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Global quantities of e-waste are rising around five times faster than efforts to recycle e-waste, figures from the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) show.
A record 62 million tonnes (Mt) of e-waste was produced in 2022, up 82% from 2010. This is forecast to rise another 32%, to 82Mt, by 2030.
With even low-cost electricals containing precious materials such as gold, aluminium and lithium, billions of dollars of valuable resources are squandered by the failure to properly collect and process e-waste.
Less than one quarter (22.3%) of the year’s e-waste mass was documented as having been properly collected and recycled in 2022, leaving $62bn of recoverable natural resources unaccounted for and increasing pollution risks to communities worldwide.
The move towards renewable energy and electric vehicles is drastically increasing the need for batteries. Currently, key elements such as lithium and cobalt are extracted from mines that inflict massive amounts of damage on the environment and are located in countries associated with child labour and poor working conditions.
Furthermore, some estimates suggest that global supplies of both lithium and cobalt could become critical by 2050, increasing the need for a proper recycling system.
Worldwide, the annual generation of e-waste is rising by 2.6Mt annually, on track to reach 82Mt by 2030 – a further 33% increase from the 2022 figure.
The UNITAR report forecasts a drop in the documented collection and recycling rate from 22.3% in 2022 to 20% by 2030 due to the widening difference in recycling efforts relative to the growth of e-waste generation worldwide.
Challenges contributing to the widening gap include technological progress, higher consumption, limited repair options, shorter product life cycles, society’s growing electronification, design shortcomings and inadequate e-waste management infrastructure, the report said.
“No more than 1% of demand for essential rare earth elements is met by e-waste recycling,” said Kees Baldé, lead author of the UNITAR study. “Simply put: business as usual can’t continue. This new report represents an immediate call for greater investment in infrastructure development, more promotion of repair and reuse, capacity building and measures to stop illegal e-waste shipments. And the investment would pay for itself in spades.”
Earlier this month, MPs on the Environmental Audit Committee said the government had made little progress in tackling the UK’s e-waste crisis over the last four years.
