The Growing Crisis of Electronic Waste: A Looming Environmental Catastrophe
Global electronic waste, or e-waste, has reached record levels, growing five times faster than rates of recycling and posing significant health, environmental, and climate problems. With only 22.3% of e-waste collected and recycled in 2022, the gap between e-waste generation and recycling capacity continues to widen, with the recycling rate predicted to drop to 20% by 2030. E-waste not only contributes to pollution and health risks but also has a significant climate impact due to the energy-intensive extraction of raw materials for electronic devices. Better management and recycling of e-waste can reduce global carbon pollution and reclaim valuable metals, but enforcement of e-waste legislation and investment in infrastructure development are crucial to address this growing crisis.