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) revealed on Wednesday.
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 International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).
In a statement made available to Nigerian Tribune, the UN body noted that less than one quarter (22.3 percent) 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 percent 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 percent in 2022 to 20 percent 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 percent 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.
According to the 2024 Global Environmental Monitor: “As a result of improvements in enforcement and regional collaboration, progress has been reported in the control of illegal shipments of e-waste in West Africa. However, in January 2023, an organized crime group was caught smuggling over 5 million kg (331 containers) of e-waste from the Canary Islands to Ghana, Mauritania, Nigeria, and Senegal. Furthermore, in 2020, the Spanish authorities intercepted a network responsible for shipping 2.5 billion kg of material to several countries in Africa, including 750,000 kg of falsely certified e-waste. Even though the import of e-waste into Africa is being monitored, it is notoriously difficult to control.
“Three of Africa’s most active ports—Durban (South Africa), Bizerte (Tunisia), and Lagos (Nigeria)—have all been identified as major ports of entry for used EEE, suggesting that e-waste shipments continue to circumvent the Basel and Bamako Conventions. A study in Ireland that used the StEP Initiative person-in-the-port methodology found that roll-on/roll-off vehicles, rather than containers, were the main carriers of used EEE from Ireland to West Africa. The study, which involved vehicle and enforcement document inspections at Ringaskiddy port in Ireland, scaled sampling data to annual shipment figures and estimated that 17,319 kg of used EEE were exported from Ireland annually, and around 1 in 5 vehicles exported contained used EEE. In response to findings like these, countries in West Africa are taking steps to introduce better monitoring of used EEE and e-waste imports by strictly enforcing existing guidelines and conducting thorough physical inspections of import shipments.”
Ruediger Kuehr, Senior Manager, Sustainable Cycles (SCYCLE) Programme, UNITAR / Adjunct Professor, University of Limerick (Ireland), said: “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.”
Vanessa Gray, Head, Environment & Emergency Telecommunications Division, ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau, said: “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.”
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