E-waste is a significant global issue, which the UK plays an enormous part in. This blog is part 1 in a 2-part blog series where we discuss all things e-waste.
What is E-Waste?
E-waste, short for electronic waste, is all electronic and electrical equipment and its parts that have been discarded as waste without the intent of re-use. This includes any items with plugs, cords, or electrical components, such as home appliances, children’s toys, electric toothbrushes, computers, and more.
E-waste is not biodegradable, and causes both human and environmental harm, which will be discussed further in part 2 of this blog series next week.
Some Statistics
According to Uswitch’s 2022 figures, the UK is the second largest producer of e-waste in the entire world, with 23.9kg of e-waste produced per capita.
Norway led the figures with 26kg produced per capita, but Uswitch predicted that the UK will overtake them to become the world’s biggest contributor of e-waste this year.
The Global E-Waste Monitor 2017 found that in one year, 44.7 million metric tonnes of e-waste is generated, with Europe and the US alone contributing to almost half of this.
Despite being the world-leader in e-waste recycling, the EU still only properly collects and recycles 35% of e-waste, with an even lower global average of 20%.
The Impact of Consumerism
Capitalist consumerism is hugely contributing to the issue of e-waste, as we are encouraged to crave more and more, with adverts pushing us to buy the latest phone, and special deals like Black Friday encouraging us to splash out on new TVs or laptops.
We live in a culture where we are never fully satisfied with what we have, and there is always something better and newer round the corner. And we are often shielded from the true cost of this consumerism, given that a lot of e-waste is shipped to third world countries, where other people will be the ones putting their lives in danger to sort through the parts of our old mobile phone.
Improper Handling
A 2019 joint report in support of the United Nations E-Waste Coalition, ‘A New Circular Vision for Electronics – Time for a Global Reboot’ found that the improper handling of e-waste is leading to significant losses of scarce and valuable raw materials.
For example, the total recovery rates for cobalt (used in batteries) are only 30% despite technology existing that could recycle 95%.
They also found that mining discarded electronics produces 80% less emissions of carbon dioxide per unit of gold compared to mining it from the ground.
Therefore, we are missing out on opportunities to reclaim valuable raw materials just from failing to properly process our electronic waste.