HOW TO DEAL WITH E-WASTE?

When people think about waste, they think about plastic bags, smoke from factories, trash, may be even oil spills. But there is another kind of waste that almost everyone in modern world produces but never thinks about. That is e-waste. Think what you do with your phone when it suddenly stops working and can’t be fixed. If you toss it out with the trash, it will become electronic waste (e-waste) and will be a risk to people and the planet. Think about your old desktop computer. What did you do with it when you bought your new laptop? Did you take it to an e-waste recycling center or just threw it into the garbage bin? With so many smartphones and other electronics out there, that’s a lot of e-waste.

United Nations University has recently published a report on e-waste. The study looked at twelve countries in East and Southeast Asia. The research found out that between 2010 and 2015, e-waste in that region increased by 63 percent. According to the study, the twelve countries are the world’s biggest consumers of electronics. This is because of the rising incomes and growing population of young adults who purchase new products. As the devices become outdated so fast, many consumers get rid of their old devices.

Ruediger Kuehr was one of the study’s authors. He said that it wasn’t only about e-waste. There are also valuable metals and elements used in the production of those devices. These elements can be reused or recycled, which would also help companies save money.

There is also the safety issue while discarding electronic waste. Only South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan in the East and Southeast Asia region have laws on safe recycling systems. In other countries in the region there aren’t any. People in those countries are not aware of the dangers of it. Most people simply throw away their devices. This is not good for the environment because some parts of these devices have parts that can release lead and mercury into the air over time. The report also pointed out that some people try to recycle them and unsafe recycling causes health problems.

United Nations University still works on the e-waste problem. They work with governments to find solutions to the problem and to educate people. They are hoping to raise awareness on the subject all around the world.