The world must do more to cope with the drastic rise in electronic waste, according to a UN study published today.
The report suggests that in some countries, the amount of e-waste being produced – including mobile phones and computers – could rise by as much as 500% over the next decade. Such rapid growth, it argues, will create intractable problems for people's health and the environment as the waste, much of it containing toxic material, decays.
"The issue is exploding," said Ruediger Kuehr, who oversees zero-emission initiatives at the United Nations University. "We see the hunger for mobile phones, computers and also any other kind of electronic and electrical equipment in some developing countries."
The findings are being unveiled at a meeting of the UN Environment Programme (Unep) in Bali today, along with a call for greater efforts to fix the problem.
"This is a global question," said Guido Sonnemann, programme officer for Unep. "This problem is not going away, it's growing."
While many of the materials used in electronic equipment can be reused in new products, recycling capacity is being outstripped by the growth in demand for phones, computers and other devices.
Despite a number of conventions aimed at preventing the indiscriminate dumping of e-waste, the problem is snowballing, with billions of people now regularly using advanced electronics.
The problem is particularly acute in parts of west Africa, where ship-loads of e-waste are dumped on a daily basis and scavenged by children who break down the electronics to recover valuable metals that they can sell.
Kuehr said the issue was vitally important for countries where economic growth is highest and dumping most prevalent.
"It's definitely in the countries which have substantial increase in consumption – countries like China and India, which are still substantial targets for illegal imports of e-waste," he said. "The same applies for countries like Nigeria."
The problem is not confined to developing countries, however.
"There's still a high growth rate in developed countries," said Kuehr. "It's an increasing, growing and pressing problem everywhere, including Europe. The collection rates are simply too little."
Although there is legislation to encourage e-waste recycling in some parts of the world – including the WEEE initiative in Europe – the UN argues that this alone is insufficient.
Instead, it advocates a number of solutions, including supporting local communities to increase the amount of "informal" recycling, where valuable materials are scavenged for resale and reuse.
It also wants better enforcement of recycling and anti-dumping laws and greater action from manufacturers, and is urging local governments and consumers to recycle old technology rather than dump it.
"We see the need for stronger awareness and action to solve the e-waste problem," said Sonnemann. "You need to get a process that is not harming health or the environment."