Report catalogues global e-waste mountains
The composition and distribution of the world’s growing 41.8m tonne mountain of discarded electronics has been charted by researchers from UN University in their latest report, which found that the bulk of such matter (some 60 per cent) is composed of discarded microwaves, washing machines and dishwashers.
By contrast just 7 per cent of electronic waste comes in the form of phones, computers and printers and a mere 16 per cent of such rubbish finds its way to proper recycling and re-use.
Topping the list of culprits by volume was the US, which generated 7,072 kilotonnes of electronic waste in 2014, ahead of second and third placed China and japan which threw away 6,032 and 2,200 kilotonnes respectively.
When measured by individuals however it was actually Europe which performed worst, with the average Norwegian throwing out 28.4kg of electronic waste versus just 1.7kg for Africans at the other end of the scale.
David Malone, rector of the UN University, warned that this was a toxic legacy that would need to be cleaned up but added that there were potential riches too, pointing out that e-waste is a “…valuable 'urban mine' - a large potential reservoir of recyclable materials."
This includes an estimated 16,000 kilotonnes of iron, 1,900 kilotonnes of copper and 300 tonnes of gold.