According to a news report, the pile of discarded electronics is getting higher and higher. It could reach 75 million metric tons by 2030.
In 2014, the world had collectively discarded 44.4 million metric tons of unwanted ‘e-waste’. This e-waste included devices like laptops, smartphones and televisions.
In 2017, the International Solid Waste Association, the United Nations International Telecommunication Union and the other group partnered to find out the accumulation of debris by 2030. This report is independent of the consequences of COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to the shorter life cycles of many devices and high consumption rates of such devices is the reason behind this huge pile. Also, it was found from the reports that many people don’t recycle their devices properly and safely.
The discarded electronics contain high amounts of cadmium, mercury and chemicals like chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons. These materials can be hazardous to the environment.
This waste can prove out to be a valuable resource of metals and this material could be of $57 billion, but only $10 billion of it was recovered through recycling.
