So-called e-waste from products such as old computers, printers,
mobile phones, pagers, digital photo and music devices,
refrigerators, toys and televisions, are set to rise sharply in
tandem with growth in sales in countries like China and India and
in Africa and Latin America over the next 10 years, according to a
report issued by the UN Environment Programme
(UNEP).

The study, Recycling - from E-Waste to Resources, launched at a
meeting of hazardous wastes experts in Bali, Indonesia, predicts
that by 2020 e-waste from old computers will have jumped by 500 per
cent from 2007 levels in India, and by 200 to 400 per cent in South
Africa and China, while that from old mobile phones will be 7 times
higher in China and 18 times higher in India.

At the same time, most e-waste in
China is improperly handled, much of it incinerated by backyard
recyclers to recover valuable metals like gold, practices that
release steady plumes of far-reaching toxic pollution and yield
very low metal recovery rates compared to state-of-the-art
industrial facilities.

“This report gives new urgency to establishing ambitious, formal
and regulated processes for collecting and managing e-waste via the
setting up of large, efficient facilities in China,” UNEP Executive
Director Achim Steiner said. “China is not alone
in facing a serious challenge. India, Brazil, Mexico and others may
also face rising environmental damage and health problems if
e-waste recycling is left to the vagaries of the informal
sector.

“In addition to curbing health problems, boosting
developing country e-waste recycling rates can have the potential
to generate decent employment, cut greenhouse gas emissions and
recover a wide range of valuable metals including silver, gold,
palladium, copper and indium. By acting now and planning forward
many countries can turn an e-challenge into an e-opportunity.” UNEP
Executive Director Achim Steiner

The report, issued at a conference of parties to the Basel,
Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions dealing with hazardous wastes
ahead of UNEP’s Governing Council meeting in Bali, recommends that
countries establish e-waste management centres of excellence,
building on existing organizations working in the area of recycling
and waste management.

China’s lack of a comprehensive e-waste collection network,
combined with competition from the lower-cost informal sector, has
held back state-of-the art e-waste recycling plants, it said, while
noting a successful pilot in Bangalore, India, to transform
informal e-waste collection and management.

Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, Morocco and South Africa are cited as
places with great potential to introduce state-of-the-art e-waste
recycling technologies because the informal e-waste sector is
relatively small. Kenya, Peru, Senegal and Uganda have relatively
low e-waste volumes today but these are likely to grow. All four
would benefit from capacity building in so-called pre-processing
technologies such as manual dismantling of e-waste, the report
says.

It
notes that China already produces about 2.3 million tonnes of
e-waste domestically each year, second only to the United States
with about 3 million tonnes, while it remains a major dumping
ground for developed countries despite having banned e-waste
imports.

“One person’s waste can be another’s raw material,” said Konrad
Osterwalder, Rector of the UN University (UNU), which was among the
co-authors of the report together with the Swiss EMPA research
institute and Umicore, an international speciality materials group.
“The challenge of dealing with e-waste represents an important step
in the transition to a green economy.

“This report outlines smart new technologies and mechanisms
which, combined with national and international policies, can
transform waste into assets, creating new businesses with decent
green jobs. In the process, countries can help cut pollution linked
with mining and manufacturing, and with the disposal of old
devices.”