The current amount of electronic waste that is created globally has once again increased this 2021. A majority of it is said to be unlikely to be recycled.
E-Waste is Expected to Total 57.4 Million Tons
Perhaps in part due to COVID-19 and increased reliance when it comes to technology for home offices as well as entertainment. This is the amount of dumped e-waste is expected in order to total 57.4 million tons in 2021. This is according to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment WEEE Forum.
This is another additional 2 million tons in 2021 and roughly equal to the total weight of the Great Wall of China, according to the group. This is despite estimates of the weight of the Great Wall of China do vary.
Actual Number of Just 17.4% Recycled
According to ABC, despite the e-waste now containing anything coming from gold and silver even to valuable glass and other rare earth elements, it was noted that only about 17.4% will be effectively recycled. This is based on the 2019 figures.
That is now in contrast to the public perception that 40% up to 50% of waste is actually recycled. This is according to the WEEE Forum. It is currently the International E-Waste Day which is an annual event that is created by the WEEE Forum aimed to draw attention to the increasing problem of electronic waste. IBM now has an AI service that helps companies with climate change analysis.
Recycling Household E-Waste
The group is now reportedly using this year's event in order to push for the recycling of household e-waste. A lot of this is still sitting unused in certain drawers and cupboards. It was noted that they hope to raise awareness among certain citizens of the importance of returning electronics that currently no longer function or remain unused. This was according to Pascal Leroy, the WEEE Forum director-general.
In Europe, it was noted that one out of seven electricals in the household is now sitting in drawers due to them not being used or not functioning. In France, it was noted that 5kg or about 11lbs of electrical products a single person is non-functional. It was also noted that 17kg of 37lbs are rarely used.
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Recycling Options
Mr. Leroy noted that making recycling options are actually easy for people to access could be a key to increasing the proportion of recycled e-waste. It was noted that convenience is important, meaning it makes it easy for citizens to return their own electricals to shops or civic amenity sites. AI is now being used to study climate change as the environment problem is now growing.
While the WEEE Forum's focus, however, this year is on recycling and recycling is an important part of diverting waste coming from landfill. Experts note that individual consumers should not shoulder the responsibility for what is supposedly largely a systematic failing with certain systemic solutions
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This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Urian B.
