An e-waste glut

E-waste. © iStock.

In 2019, we set a record for the amount of electronic waste produced worldwide: 53.6 million tons of phones, computers, TVs, cameras and other gadgets were scrapped. According to a new international report that was intended to document global progress, this is a 21% increase over 2014. Only 17% of this waste has been officially recycled. The vast majority of it was either sent to a landfill or incinerated. And according to forecasts, the problem will only get worse: the amount of electronic waste could almost double by 2030, compared to 2014. This waste contains toxic substances such as mercury, but also valuable raw materials. An estimated 57 billion dollars of gold, copper, iron and other minerals could have been extracted from electronic waste alone last year.

⇨ The Verge, Justine Calma, “Humans left behind a record amount of e-waste in 2019.”