The drawers, closets and corners of many of our homes accumulate old cables, damaged headphones, small radio devices, useless electronic toys or LED lights that are no longer operational, not to mention the entire long list of other converted electrical-electronic components. in waste.
Unfortunately, a significant part of this waste will end up - poorly managed - in landfills or even in the natural environment (garbage). An international team of experts has estimated that 9 billion kilograms of small electronic waste are generated each year.
Experts have called this category “invisible” electronic waste and to reinforce the social perception of the problem, they calculate that if this electronic waste were concentrated in a single place it would be equivalent to the weight of almost half a million 40-ton trucks, enough to form a 5,640 kilometer truck line from Rome to Nairobi.
Invisible e-waste is the focus of the sixth International E-Waste Day on Saturday, October 14.
Many of these devices, such as vaporizers, which are gaining popularity in some societies, contain lithium, which makes their battery rechargeable, but also causes serious fire risks when the device is discarded. Furthermore, the European Commission considers lithium to be a crucial "strategic raw material" for the European economy and the transition to green energy, but supply is at risk. Most of these materials are disposed of in household bins and other places.
The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Forum, which organizes International Electronic Waste Day, commissioned the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) to calculate the annual amounts of “invisible” electronic waste in millions in kilograms, in millions of pieces and in kilograms and pieces per capita.
Some 3.2 billion kg, or 35%, of the approximately 9 billion kg of invisible electronic waste are in this category, some 7.3 billion individual items, an average of about 1 electronic component for every man, woman and child in the world. the earth.
Meanwhile, the estimated 844 million vaping devices each year equate to a mountain of e-waste equal to three times the weight of New York's Brooklyn Bridge or six Eiffel Towers.
The study also found that 950 million kg of cables containing precious and easily recyclable copper were discarded last year – enough cable to circle the Earth 107 times.
Many are stored in homes, perhaps set aside for possible future use. And many people do not realize that they could be recycled: a huge idle resource at a time when demand for copper is expected to increase six-fold by 2030 in Europe alone to meet the needs of strategic sectors such as energy. renewables, electric mobility and industry. , communications, aerospace and defense.
The raw material value of e-waste generated globally in 2019 was estimated at $57 billion, most of it attributed to iron, copper and gold components. Of the overall total, one-sixth or $9.5 billion in material value each year falls into the invisible e-waste category.
Other examples of invisible and common electronic waste in homes include toothbrushes, shavers, external units and accessories, headphones and earphones, remote controls, speakers, LED lights, power tools, home medical equipment, heat and smoke detectors and many others .
According to Pascal Leroy, CEO of the WEEE Forum: “Invisible e-waste goes unnoticed due to its nature or appearance, leading consumers to overlook its recyclable potential.”
“People tend to recognize household electrical products as those that they plug in and use regularly. But many people don't know what waste category includes ancillary, peripheral, specialized, leisure and leisure products and how to recycle them.” (related videos:
In Europe, thanks to 20 years of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation, 55% of e-waste generated is now officially collected and reported. Still, according to the United Nations' global e-waste monitor, other parts of the world show much slower growth rates in its collection and, globally, the average reported collection rate is just over 17%.
Virginijus Sinkevičius, European Commissioner for the Environment, says: “On this International E-Waste Day, the EU recognizes the pressing challenge of e-waste and is proactively setting an example of leadership. The current expansion of the production and consumption of electronic devices has important environmental and climate repercussions. The introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) into e-waste legislation two decades ago has laid the foundation for an innovative ecosystem and advanced technologies. While EPR has high environmental standards, our journey is not complete. We must promote a circular economy for electronics, as with other products, not only to reduce our environmental impact but also to strengthen the value chain, reducing its dependence on third countries.
International Electronic Waste Day (
According to a 2022 study developed by the United Nations Institute for Training and Resources (UNITAR) and members of the WEEE Forum in 6 countries (United Kingdom, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and the Netherlands), of the 74 electronic products that are found in an average home, 13 are hoarded (9 of them unused but in working order and 4 broken). Small consumer electronics and their accessories (such as headphones or remote controls, which are often not recognized as electronic items) top the list of hoarded products. If these devices remain in drawers and cabinets, the valuable resources they contain do not re-enter the manufacturing cycle.
When electronic devices and components are disposed of improperly because they are not recognized as electronic waste, they often end up in landfills or incinerators. Electronic products contain various hazardous substances, such as lead, mercury, cadmium and flame retardants, which can leach into soil and water sources, contaminate ecosystems and pose risks to human health.
These devices also contain valuable resources, including precious metals such as gold, silver and copper, and critical raw materials, which are crucial for the ecological transition and the production of new electronic devices. When e-waste is not recycled properly, these valuable materials go to waste.
