Rapidly rising sales of electronic goods could cause huge amounts of hazardous electronic waste (e-waste) to build up in developing countries over the next 10 years, a new study has concluded.
Prompt action is needed to ensure e-waste is properly managed in emerging economies to protect the environment and human health.
Mounting volumes of hazardous e-waste from disposed computers, mobile phones and refrigerators will have a negative impact on public health and the environment in industrialising countries unless it is properly collected and recycled.
Approximately 2.3 million tonnes of e-waste is currently generated by China - second only to the 3 million tonnes produced by the United States in quantity.
Innovative recycling technologies can successfully generate sustainable products and services and create new markets. The appropriate management of e-waste can reduce environmental damage, improve public health, cut greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), create 'green' employment and recover valuable metals, such as gold, silver and palladium.
According to the study, there is therefore an urgent need to transfer technologies and build capacity in developing countries if e-waste is to be handled in the most sustainable way.
The study used information from 11 developing countries in Asia, Africa and the Americas to estimate current and future e-waste generation from computers, printers, mobile phones, refrigerators and televisions.
It evaluated the market potential of innovative pre-processing and end-processing technologies, which could replace inefficient and unsustainable operations with poor health and safety, environmental and social standards.
Compared with 2007 levels, for example, e-waste generated from computers is predicted to be five times higher in India, and two to four times higher in China and South Africa by 2020. In India, e-waste from discarded mobile phones will be 18 times higher by 2020.
Problems associated with developing innovative and sustainable technologies for e-waste recycling were identified. These included: policy and legislative barriers, such as the lack of specific legal frameworks and a low national priority for e-waste; technology and skills barriers, such as the lack of environmental health and safety standards and the lack of a collection infrastructure; and business and financing barriers, such as the high costs of logistics.
Innovation hubs and centres of excellence in emerging economies for e-waste recycling technologies have not been established yet.
However, India and China, for example, show significant potential for the introduction of innovative pre- and end-processing technologies in large facilities with a strong support in capacity building in the informal sector to ensure safety.
The informal sector constitutes 'unofficial' recycling, often conducted by individuals, although countries like India and China have a large organised informal sector. Current practices suggest awareness and potential for successfully developing innovative e-waste recycling is greater in smaller and simpler economies, for example, in South Africa.
In smaller countries, the study suggests it might be more efficient to export critical e-waste materials, such as circuit boards or batteries, to OECD-level certified end-processors, rather than creating new facilities in those countries.
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