The world is producing more and more electronic waste.The world is producing more and more electronic waste

More and more electronic waste is being produced worldwide – and recycling is not keeping pace, according to a new UN report. In 2022 alone, 62 million tons of electronic waste were generated, according to the “Global E-Waste Monitor” published Wednesday.

This is a new record – and an increase of 82 percent compared to 2010. If things continue at this rate, 82 million tons can be expected by 2030.

The problem from the authors’ point of view: in relation to the rapidly growing mountain of discarded cell phones, laptops, televisions, refrigerators and other appliances, documented recycling is lagging behind. In 2022, less than a quarter (22.3 percent) of electronic waste was demonstrably collected and processed correctly. By 2030, the value could even fall to 20 percent, the report says. Billions of dollars in recoverable resources would be wasted.

“We are dealing with a very large imbalance”said Rüdiger Kühr, one of the authors, to the German Press Agency.

In many parts of the world there is no appropriate legislation or infrastructure for collection and recycling.

17.6 kilos of electronic waste per capita

According to the authors’ estimates, by 2022 about a third of global electronic waste consisted of small appliances such as toys, microwaves or e-cigarettes. The documented recycling rates for this equipment are still very low (12 percent). Discarded large appliances such as refrigerators or washing machines are more often processed correctly.

Per capita, Europeans lead the way in electronic waste production with 17.6 kilograms, followed by Oceania (16.1 kilograms) and America (14.1 kilograms). At the same time, these regions have the highest recycling rates: Europeans, for example, have 42.8 percent. In Africa, much less electronic waste is produced per capita (2.5 kilograms) – but less than 1 percent is demonstrably collected and recycled there.

The ‘Global E-Waste Monitor’ is presented regularly and can therefore compare figures and data from different years. The authors are the United Nations Training and Research Institute (UNITAR) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). (rbu/sda/dpa)