As Electronic Waste Surges, Countries Look for Answers

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Oleg Zaitsev strides across a factory floor in Almaty, Kazakhstan as a row of workers sort through old circuit boards and worn televisions. The 59-year-old is the managing director of a company that recycles used electronics.

“Hazardous materials in electronic scrap can contaminate soil and water, affecting the environment and food security,” said Zaitsev, whose company is part of the Alliance for Circular Electronics in Central Asia, a partner of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). “Proper recycling processes can mitigate these risks.”

Zaitsev is on the frontlines of a global effort to blunt what experts call a tidal wave of pollution coming from discarded computers, cell phones and other electronic waste. This rubbish, which is laden with toxic chemicals like lead and mercury, can pollute land, sea and air, causing everything from developmental delays to stillbirths, says the World Health Organization.

The toll is especially heavy in the developing world, which for decades has been a dumping ground for electronics from developed countries.

 To counter the mounting threat of electronic waste, countries and businesses need to overhaul how electronics are designed, manufactured, recycled and, ultimately, disposed of, say experts.

“Governments and the industry can seize the economic opportunity to reduce the growing concerns about human and environmental exposure to pollution from the electronics life cycle,” said Sheila Aggarwal-Khan, Director of UNEP’s Industry and Economy Division. “Solutions that encourage the design of durable products that can be reused, refurbished and recycled are a profitable, innovative way forward that is valued by consumers and has a reduced environmental impact.” 

Courtesy: www.manilastandard.net