Hello again.
This year (2022), over 5 Billion Mobile Phones Will Become E-Waste This Year the international waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) forum has revealed.
Precious minerals not extracted from waste electronics, such as the copper in wire or the cobalt in rechargeable batteries, have to be mined.
The WEEE says its research shows the “mountain” of electrical and electronic waste – from washing machines and toasters to tablet computers and global positioning system (GPS) devices – will grow to 74 million tonnes a year by 2030.
So when the UK Government talks about the Anti Growth Coalition but does not mention anything about the consequences of it and how to solve the effects you have to wonder if they know what they are talking about?
There’s some progress though at least, the ITU develops and disseminates strategies and best practices around information systems for, and metrics and management of WEEE. In doing so, we create a circular economy for electronics, such as through improving expertise in the collection of WEEE data, increasing coverage of national WEEE policy and regulation, and identifying and mapping technological interventions in the WEEE management space.
The highest policy making body of the ITU, the Plenipotentiary Conference, established targets in 2018 relating to e-waste:
By 2023 increase the global e-waste recycling rate to 30%
By 2023 raise the percentage of countries with an e-waste legislation to 50%
Here is a good pace to start if you want to make a change on a personal level. So maybe look at Recycling Electrical’s? https://www.recycleyourelectricals.org.uk/
Maybe consider a FairPhone? (sorry about the slightly annoying voice?) or not having a Mobile Phone at all…?
There’s also the refurbished phones option from places like https://www.musicmagpie.co.uk/ a good way to keep electrical in the re-use loop.
Also repairing – not recycling – is the first step to tackling e-waste from smartphones which is kind of what the likes of Music Magpie are doing.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/07/repair-not-recycle-tackle-ewaste-circular-economy-smartphones/
Sources and resources:
https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Environment/Pages/Mandate.aspx
