A sharp rise in the sale of consumer gadgets around the globe will pose serious environmental and public-health risks over the next 10 years unless action is taken to properly collect and recycle their materials, according to a report from the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP). The products range from computers, printers and mobile phones to music devices, electronic toys, and televisions.
Based on the data collected by the UNEP to date, the e-waste from discarded computers will rise 200 to 500 percent over the next 10 years in comparison with 2007 levels in countries such as China, India and South Africa. E-waste from cell phones is also projected to grow in China and India by seven and 18 times, respectively, during the same period.
“This report gives new urgency to establishing ambitious, formal and regulated processes for collecting and managing e-waste via the setting up of large, efficient facilities in China,” said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.
The Transition To a Green Economy
The UNEP report singles out China as an example of the e-waste challenges ahead. The world’s largest consumer market is expected to produce about 2.3 million tons of e-waste this year, second only to the United States with about three million tons.
China also remains a major e-waste dumping ground for developed countries, even though Chinese authorities banned e-waste imports. But China isn’t alone in facing a serious challenge, Steiner noted. “India, Brazil, Mexico and others may also face rising environmental damage and health problems if e-waste recycling is left to the vagaries of the informal sector” — which primarily is comprised of backyard recyclers who incinerate discarded electronic products as an easy way to recover gold, silver, palladium, cobalt and other valuable metals, he said.
Such unsupervised practices end up releasing plumes of far-reaching toxic gases, which…