UN report released
Global e-waste increased by 20% in 5 years
New York Times correspondent Gao Weidong reported: The United Nations recently released the "Global E-waste Monitoring 2020" report showing that the total amount of e-waste (waste products with batteries or plugs) generated globally in 2019 reached a record 53.6 million tons In just 5 years, it has increased by 21%.
The report predicts that by 2030, 74 million tons of e-waste will be generated globally, almost doubling in just 16 years, which makes e-waste the fastest growing household waste in the world. This phenomenon is mainly caused by factors such as higher consumption rate of electrical and electronic equipment, short life cycle, and few maintenance options.
The report shows that only 17.4% of e-waste is collected and recycled in 2019. This means that gold, silver, copper, platinum and other high-value, recyclable materials are mostly dumped or incinerated, rather than collected and processed for reuse. According to conservative estimates, the value of these unrecycled e-waste can reach US$57 billion, exceeding the GDP of most countries.
The report pointed out that in 2019, Asia produced the largest amount of e-waste, about 24.9 million tons, followed by the Americas (13.1 million tons) and Europe (12 million tons), Africa and Oceania produced 2.9 million tons and 700,000 tons, respectively. In terms of per capita calculation, Europe's per capita e-waste production ranks first in the world at 16.2 kg. Oceania ranked second (16.1 kg), followed by the Americas (13.3 kg). Asia and Africa are much lower, at 5.6 kg and 2.5 kg, respectively.
The report emphasizes that e-waste is hazardous to health and the environment and contains harmful substances such as toxic additives or mercury, which can harm the human brain and body coordination system.
Gao Weidong