How can the world stop producing so much electronic waste?

By 2030, it is forecast that 82 billion tonnes of e-waste will be generated as society's addiction to mobile phones, laptops and gaming continues

E-waste is a huge problem facing today's society and is growing all the time. AFP

The number of discarded phones, laptops and other electrical and electronic waste discarded each year shows how much of a throwaway society we have become.

According to the UN Global E-Waste Monitor, in 2022 the figure was 62 billion kilograms.

The amount of e-waste produced annually is increasing rapidly, being expected to reach 82 billion kilograms by the end of the decade, with quantities rising five times as fast as formal recycling rates.

Ian Williams, professor in applied environmental science at the University of Southampton in the UK, describes the increase as “colossal”.

“The reason for this is our insatiable demand for electronic items,” he said.

“There’s a huge consumer and business market for electronic equipment – laptops, mobile phones, IT and computing … consumer electronics.

“Every child’s toy these days will talk to you or be connected to the internet. They used to be fluffy animals to play with.

“You’ve got new products because of technological development. AI, for example, is going to change the specifications needed for laptops and computers. People will need to upgrade faster.”

New types of electrical items are coming to the fore all the time, such as e-textiles or wearables – which are pieces of clothing, like vests, that collect a wealth of data on the performance of the sportsperson wearing them.

Popular initially with professional sportspeople, such innovations “all seep into consumer technology”, Prof Williams said, which results in more e-waste.

Industrial action

In another example, some industries, such as agriculture, are becoming increasingly connected through the use of drones and robotics.

As prosperity increases in developing nations such as India, and the price of electronics falls, items that once were hard to afford become essentials for much of the population.

Following several year-on-year increases, Statista forecasts that smartphone sales in India will reach 214 million devices next year – a 50 per cent increase on 2020’s figure of 143 million.

Despite some nations having well-established and highly regulated waste management systems that can recycle electronic waste, globally just 17 per cent of e-waste is disposed of correctly and recycled.

Many consumers do not know how best to deal with e-waste or they choose not to recycle items, instead dumping them in rubbish bins or the environment.

Research by the University of Southampton, for example, found that 22 per cent of residents in this English coastal city dispose of e-waste in the dustbin.

Mixing e-waste up with regular rubbish or dumping it can be harmful, as items may contain hazardous metals such as mercury, lead, lithium, nickel and cadmium, which can enter the soil and water sources.

Proper collection and recycling processes are not in place in many parts of the world, and informal recycling often happens, sometimes exposing those who carry it out to harm.

Going to waste

Large quantities of unused electrical or electronic items – anything with a plug, battery or cable – are laying unused in cupboards or drawers when they could be reused or recycled.

In a statement, International E-Waste Day, which is held every year on October 14, states that in six European member states of the WEEE Forum, an initiative on waste electrical and electronic equipment, the average household has 74 electrical items in total.

Of these, 13, often headphones, remote controls, mobile phones and games consoles, are “hoarded” in that they are no longer used. Nine of these hoarded items still work but are no longer used and four are broken.

Prof Williams advises consumers not to leave unused electrical or electronic items lying around but instead to try to pass them on to others.

“If it’s reusable, sell it as fast as possible on an online marketplace,” he said.

“It may not be valuable to you, but somebody else may value the opportunity to use it. That [extends] the lifetime and reduces the environmental impact of making new ones.

“ … People are becoming more savvy and becoming more used to online vendors and releasing the value of their items by putting them up for sale.

“Definitely we’re seeing the green shoots of improvement in this sector, but there’s a long way to go for sure.”

If not on an online marketplace, he recommends selling items to a reputable company that, if applicable, will wipe the data.

If items cannot be reused, the advice is to recycle them so that the materials can be properly disposed of or used in new items.

According to The Global E-Waste Monitor 2020, the raw materials in all the e-waste generated in 2019 were worth $59 billion, but just $10 billion were “recovered in an environmentally sound way”.

Just as some consumers are – by selling or recycling items – taking action that could reduce the quantities of e-waste produced, in some parts of the world the authorities too are focusing on the issue.

Repairing the damage

This year the EU agreed new “right to repair” rules aimed at ensuring that it is easier and cheaper to get items repaired than has been the case, an initiative that officials hope will promote a “circular economy” and reduce waste.

Another possible source of progress is the development of electronics that can safely degrade in the environment.

Among those working in this field is Dr Shweta Agarwala, an associate professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering at Aarhus University, Denmark.

She researches technologies such as electronic circuits that are printed on biodegradable materials like paper, textiles or biomaterials.

Whole devices that are biodegradable will not be created overnight, but there is the potential for a “step-by-step process” in which components within electronic devices are replaced with more sustainable alternatives.

“This is already being started where people are trying to replace smaller and smaller components within the circuits,” she said.

“ … Some of them can easily be degraded just by putting them underwater and they will be gone, some of them with ultraviolet light.”

Dr Agarwala said that producing whole devices that degraded safely was a “realistic” eventual target as research continues.

For the moment, however, perhaps there is only one true solution to the seemingly inexorable growth in the quantities of e-waste being produced: have fewer electrical and electronic items and try not to replace the ones you have.

“The most important thing people can do is to not buy new items unless they absolutely need to,” Prof Williams said.

“For example, your mobile phone can do absolutely everything: you can view videos, view streaming services, listen to the radio, read books, it’s a GPS. Why do you need anything else?”