More than 5 billion of the 16 billion cellphones owned worldwide will likely be thrown away or stored by 2022, experts said on Thursday, calling for more recycling of the cell phones. often toxic materials they contain.
Stacked flat, many people do not use phones will increase by 50,000 km, a hundred times higher than International Space StationWEEE research team discovered.
Despite containing gold, copper, silver, palladium and other valuable recyclable components, almost all of these unwanted devices will be stored, dumped or burned, causing significant harm to health health and the environment.
“Smartphones are one of the electronic products we care about most,” said Pascal Leroy, General Manager of the WEEE Forum, a non-profit association representing 46 manufacturers responsible organizations for know.
“If we don’t recycle the rare materials that contain them, we’ll have to mine them in countries like China or Congo,” Leroy told AFP.
Do not live mobile phone just the tip of the global iceberg of 44.48 million tons Waste of electricity generated every year without being recycled, according to the global e-waste monitoring 2020.
According to a survey in six European countries from June to September 2022, many of the 5 billion phones that are withdrawn from circulation will be hoarded rather than dumped in the trash.
This happens when households and businesses leave cell phones in drawers, closets, cabinets or garages instead of bringing them in for repair or recycling.
The report shows that up to 5 kg of electronic devices per person are currently stored in the average European household.
According to the new findings, 46% of the 8,775 households surveyed cited potential future use as the main reason for stocking up on small electrical and electronic devices.
Another 15% stocks their devices with the intention of selling or giving them away, while 13% keep them due to “sentimental value”.
Social challenge
“People tend not to realize that all these seemingly inconsequential items have a lot of value, and on a global level it represents a huge amount,” says Pascal Leroy.
“But e-waste will never be collected voluntarily because of the high cost. That’s why legislation is needed.”
This month the EU parliament through the a new law requires USB Type-C to be the sole charger standard for all new smartphones, tablet and camera from the end of 2024.
The move is expected to generate annual savings of at least EUR 200 million (nearly Rs 1,600) and cut more than a thousand tonnes of EU e-waste a year.
According to Kees Balde, Senior Scientist at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), legislation in Europe has promoted a higher rate of e-waste collection in the region than in other regions. other areas of the world.
“At the European level, 50-55% of e-waste is collected or recycled,” Balde told AFP. “In low-income countries, our estimates fall below 5% and sometimes even below 1%.”
At the same time, thousands of tons of e-waste is transported from rich countries – including members of the European Union – to developing countries each year, further increasing their recycling burden. .
Finally, the financial means are often lacking for e-waste to be disposed of safely: hazardous substances such as mercury and plastic can contaminate soil, contaminate water and enter the food chain, as already noted. occurred near an e-waste dump in Ghana.
Research conducted in the West African country in 2019 by IPEN and the Basel Action Network showed that levels of chlorinated dioxins in hens’ eggs laid near the Agbogbloshie landfill, near the center of Accra, were 220 times higher than permitted levels. in Europe.
WEEE Forum Director Pascal Leroy said: “We have moved the mountains of Europe. “The challenge now is to transfer the knowledge to other parts of the world.”
