Circular Electronics Partnership Unveiled Roadmap for Electronic Waste

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Circular Electronics Partnership (CEP) has set forth a global strategy to deal with electronic waste. The industry blueprint for action highlights the need to develop markets for secondary materials.

According to CEP Circular electronics system map, developed in association with Accenture, the volume of discarded electronics amounted to around 57 million tonnes in 2021. Only about one-fifth of these electronics are collected for recycling. Majority of electronics, especially in developed countries, end up in landfills ore are exported to poor countries, which in turn leads to serious environmental and health hazards. The world’s electronic waste is valued at around $57 billion, as per estimates.

ALSO READ:

NHRC Demands Urgent Action to Stop E-Waste Dumping

Green Wave Electronics Announced Newest Sustainability Initiative

Firstly, the industry needs to develop consumer trust in collection and subsequent handling of the electronic waste, which ultimately will result in boosted collection through increased disposal. The circular system must provide with simple and secure data wiping solutions. Furthermore, there exists a need to establish a widespread collection network, so as to minimize cross-border transportation of materials.

Incidentally, electronic waste accounts only for nearly 2% of solid waste streams, but constitutes up to 70% of the hazardous waste that ends up in landfills.