Our old cellphones, computers and appliances are a bigger problem than ever. Here’s what we need to do.

(Eco Business, 9 Jul 2020) People around the world generated 53.6 million metric tonnes of e-waste last year, representing a 21 per cent growth since 2014, a new Global E-waste Monitor 2020 report has found.

Some things we’re glad to see grow: trees, children, our bank account balance, goodwill. But other things, not so much.

One of those “other things” is e-waste — outdated computers, broken cellphones, old appliances and other electronic castoffs of 21st-century life. According to the just-released Global E-waste Monitor 2020, last year people around the world generated 53.6 million metric tonnes (59.1 million tonnes) of e-waste — the equivalent of 9 million full-grown African elephants. That figure represents a 21 per cent growth since 2014. The largest category of waste was small equipment, including microwaves, calculators, electronic toys and video cameras.

The report, an update on similar studies published in 2015 and 2017, was released July 2 by the Sustainable Cycles Programme, an initiative of the United Nations University, the UN Institute for Training and Research, the International Telecommunication Union, and the International Solid Waste Association. Interestingly, the e-waste generated in 2019 already exceeds the 52.2 million metric tonnes (57.5 million tonnes) the 2017 report projected for 2021.

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Eco Business, 9 Jul 2020: Our old cellphones, computers and appliances are a bigger problem than ever. Here’s what we need to do.