Throwing away a hair dryer is 20 times more harmful to the environment than binning a plastic water bottle, but recycling such items could be worth billions of dollars.
Electronic waste, or e-waste, is increasing as everyone becomes more digitally connected. The global market for recycling items such as old mobile phones and computers, kitchen appliances or even expired credit cards is forecast to reach US$5 billion (Dh18.4bn) by 2020. This is more than a 20 per cent compounded annual growth rate from 2014, says a report by US research firm MarketsandMarkets.
The average resident in the UAE generated about 17 kilograms of e-waste in 2014, mostly sending them to landfills with materials that can take more than 100 years to degrade, according to a UN-sponsored study.
The Dubai-based waste management firm Averda which has operations in 13 countries, said it had dealt with a rise in e-waste from 2 per cent to 10 per cent of its total waste collected globally over the past five years.
“When we began putting recycling stations around Dubai, we would get laptops that were more than 20 years old – and they were massive,” said Mariam Ansari, marketing manager for Averda.
While breaking down electronics and redistributing parts is only part of Averda’s operations, e-waste has helped the company grow its global operations tenfold over the past decade.
“We’re expanding our offerings in the UAE,” Ms Ansari said.
Averda operates 11 recycling centres in Dubai, which are part of an initiative by Dubai Municipality. The company said another four drop-off points will be introduced next year, and each of the centres is solar-powered.
But the problem is more with individuals than businesses. “The biggest challenge is usually the general population,” she said, adding that discarding of electronics is relatively new. “There are many people that would like to recycle, but they don’t have the outlets.”
Ms Ansari said the effect from e-waste on the environment was 20 per cent higher than paper and plastics. That is why the company has partnered with other businesses in Dubai to help raise awareness while making it easy for residents to dispose of materials that leak harmful toxins if placed in a landfill.
Dubai Science Park (DSP) faced the similar issue over discarding a large, 10-year-old printer. “No one would take it from us because it was so old, so we decided to create a programme,” said Marwan Al Janahi, the executive director of DSP.
The initiative to collect old electronics seemed like a natural fit for Dubai Internet City (DIC), the hub of the emirate’s IT industry.
Ammar Al Malik, the executive director of DIC, said: “It’s not just about plastic bottles, but there are other things that we can do to save the environment.”
lgraves@thenational.ae
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