The global electronic waste management problem is growing.

This makes e-waste the fastest growing waste stream in the world:

Asia, the Americas, and Europe are routinely the biggest producers of e-waste each year…*

*2019-2023 with 3-5% growth per year.

…While the Middle East is a smaller but growing part of the problem.

• 2.8 MT generated ME-wide in 2019       
• Up 61% from 2010   
• Saudi Arabia biggest ME producer at 13.2 kg per inhabitant 

But E-waste recycling rates remain stubbornly below 20%.

This means we collectively throw away a fortune of gold, silver, platinum, palladium, copper, tin and other precious elements. Perhaps as much $62.5 billion-worth every year.

On average, a tonne of e-waste contains approximately 100 times more gold than a tonne of gold ore.

This wastefulness takes also takes its toll on the environment and public health.

• Workers recovering precious materials from e-waste are at risk of exposure to more than 1,000 harmful substances (Lead, mercury, nickel, brominated flame retardants, etc).
• 12.9 million women work in the global informal waste sector, exposing them and their unborn children to these risks.
• 18 million children and adolescents, many as young as 5 years old, work in the informal industrial sector.
• Mercury and lead leeches into soil and water systems, exposing humans and wildlife to contaminants. 

The most common e-waste item types include:

Small Equipment 

32% 

Microwaves, vacuum cleaners, fans, kettles, toasters, shavers, hairdryers, radios, tools, toys

Large Equipment

24.4% 

Washing machines, tumble dryers, cookers, stoves, dishwashers

Temperature Exchange Equipment

20.1% 

Refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, heat pumps

Screens and Monitors

12.5% 

Televisions, monitors, laptops, notebooks, tablets

Small IT & Telecoms Equipment 

8.8% 

Cell phones, phone cases, wireless routers, keyboards, e-readers, GPS

Lamps

1.7% 

Lamps, bulbs and LEDs

Currently low e-waste recycling rates are due to:

• Rapidly increasing volumes of e-waste – waste levels are outpacing recycling capacity.
• Poor e-waste legislation – Only 78 UN Member States have regulations in place.
• Underdevelopment of e-waste management infrastructure.
• Competition between formal and informal waste sectors for valuable e-waste.
• Legal and illegal import and export issues – historically poor governance of e-waste transportation.

What can be done to reduce e-waste and improve e-recycling?

Major Infrastructural investment – Oman’s Evergreen Gulf Recycling Hub (EGRH) went fully operational in November 2023, with annual e-waste processing capability of 20,000 tonnes.

Easier collection for recycling – Cambridge Council (UK) have introduced dedicated pink bins for discarded small electrical goods.

Public incentivisation – Egypt has introduced the E-Tadweer app, where users take their used devices to collection points to exchange for vouchers with participating electronic goods stores.

Advanced recycling/reclamation methods – The UK Royal Mint has partnered with Canadian start-up Excir, creating a process that can reclaim 99% of gold from printed circuit boards (found inside smartphones, laptops, etc).

Community involvement – Singapore has created networks of skilled volunteers who help repair electronic items to extend their useful lifetime and avoid unnecessary new purchases.

The benefits of improved e-waste collection, reuse and recycling amount to tens of billions of dollars globally each year, while safeguarding public and environmental health.

If Minnesota, a small US state of around 5.8 million people, collected and reused 100% of its E-waste, it would:

• Create 1,700 jobs
• Recover 78 million pounds of valuable materials, including…
• Enough silver to manufacture 440,000 solar panels…
• And enough copper for 155,000 electric vehicles

With multi-billion-dollar e-waste streams unclaimed and uncollected, the great gold rush of e-waste management is set to begin.

Sources used:

https://wired.me/science/a-uae-startup-reimagine-e-waste/
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240023901
https://waste-management-world.com/recovery/colombian-waste-pickers-called-to-re-invent-themselves/
https://waste-management-world.com/materials/global-e-waste-flows-monitor/#:~:text=West%20and%20North%20Africa%20are,North%20America%20(30.3%20kt).
https://theroundup.org/global-e-waste-statistics/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crg15d0wk21o
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2181846/page_view_timing/spa/aggregate
https://meatechwatch.com/2023/11/06/oman-e-waste-plant/
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/03/the-enormous-opportunity-of-e-waste-recycling/
https://tecomgroup.ae/press-release-uae-first-integrated-battery-recycling-plant-unveiled-at-dubai-industrial-city.html
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2024/02/e-waste-recycling-electronics-appliances/
https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Environment/Documents/Toolbox/GEM_2020_def.pdf
https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/un-report-time-seize-opportunity-tackle-challenge-e-waste
https://it-recycle.uk/2023/10/14/challenges-opportunities-global-landscape-e-waste-management/