Third International E-Waste Day Focuses on Education to Raise Awareness of E-Waste Problem

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): More than 100 organizations from 50 countries worldwide will take part in the third International E-Waste Day taking place on 14^th October. The event, organised by the WEEE Forum, an international association of non-profit and sector-mandated e-waste collection schemes, brings together e-waste stakeholders across the world to promote the correct treatment of waste electrical and electronic equipment to enable reuse and recycling. This year the emphasis will be on education and engaging with members of the public to increase awareness of the proper way to deal with their redundant electrical items.

It is estimated that 53.6 million tonnes of e-waste were generated across the planet in 2019, more than ever before, and this is projected to reach an incredible 75 million tonnes by 2030, which is 9 kg for every person in the world. E-waste is not only very prevalent it also has great value; the raw materials contained in the global e-waste generated in 2019 were worth approximately €50.8 billion.

Less than 18% of this global e-waste was officially documented as recycled last year, with the rest either placed in landfill, burned or illegally traded and treated in a sub-standard way and this is despite 71% of the world’s population being covered by e-waste legislation. This results in a huge loss of valuable and critical raw materials from the supply chain and causes serious health, environmental and societal issues.

Virginijus Sinkevičius, European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries expressed his support for the day “The Commission’s Circular Economy Action Plan takes circularity to the mainstream. The focus of the plan is on sectors where the impact is very high, such as electronics, and we will look at the whole lifecycle of products. At the top of the list is preventing waste generation – stopping it before it happens, and when it does happen, we look for ways to transform that waste into a useful resource. However, for this plan to be successful, we need citizens to be aware and know how they can contribute to a greener world. This is what makes International E-Waste Day so important and so relevant.”

Courtesy: www.wasteadvantage.com