waste items because it is very easy for them to accumulate unused and unnoticed in households, or to be tossed into the ordinary garbage bin. People tend not to realise that all these seemingly insignificant items have a lot of value, and together at a global level represent massive volumes.”

“The producer responsibility organisations in the WEEE Forum that manage the collection of e-waste are constantly working to make the proper disposal of small e-waste simple and convenient for users and households,” says Mr. Leroy.

“Providing collection boxes in supermarkets, pick up of small broken appliances upon delivery of new ones and offering PO Boxes to return small e-waste are just some of the initiatives introduced to encourage the return of these items.”

Adds Magdalena Charytanowicz of the WEEE Forum in charge of International E-Waste Day: “As noted in our short public video (https://youtu.be/r8XIoquM40Y), in 2022 alone, small EEE items such as cell phones, electric toothbrushes, toasters and cameras produced worldwide will weight an estimated total of 24.5 million tonnes – four times the weight of the Great Pyramid of Giza. And these small items make up a significant proportion of the 8% of all e-waste thrown into trash bins and eventually landfilled or incinerated.”

“These devices offer many important resources that can be used in the production of new electronic devices or other equipment, such as wind turbines, electric car batteries or solar panels – all crucial for the green, digital transition to low-carbon societies.”

In the past twenty years, the PROs in the WEEE Forum have collected, de-polluted, recycled or prepared for re-use more than 30 million tonnes of WEEE.

They have spent enormous sums on communication campaigns. Still, challenges ahead remain daunting. 

On 7 Dec. 2022 the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Grand Challenge Conference (http://weeeforumconference.com) will mark the 20th anniversary of the WEEE Forum, a consortium of reputable e-waste collection organizations.

The conference will also mark the 20th anniversary of EU Directive 2002/96/EC, the world’s first supranational (EPR) legislation on e-waste soon to be revised and updated. 

Virginijus Sinkevičius, European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, commented: “The continuing growth in the production, consumption and disposal of electronic devices have huge environmental and climate impacts. The European Commission is addressing those with proposals and measures throughout the whole product life-cycle, starting from design until collection and proper treatment when electronics become waste.”

“Moreover, preventing waste and recovering important raw materials from e-waste is crucial to avoid putting more strain on the world’s resources. Only by establishing a circular economy for electronics, the EU will continue to lead in the efforts to urgently address the fast-growing problem of e-waste.”

Dr. Kees Baldé, Senior Scientific Specialist at UNITAR SCYCLE, and a lead researcher behind the Global e-Waste Monitor, noted that many small electronic products such as disposable airplane earbuds or cables and adapters accumulate largely unnoticed in many households. All the defunct earbuds accumulated by 2026 strung together would stretch around the moon three times.”  

“Moreover, over the past decade the growth in generated e-waste has been considerably higher than the growth in recycling, thus it is important to remind people of the importance of reusing or returning every single piece of electronics or electrical product that is forgotten about in household drawers.”

UN-led thought paper outlines options

Also launched to coincide with International e-Waste Day: a UN “thought paper” at https://www.itu.int/itu-d/sites/environment/ (available Oct. 14) offers a series of ideas and options for reducing the global problem.

Led by the UN’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU), with contributions from the WEEE Forum – which organizes International E-waste Day – and StEP, the Solving the eWaste Problem Initiative – the paper details the pros and cons of a wide range of options, including, for example:

• Making all entities that have access to e-waste subject to minimum legal obligations (All Actors principle)
• Deposit return and take-back schemes
• Digital product passports, and
• An international EPR regime of states agreeing on baseline standards for EEE treatment and depollution, and harmonized EEE definitions, categories, methodologies and principles.

UN certificate available to graduates of new 90-minute online e-waste training program 

Meanwhile, UNITAR, the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), today also launched the first self-paced e-waste online training course open to anyone. A UNITAR certificate is available to graduates of the roughly 1.5 hour course (lectures, videos, illustrations, tests and a final exam).

The course will be available Oct. 14 at https://www.uncclearn.org 

Says Nikhil Seth, UNITAR’s Executive Director and an instrumental figure in development of the Sustainable Development Goals, “UNITAR is proud of this new course on e-waste management as an outstanding example of how to use scientific findings in a practical way for international training and capacity building in an area of critical environmental importance.”

Adds Dr. Ruediger Kuehr, Founder of the SCYCLE Programme and Head of UNITAR’s Office in Bonn: “ International E-waste Day reminds us annually of the avalanche of problems we face unless we take appropriate measures, without which global e-waste could double to 100 million tonnes or more in the next 30 years. Consumption of electronics in many countries continues to grow, with more and more gadgets and products or embedded in such as furniture, clothes and toys, all of which eventually become e-waste.”

“We need to understand this growth and counter it with everyone involved: national authorities, enforcement agencies, Producer Responsibility Organisations, original equipment manufacturers, recyclers, researchers and consumers themselves.”

Further reading: In-depth review of the WEEE Collection Rates and Targets in Europe  https://weee-forum.org/projects-campaigns/weeeflows

Background

Total global stock of mobile phones (in use and hoarded): 16 billion (source: UNITAR’s internal Global E-Waste Monitor databases; ~8 billion people in the world with approx. 2 phones per person. 

See also:

• https://www.bankmycell.com/blog/how-many-phones-are-in-the-world
• https://www.statista.com/statistics/245501/multiple-mobile-device-ownership-worldwide/ 

E-waste generated by mobile and smartphones, 2022 only: 5.3 billion pieces (covers all devices that will be thrown in the bin, recycled or discarded in any other way).

Most were hoarded before (the 5.3 billion figure excludes currently hoarded mobile and smartphones).  

Notes: The EU generates fewer mobile phones per inhabitant than other world regions, contrary to other forms of e-waste. Also, low quality devices quickly break and need replacing.

* * * * *

About 

International e-Waste Day (#ewasteday)

Last year over 170 organisations from 78 countries worldwide supported the fourth International E-Waste Day observance. This year too, the WEEE Forum invited all organisations involved in effective and responsible e-waste management to plan awareness raising activities for 14 October. These range from social media, TV and radio campaigns to city or school e-waste collections or even artistic performances. 

www.internationalewasteday.com 

The WEEE Forum 

The WEEE Forum is a Brussels-based for-impact, not-for-profit international association representing forty-six producer responsibility organisations on all continents, across the globe. Together with our members, we are at the forefront of turning the Extended Producer Responsibility principle into an effective electronic waste management policy approach through our combined knowledge of the technical, business and operational aspects of collection, logistics, de-pollution, processing, preparing for reuse and reporting of e-waste. It is the biggest organisation of its kind in the world. 

Our mission is to be the world’s foremost e-waste competence centre excelling in the implementation of the circularity principle. The PROs are based in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia. In 2021, its member organisations reported collection and proper de-pollution, repair and recycling in excess of 3 million tonnes of WEEE. 

Since their founding, the PROs in the WEEE Forum have collected, de-polluted and recycled or sent for preparation for re-use more than 30 million tonnes of WEEE. In addition, our members operate over 114,000 WEEE collection points and two thirds of them are market leaders in their countries.

www.weee-forum.org; Correspondence: pascal.leroy@weee-forum.org 

* * * * *

Media coverage highlights

CNN, United States (132 million) What to do with your old phones, gadgets and other e-waste
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/10/14/tech/e-waste-tips/index.html

Agence France Presse, via Hindustan Times, India (49,376,780)
Over 5 billion cell phones may be discarded in 2022: Report  https://www.hindustantimes.com/technology/over-5-billion-cell-phones-may-be-discarded-in-2022-report-101665678804826.html

Deutsche Presse Agentur, Germany, via Der Spiegel (21,345,710)
Milliarden ausgediente Smartphones werden unsachgemäß entsorgt https://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/gadgets/milliarden-ausgediente-smartphones-werden-unsachgemaess-entsorgt-a-67b3566d-2561-4101-8fa2-ed40b1a7319a

Agencia EFE, Spain via MSN.com, United States (169,707,030) La acumulación de móviles en desuso está alcanzado niveles insostenibles https://www.msn.com/es-us/noticias/mundo/la-acumulaci%c3%b3n-de-m%c3%b3viles-en-desuso-est%c3%a1-alcanzado-niveles-insostenibles/ar-AA12Vtfv

UK Press Association, United Kingdom via Daily Mail, United Kingdom (78,872,375) Households sitting on £5.6bn of unwanted tech, research suggests  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/pa/article-11312223/UK-households-sitting-5-6bn-unwanted-tech-research-suggests.html

Bloomberg, United States, There Are Critical Minerals Hiding in Your Junk Drawer https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-14/5-3-billion-phones-will-join-a-hidden-mine-of-e-waste-this-year?srnd=premium&leadSource=uverify%20wall

BBC, United Kingdom, via Yahoo! News, United States (63,498,127) E-waste: 5 billion phones to be thrown away in 2022 https://www.yahoo.com/news/e-waste-5-billion-phones-014828202.html

TIME,

The Hill, United States (17,212,612) 5.3 billion phones to become waste in 2022 https://thehill.com/policy/equilibrium-sustainability/3687227-equilibrium-sustainability-5-3-billion-phones-to-become-waste-in-2022/

Daily Mail, UK, via MSN.com, United States (potential reach 169,707,030) Average UK household could raise £200 by selling unwanted gadgets https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/average-uk-household-could-raise-%c2%a3200-by-selling-unwanted-gadgets/ar-AA12Vt3s

2) UK households store 527 million unwanted electrical items https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/uk-households-store-527-million-unwanted-electrical-items/ar-AA12SzRb

The Independent, United Kingdom (44,247,701)
UK households sitting on £5.6bn of unwanted tech, research suggests https://www.independent.co.uk/business/uk-households-sitting-on-ps5-6bn-of-unwanted-tech-research-suggests-b2202146.html

El Mundo, Spain (27,990,567) Basura electrónica: por qué guardamos en casa la mayoría de teléfonos móviles que ya no usamos https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/medio-ambiente/2022/10/13/6347f7d5fc6c83796f8b4598.html

La Repubblica, Italy (22,437,702) Nella Giornata internazionale dei rifiuti elettronici si spegneranno oltre 5 miliardi di dispositivi https://www.repubblica.it/economia/rapporti/energitalia/sostenibilita/2022/10/13/news/nella_giornata_internazionale_dei_rifiuti_elettronici_si_spegneranno_oltre_5_miliardi_di_dispositivi-369704876/

n-tv Germany (21,523,622) Technikschrott wird gehortet, statt recycelt https://www.n-tv.de/wissen/Technikschrott-wird-gehortet-statt-recycelt-article23649297.html

DIE WELT, Germany (18,994,734) Jährlich landen Milliarden Handys im Abfall https://www.welt.de/wissenschaft/article241580307/Elektroschrott-Jaehrlich-landen-Milliarden-Handys-im-Abfall.html

Gadgets 360 India (16,676,073)Smartphone Waste to Constitute Over 30 Percent of World’s Total Mobiles in 2022: Report https://gadgets360.com/mobiles/news/smartphones-e-waste-over-5-billion-out-of-16-billion-mobile-phones-2022-weee-forum-report-3429381

Univision Television Network, United States (16,188,806)Por qué es tan perjudicial que guardes el celular viejo en un cajón  https://www.univision.com/noticias/medio-ambiente/tecnologia-telefonos-celulares-reciclaje-basura

ORF Online, Austria (7,832,963)Mehr als fünf Milliarden Handys Abfall https://science.orf.at/stories/3215552/

Iefimerida, Greece (3,764,038)Περίπου 5,3 δισ. κινητά τηλέφωνα θα πεταχτούν το 2022 -Ελάχιστα θα ανακυκλωθούν https://www.iefimerida.gr/tehnologia/kinita-tilefona-petahtoyn-2022-na-anakyklothoyn

Forbes México, Mexico (2,519,113)5,300 millones de celulares se convertirán en basura a final de año https://www.forbes.com.mx/5300-millones-de-celulares-se-convertiran-en-basura-a-final-de-anio/

Yahoo! News Taiwan, Taiwan (11,263,232)電子垃圾泛濫 2022年有53億手機成廢物  https://tw.news.yahoo.com/%E9%9B%BB%E5%AD%90%E5%9E%83%E5%9C%BE%E6%B3%9B%E6%BF%AB-2022%E5%B9%B4%E6%9C%8953%E5%84%84%E6%89%8B%E6%A9%9F%E6%88%90%E5%BB%A2%E7%89%A9-002348793.html

WEB, Germany (12,229,811)13 Geräte pro Haushalt: Zu viel Elektronik wird gehortet  https://web.de/magazine/digital/13-geraete-haushalt-elektronik-gehortet-37381042

Báo Mới, Viet Nam (5,457,584)Ngày này năm xưa 14/10: Ngày truyền thống ngành Tổ chức xây dựng Đảng; thành lập Hội Nông dân Việt Nam.  https://baomoi.com/ngay-nay-nam-xua-14-10-ngay-truyen-thong-nganh-to-chuc-xay-dung-dang-thanh-lap-hoi-nong-dan-viet-nam/c/43992952.epi

Xinhua News Agency (搜狐新闻) via Sohu, Mainland China (60,317,411)
报告估计全球今年53亿部手机被废置
https://www.sohu.com/a/592700148_267106

Merdeka.com, Indonesia (27,540,089)
Berapa Banyak Ponsel yang akan Dibuang Tahun Ini? Simak Datanya
https://www.merdeka.com/dunia/berapa-banyak-ponsel-yang-akan-dibuang-tahun-ini-simak-datanya.html

Haber Turk, Turkey (25,608,489)
Dünyada 2022’de 5,3 milyar cep telefonunun çöpe atılacağı tahmin ediliyor
https://www.haberturk.com/ankara-haberleri/29153096-dunyada-2022de-5-3-milyar-cep-telefonunun-cope-atilacagi-tahmin-ediliyor

The Times of India, (25,572,919)
Roughly 5.3 billion mobile phones possessed worldwide will become waste in 2022: Report
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/gadgets-news/roughly-5-3-billion-mobile-phones-possessed-worldwide-will-become-waste-in-2022-report/articleshow/94856115.cms

Sky News, United Kingdom (22,970,244)
Stop hoarding your phones, Brits urged – here’s how to recycle them
https://news.sky.com/story/stop-hoarding-your-phones-brits-urged-heres-how-to-recycle-them-12720074

Daum, Korea (21,696,948)
전세계 160억대 휴대전화 중 올해만 ’53억대 이상’ 폐기된다
https://v.daum.net/v/20221014160406136

ANSA, Italy (18,182,248)Oltre 5 miliardi di telefonini in disuso nel 2022  https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/cronaca/2022/10/14/oltre-5-miliardi-di-telefonini-in-disuso-nel-2022_ab44bffc-d0c1-4f94-8cc6-9398b4f445a7.html

SAPO, Portugal (8,869,708)Europeus têm em casa 13 equipamentos eléctricos que não usam https://marketeer.sapo.pt/europeus-tem-em-casa-13-equipamentos-electricos-que-nao-usam/
2) Frigoríficos e computadores antigos formam escultura gigante em Belém https://marketeer.sapo.pt/frigorificos-e-computadores-antigos-formam-escultura-gigante-em-belem/

Europa Press, Spain (5,650,878)Los auriculares y los mandos a distancia son los productos electrónicos que más se acumulan en los hogares https://www.europapress.es/portaltic/gadgets/noticia-auriculares-mandos-distancia-son-productos-electronicos-mas-acumulan-hogares-20221014173502.html
2) Fundación Ecolec gestionó casi 15.000 toneladas de residuos de pequeños aparatos eléctricos y electrónicos en 2021  https://www.europapress.es/sociedad/medio-ambiente-00647/noticia-fundacion-ecolec-gestiono-casi-15000-toneladas-residuos-pequenos-aparatos-electricos-electronicos-2021-20221014120405.html

Anadolu Agency, Turkey (8,031,259)Dünyada 2022’de 5,3 milyar cep telefonunun çöpe atılacağı tahmin ediliyor https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/dunya/dunyada-2022de-5-3-milyar-cep-telefonunun-cope-atilacagi-tahmin-ediliyor/2711378

Central News Agency, Taiwan (2,632,522)研究：2022年53億支手機變廢物 危險材質威脅環境  https://www.cna.com.tw/news/aopl/202210140333.aspx

Indo Asian News Service, via ProKerala, India (9,912,459)5.3 bn mobile phones will become waste this year, warn experts  https://www.prokerala.com/news/articles/a1354156.html

Popular Science, United States (3,347,432)People will throw away about 5.3 billion phones this year  https://www.popsci.com/environment/waste-5-billion-phones-this-year/

La Croix, France (2,133,951)Revente, recyclage… Comment profiter de la ressource de nos vieux smartphones https://www.la-croix.com/Sciences-et-ethique/Revente-recyclage-Comment-profiter-ressource-vieux-smartphones-2022-10-14-1201237710

News release in full, click here

Full coverage summary, click here

1st Latin American e-waste report covers 13 countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela

Electronic waste in 13 Latin American countries rose by 49% between 2010 and 2019, roughly the world average, but just 3% was collected and safely managed, a fraction of the 17.4% global average, according to the UN’s first assessment of Latin America’s e-waste volume, legislation, and management infrastructure.

In 2019, e-waste generated by 206 million citizens in the 13 countries reached 1,300,000 tonnes (1.3 megatonnes, of which almost 30% was plastic) – equal in weight to a 670 km line of fully-loaded 40-ton trucks.  The comparable figure in 2010 was 900,000 tonnes, generated by about 185 million citizens.

While informal recyclers “cherry pick” some valuable elements from waste electronics and electrical equipment, some 97% is improperly managed; just 3% is known to be collected and treated in facilities using environmentally sound methods.

The findings are published in the “Regional E-waste Monitor for Latin America, Results for the 13 Countries Participating,” produced by the Sustainable Cycles (SCYCLE) Programme, co-hosted by the UN University (UNU) and the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).  

It was developed under the ‘Strengthening of National Initiatives and Enhancement of Regional Cooperation for the Environmentally Sound Management of POPs

in Waste of Electronic or Electrical Equipment (WEEE)’ project (in Spanish: PREAL – Proyecto Residuos Electrónicos America Latina), funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and coordinated by the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

(The full “Regional E-waste Monitor for Latin America” is available in English at https://bit.ly/REM-EN, and Spanish at https://bit.ly/REM-ES)

“E-waste constitutes one of the fastest-growing streams of physical waste in today’s global environment and is a threat to sustainable development,” the report says.

However, few countries collect internationally-comparable e-waste statistics.  This report was created with the cooperation of 13 countries to support and facilitate environmentally-sound management of e-waste in the region, says co-author Ruediger Kuehr, the Senior Manager of UNITAR SCYCLE (previously hosted by United Nations University).

The hazardous substances in the region’s e-waste comprises at least 2200 kg of mercury, 600 kg of cadmium, 4.4 million kg of lead, 4 million kg of brominated flame retardants, and 5.6 megatonnes of greenhouse gas-equivalents (due to refrigerants).

These substances “are poorly managed within the region and are likely to be untreated, generating various risks to the stability of a healthy environment,” according to the report.

Meanwhile, “managing e-waste could be an economic opportunity,” says co-author Kees Baldé, Senior Scientific Specialist at UNITAR SCYCLE.  “The e-waste generated regionally in 2019 contained 7000 kg of gold, 310 kg of rare earth metals, 591 million kg of iron, 54 million kg of copper, and 91 million kg of aluminum, representing a total value of roughly US $1.7 billion of secondary raw materials.”

Key statistical findings: 

• On an average annual per capita basis, e-waste generation rose from 4.7 kilograms in 2010 to 6.7 kilograms in 2019, ranging from 13.2 kg in Costa Rica to 2.5 kg in Nicaragua. 
• The volume of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) placed on the market fluctuated between 2010 and 2019, from 1.7 Mt (1.7 million tonnes, or 8.9 kg per inhabitant) in 2010, to 1.9 Mt in 2017, and 1.7 Mt (8.1 kg per inhabitant) in 2019.
• One-third (33%) of the region’s e-waste consists of small equipment (e.g. microwaves, grills and toasters, speakers, cameras).  The next largest categories: large equipment (e.g. dishwashers, washing machines, ovens, central heating systems) and temperature exchange equipment (e.g. fridges, freezers, air conditioners, heat pumps), each with 21%. One or two appliances in the latter categories are found in typical households – bulky, heavy appliances with long lifespans compared with small equipment, sold in higher numbers and more frequently discarded. The region’s smallest category in terms of e-waste generation is lamps (3% of the region’s e-waste weight).
• The volume of EEE plastic placed on the market decreased over the years, from 470,000 tonnes (2.49 kg/inh) in 2010 to 460,000 tonnes (2.22 kg/inh) in 2019 due to changes in technology, for example, from cathode ray tube (CRT) screens in computers and televisions to flat-panel displays, as well as material substitutions by manufacturers and shifting demand in some EEE categories.
• 380,000 tonnes of e-waste plastic was generated in the 13 countries in 2019, of which 31,000 tonnes contained toxic brominated flame retardants (BRF), suspected of causing neurobehavioral effects and endocrine disruption. Almost all of the plastics containing BRF are contained in just three e-waste categories: small equipment (16,000 tonnes), small IT (10,000 tonnes), and screens (5,000 tonnes)  
• Data is unavailable on the volume of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in e-waste plastic managed in an environmentally-sound way.
• The countries in the study collected and managed a total of 36,000 tonnes (0.21 kg per inhabitant) of e-waste in 2019. (Guatemala data is being assessed but unavailable as the report went to press). 
• Costa Rica has the highest e-waste collection of 8.0 percent (1.0 kg per inhabitant) of its total e-waste generated, followed by Chile with 5.0 percent (0.4 kg per inhabitant). 
• Annual EEE growth rates are slowing but still positive in all categories except screens and monitors, the mass of which is dropping as heavy cathode ray tube (CRT) screens in computers and televisions are replaced on the market by substantially lighter flat-panel displays.
• Argentina, Costa Rica, and Chile manufacture EEE and their components domestically; all 10 other countries rely entirely on imports. 

All 13 participating countries 

• have some legal and regulatory frameworks for waste management but only Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Peru have instituted specific legislation for e-waste and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) systems focusing on e-waste regulation. 
• have hazardous waste regulation that includes POPs, but none has legislation specifically for POPs from e-waste.
• have ratified the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, which controls the transboundary movement of e-waste, and enacted national bans on e-waste imports.  

However, “the enforcement of these measures remains a significant challenge,” the report says, adding that many of the 13 countries do not submit transboundary movement reports to the Basel Convention, making monitoring and mapping difficult.  

“Low quality of data and control of transboundary movement of e-waste through the Basel Convention poses a threat to the environmentally sound management of e-waste and illegal movements.”

The report calls on all countries in the region to introduce and enforce either: 

a) a robust legal and policy framework focused on ESM of e-waste and POPs contained in e-waste, or 

b) monitor and reinforce existing systems to make them more efficient and effective. 

It adds that adequate financing and monitoring of the systems, and the cooperation of all stakeholders, are essential elements for setting up and sustaining successful policies. 

The report concludes with detailed individual country profiles and elaborates on seven recommendations, headlined: 

• Prevent more
• Be more aware
• Collect more
• Pollute less
• Pay adequately
• Work more safely, and 
• Train more

* * * * * 

About 

Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) encompasses all products powered by a battery or plug, including laptops, mobile phones, servers, fridges, washing machines, dishwashers, cooking and other kitchen appliances, many toys, and musical instruments. EEE is increasing rapidly, and spreading quickly in emerging sectors such as electric transport, clean energy production, and smart cities, which base their services on EEE and sensors. 

The Regional E-waste Monitor for Latin America is produced by the Sustainable Cycles (SCYCLE) Programme and co-hosted by the United Nations University (UNU) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). 

This Regional E-waste Monitor was funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) within the framework of the ‘Strengthening of National Initiatives and Enhancement of Regional Cooperation for the Environmentally Sound Management of POPs in Waste of Electronic or Electrical Equipment (WEEE)’ project activities, known primarily as the PREAL (Proyecto Residuos Electrónicos América Latina Project) which is implemented by the United

Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

United Nations University (UNU) 

UNU is an autonomous component of the UN General Assembly dedicated to generating and transferring knowledge and strengthening capacities relevant to global issues of human security, development, and welfare. The University

operates through a worldwide network of research and training centres and programmes, coordinated by the UNU Centre in Tokyo. 

www.unu.edu 

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)

UNITAR is a dedicated training arm of the United Nations, with a mission of developing the individual, institutional, and organisational capacity of countries and other United Nations stakeholders through high quality learning solutions and related knowledge products and services as a means for enhancing global decision-making and providing support at the country level in overcoming global challenges. 

www.unitar.org 

The SCYCLE Programme, recently transitioned from UNU to UNITAR, envisions enabling societies to reduce the environmental load from production, use, and disposal of ubiquitous goods, especially EEE, to sustainable levels by means of independent, comprehensive, and practical research and training, providing more thorough fact bases for policy development and decision making. SCYCLE leads the global e-waste research and related trainings, and advances sustainable e-waste management strategies based on life-cycle thinking. 

www.scycle.info 

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

UNIDO has over 50 years’ experience of promoting and accelerating inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID) in Member States across the world. The Organization’s programmatic focus is mainly on creating shared prosperity, advancing economic competitiveness, safeguarding the environment and strengthening knowledge and institutions. 

www.unido.org 

The Global Environment Facility (GEF)

The GEF has over 27 years of experience and focuses on helping tackle our planet’s most pressing environmental problems. GEF is an international partnership of 183 countries, international institutions, civil society organizations and the private sector that addresses global environmental issues in protected areas, promotes sustainable landscape and seascape, sustainable forest management and land management, GHG emission reduction, integrated water resources management, safe disposal of hazardous chemicals and the adaptation to climate change.

www.thegef.org 

******

Media coverage highlights

Agencia EFE, via Infobae, Argentina, La basura electrónica es un problema creciente en Latinoamérica, según la ONU, click here

Agencia Reforma, via La Opinion, United States, América Latina es un vertedero de basura electrónica sin control, click here

IndoAsian News Service (IANS) via ProKerala, India: 97 pc of Latin America’s e-waste improperly managed: UN, click here

Full coverage summary, click here

News release in full, click here

Of the 18 science news releases produced in 2021, 16 were environment-themed: food waste, e-waste, oceans, biodiversity, dams, and floods. And one announced 14 living male relatives of Leonardo da Vinci, advancing a project investigating his DNA. 

2 minute slideshow: Click here

These releases generated over 9,200 news articles, published at thousands of online news sites in scores of countries and dozens of languages, ~33 billion potential public impressions in all, according to the Meltwater news search engine, which estimates actual impressions via online news sites at 825 million. Millions of additional impressions were also generated via print newspapers, magazines, radio, TV and social media.

With thanks to the researchers and collaborators behind these stories, and to the many journalists who covered them, the following releases were the most noted last year.

Electronic waste generated in the Commonwealth of Independent States + Georgia rose by 50% between 2010 and 2019, roughly the world average, but overall just 3.2% was collected and safely managed, well below the 17.4% average worldwide, according to the UN’s first report dedicated to the e-waste issue in the 12 former Soviet Union countries.

The regional e-waste total jumped from 1.7 Mt to 2.5 Mt (an average 8.7 kg per citizen), with Russia generating the most e-waste in both absolute and per inhabitant terms.

The findings are published in the first-ever “Regional E-waste Monitor, CIS + Georgia,” produced by the Sustainable Cycles (SCYCLE) Programme, co-hosted by the UN University (UNU) and the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), in partnership with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).

According to the study, the region’s e-waste spans a variety of products but three categories dominate: temperature exchange equipment (e.g. heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration units), and large equipment (e.g. washing machines or ovens) and small equipment (e.g. kitchen equipment or vacuum cleaners) account for 77%.

The annual growth rate in the region has slowed in nearly all categories but remains positive. Only screens and monitors, and small IT equipment, show negative growth rates.

“E-waste constitutes one of the fastest growing waste streams in today’s global environment and poses a significant threat to both health and sustainable development,” says Ruediger Kuehr, Director of the Sustainable Cycles Programme (SCYCLE).

“However, few countries collect internationally comparable e-waste statistics, and many countries lack the capacity to collect e-waste data at both the regional and national level. We need this data to track changes over time, establish national and international policies, limit e-waste generation, prevent illegal dumping, and promote recycling.”

This Regional E-waste Monitor for the CIS + Georgia is the first of its kind, reviewing e-waste statistics, legislation, and management, created with the aim of enhancing understanding and interpretation of the problem and facilitating the environmentally sound management of e-waste.”

“Such a summary allows for international comparisons and contributes to the development of more effective regional e-waste management systems,” he adds.

10 tonnes of gold

Co-author Kees Balde of the United Nations University underlines that managing e-waste could be an economic opportunity in the region by creating enterprises and thus jobs in the recycling sector.

E-waste generated in the CIS + Georgia in 2019 alone contained 10 tonnes of gold, half a tonne of rare earth metals, 1 million tonnes of iron, 85,000 tonnes of copper, 136,000 tonnes of aluminum, and 700 tonnes of cobalt – representing a total value of US $2.6 billion in secondary raw materials.

Meanwhile, hazardous substances in the region’s 2019 e-waste included at least 2.4 tonnes of mercury, 1.1 tonnes of cadmium, 8,100 tonnes of lead, and 4,000 tonnes of brominated flame retardants — threats to human and environmental health.

“E-waste collection rates need to increase across countries in the region, just as they need to increase elsewhere across the world,” says Dr. Balde. “This improvement can be realised through mandatory handover of e-waste to licenced facilities. Also needed are mandatory reporting obligations for all actors collecting e-waste.”

UBA president Dirk Messner emphasizes that “E-waste is one of the most challenging waste streams all over the world. The amount of electrical and electronic equipment put on the market is rising constantly and thus e-waste does. In Germany we, too, are facing the challenge to boost our collection rates to treat e-waste in the proper way. Policy makers worldwide need a comprehensive analysis of the e-waste situation – both regionally and on a national level. We are happy that through the Advisory Assistance Programme (APP) we have supported this important project. It has been a fruitful exchange and knowledge transfer for both sides.”

Other key findings in the report:

• Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) placed on the market in the region increased by 10% — from 2.9 Mt (10.4 kg/inh) in 2010 to 3.2 Mt (11.0 kg/inh) in 2019.
• The CIS+ countries collected and managed 79 kt (0.3 kg/inh) of e-waste in 2019 – 3.2% of the e-waste generated — and most of the rest ends up in landfills, with informal recyclers cherry picking some valuable components.
• Belarus and Russia have large domestic EEE production industries; the other countries mostly import the EEE placed on the market.
• E-waste collection for environmentally sound management takes place in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Ukraine.
• Belarus has the highest e-waste collection per inhabitant and a collection rate: 33.6% (2.7 kg/inh), followed by Kazakhstan (8.8%; 0.6 kg/inh).
• Some countries (e.g. Georgia, Kyrgyzstan) have no e-waste collection due to a lack of organised, separate collection infrastructure for e-waste (and/or lack official data).
• All 12 countries in the region have well-developed legal and regulatory waste management frameworks, but 6 have no specific legislation nor Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) systems
• Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine have adopted e-waste-specific legislation or regulation
• Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia regulate e-waste through bylaws in national legislation (i.e. specifically mentioning e-waste in their general waste law)
• Armenia and Ukraine are drafting Extended Producer Responsibility systems for e-waste, and Uzbekistan has drafted e-waste legislation
• In most countries, the Ministry of Environment is the responsible government entity. Municipalities and other waste management authorities, as well as state-owned private companies, collect e-waste for further management, mostly landfilling
• Producers/importers also collect e-waste under the EPR, but informal operators also exist in the region and focus on valuable e-waste fractions

The report notes several initiatives and campaign strategies created in the region to create awareness of e-waste collection and recycling with active participation from both the public and private sectors. In some of the 12 countries, the projects and initiatives are conceived and driven by NGOs’ foreign donor funds. These projects that were mapped do not comprise a complete overview in the region, but nonetheless focus on:

• Establishing legal measures
• National studies to map the e-waste situation
• Initiatives to increase e-waste collection points
• Initiatives to export e-waste for environmentally sound management
• Awareness raising campaigns

The report calls on the 12 countries in the region to:

• Introduce and enforce a robust legal and policy framework focused on environmentally sound management of e-waste, or
• Monitor and reinforce existing systems to make them more efficient and effective

Also called for:

• Adequate financing of the systems, monitoring, and cooperation of all stakeholders — essential for ensuring that the policies setup for e-waste management is sustained.
• Strengthened transnational cooperation to reduce the burden of large investments

The report concludes with detailed individual country profiles and elaborates on seven recommendations, headlined:

• Prevent more
• Be more aware
• Collect more
• Pollute less
• Pay adequately
• Work more safely, and
• Train more

* * * * *

About

Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) encompasses all products powered by a battery or plug, including laptops, mobile phones, servers, fridges, washing machines, dishwashers, cooking and other kitchen appliances, many toys, and musical instruments. EEE is increasing rapidly, and spreading quickly in emerging sectors such as electric transport, clean energy production, and smart cities, which base their services on EEE and sensors.

The Regional E-waste Monitor for the CIS + Georgia is produced by the Sustainable Cycles (SCYCLE) Programmeco-hosted by the United Nations University (UNU) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The project was funded by the German Federal Environment Ministry’s Advisory Assistance Programme (AAP) for environmental protection in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia and other countries neighbouring the European Union. It was supervised by the German Environment Agency (UBA). Workshops during the project were co-funded by the International Telecommunication Union and the International Solid Waste Association and were co-organised by UNEP.

The German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt, UBA) is Germany’s central environmental authority. It employs more than 1,400 people at 13 locations. In addition to ‘purely scientific work’, the enforcement of environmental law – for example the Chemicals Act or the Plant Protection Act – and providing information to the general public about environmental protection issues are key areas of the agency‘s daily work. UBA is a partner and point of contact in Germany for a number of international institutions, for instance the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Environment Agency.
www.umweltbundesamt.de/en

UBA supports the development of human resources and institutional capacities in the environmental sector in its partner countries in a variety of ways. The purpose of the Advisory Assistance Programme (AAP) is the exchange and transfer of knowledge and experience to the target region in order to strengthen environmental administration bodies, raise environmental standards and prepare for environmental investments. UNU’s and UNITAR’s project that provides the 1st regional e-waste report for Commonwealth of Independent States + Georgia fits ideally into these goals.
www.umweltbundesamt.de/en/advisory-assistance-programme

United Nations University (UNU) is an autonomous component of the UN General Assembly dedicated to generating and transferring knowledge and strengthening capacities relevant to global issues of human security, development, and welfare. The University
operates through a worldwide network of research and training centres and programmes, coordinated by the UNU Centre in Tokyo.
www.unu.edu

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is a dedicated training arm of the United Nations, with a mission of developing the individual, institutional, and organisational capacity of countries and other United Nations stakeholders through high quality learning solutions and related knowledge products and services as a means for enhancing global decision-making and providing support at the country level in overcoming global challenges.
www.unitar.org

The SCYCLE Programme, in transition from UNU to UNITAR, envisions enabling societies to reduce the environmental load from production, use, and disposal of ubiquitous goods, especially EEE, to sustainable levels by means of independent, comprehensive, and practical research and training, providing more thorough fact bases for policy development and decision making. SCYCLE leads the global e-waste research and related trainings, and advances sustainable e-waste management strategies based on life-cycle thinking.
www.scycle.info

* * * * *

Coverage highlights:

ТАSS, Russia, Количество электронных отходов на свалках СНГ за 10 лет выросло в полтора раза (The amount of e-waste in landfills in the CIS has grown by one and a half times over 10 years), click here

National Geographic Россия, Russia (1,061,937)
Объем электронных отходов на свалках СНГ стремительно растет, (The volume of e-waste in landfills in the CIS is growing rapidly), click here

IndoAsian News Service, India, (via ProKerala), E-waste in Commonwealth of Independent States rises 50% in decade, click here

腾讯网 (TenCent News), Mainland China, 年将10吨黄金当垃圾扔掉，这些国家正在造成巨大浪费 (Throwing away 10 tons of gold as garbage every year, these countries are causing huge waste), click here

Central Asia Media, Russia, Узбекистан среди лидеров в СНГ по количеству электронных отходов на свалках – исследование ООН, (Uzbekistan among CIS leaders in terms of the amount of e-waste in landfills – UN study), click here

Фергана, Russia, Казахстан и Узбекистан — в лидерах СНГ по объему электронных отходов на свалках (Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are among the leaders of the CIS in terms of the volume of electronic waste in landfills), click here

Караван, Kazakhstan, ООН обратила внимание на проблему электронных отходов на свалках в Казахстане, (UN drew attention to the problem of e-waste in landfills in Kazakhstan), click here

Repost, Uzbekistan, За 10 лет количество электронных отходов на свалках СНГ выросло в 1,5 раза: большая их часть приходится на Россию, Украину, Казахстан и Узбекистан, (Over the past 10 years, the amount of electronic waste in landfills in the CIS has grown by 1.5 times: most of it comes from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan), click here

Tashkent Times, Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan among leaders in e-waste in landfills in CIS, click here

Kant KG, Kyrgyzstan, ООН назвал Узбекистан одним из лидеров в СНГ по количеству электронных отходов на свалках (UN names Uzbekistan one of the leaders in the CIS in terms of the amount of electronic waste in landfills), click here

El Ágora, Spain, Asia central y el este de Europa, puntos negros de los desechos electrónicos (Central Asia and Eastern Europe, e-waste hot spots), click here

Full coverage summary, click here

News release in full, click here