Research Calls for Immediate Need to Boost E-Waste Recycling
E-waste Recycling | 2022-05-09 12:58:21
For instance, the lithium prices have surged higher significantly by more than 500% between 2021 and 2022.
By Paul Ploumis
SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): A recent study by The Royal Society of Chemistry in Britain highlighted the importance of boosted e-waste recycling, as it believes that it is unsustainable to mining the Earth to make new gadgets. It must be noted that discarded electronic waste weighed approximately 57 million tonnes in 2021. There must be a global effort to mine the discarded e-waste across the globe, rather than mining the Earth for new metals.
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According to the study, geopolitical tensions, including the war between Russia and Ukraine, have resulted in huge spike in prices of metals such as nickel. The market uncertainties have led to supply chain disruptions, which in turn has resulted in elevated metal prices. For instance, the lithium prices have surged higher significantly by more than 500% between 2021 and 2022.
Professor Tom Welton, president of the Royal Society of Chemistry noted that governments and businesses need to urgently develop a circular economy which can tackle the growing e-waste crisis. The survey indicated that people are not properly informed about ways to deal with their own e-waste, although they are well aware about the environmental impacts of piling up or discarding unused electronic devices, rather than recycling them in a sustainable manner.
