- From disposable vapes to toys and tangles of cables, “invisible” e-waste is piling up fast.
- All the small electronic items that people commonly describe as e-waste are increasingly posing a threat to environmental pollution, a new analysis has suggested.
It is estimated that the weight of all e-cigarettes thrown away every year around the world is equal to three Brooklyn Bridges. The total weight of electronic cigarettes and other small consumer products considered “invisible” is 9 billion kilograms per year. That means half a million dump trucks worth of electric toothbrushes, LED-adorned holiday sweaters, drones and other small electronic devices.
The problem with throwing these items away is that electronics often contain hazardous substances such as lead or mercury, and these substances leak from landfills and contaminate soil and water. Stacking devices at home is also not an ideal solution. If these products are recycled instead, manufacturers can recover real gold and other valuable materials. This reduces e-waste and potentially even the need to mine more raw materials.
While discarded appliances and computers have been a problem for decades, a new analysis sheds light on an often-ignored trend that’s creating a global clutter: Disposable e-cigarettes are everywhere. New device iterations often come with new plugs that require new chargers. This means more e-waste.
“Consumers often do not realize that some items contain electronics, and therefore these items do not arrive correctly,” Magdalena Charytanowicz, communications manager for the non-profit Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Forum, said at a press briefing. “This is a loss.” said.
What do we lose when we don’t recycle these invisible electronics? According to the WEEE Forum, it can only be recovered in 2019; There are approximately 9.5 billion dollars worth of materials, especially iron, copper and gold. The copper-laden cables laid last year have the potential to wrap around the Earth 107 times. Demand for copper, which is important for renewable energy, electric vehicles and more, is expected to grow rapidly this decade.
Electronic cigarettes that go to waste (like other rechargeable devices) waste lithium, an important battery mineral that the world will need to transition to cleaner energy and transportation.
About 55 percent of e-waste is collected in Europe, thanks in large part to laws requiring manufacturers to manage the waste of their products. Many other parts of the world lack similar Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws and the recycling infrastructure needed to responsibly dismantle discarded products. The global e-waste collection rate is only 17 percent.
Compiled by: Görkem Süner