E-Waste volumes to rise 125% in next five years

LONDON (Scrap Monster): Global e-waste vlumes are set rise 125% in the next five years from 41.5 mn tonnes in 2011 to 93.5 mn tonnes in 2016m, according to a new report (Global E-Waste Management Market 2011-16) released by Reportlinker.com. The compound annual growth rate for e-waste for 2011-16 is estimated at 17%.

The revenue generated from the e-waste management market is expected to grow from $9.15 billion in 2011 to $20.25 billion in 2016 at a CAGR of 17.22% from 2011 to 2016.

Developing countries such as India, China, and countries in Africa are facing the heat of the e-waste being illegally dumped in these countries from the developed countries such as U.S. and UK. Most of these electronic products are simply plonked in these countries since no facilities exist for safe recycling of these products.

It is in the recent past that the countries have realized the need to efficiently recycle all the components of the electronic products and reuse them. The recycling rates of various components are very low, for e.g., out of the plastic generated from the electronic products, approximately only five percent of it is recycled. There is an increasing demand for proper e-waste management techniques since e-waste consists of toxic materials, which if not properly disposed, can lead to high levels of pollution. Such pollution, if not controlled, can lead to irreversible damage to human health as well as the environment.

The EU mandated all the producers of electronics to undertake the responsibility of disposal of end-of-life products. These regulations are encouraging companies to "recycle and reuse" the products. Some of the regulations in the European Union are the WEEE directive, RoHS, and Basel Convention.

The report deals with the market trends in the e-waste management market, the gap between the volume of e-waste generated and currently being recycled, and the amount that is expected to be recycled in the next five years.