This week the University of Limerick and United Nations University, Tokyo, Japan are collaborating and hosting one of the worlds leading forums on electronic waste issues, E-Waste Academy for Scientists (EWAS). This summit will bring together researchers from around the globe to work on eliminating damage to human health and the environment from the devastating effects of e-waste. The summit takes place at the University of Limerick until Saturday 20th August and on Friday 19th August will see the launch of a major report conducted by the University of Limerick for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) projecting the quantities of e-waste being generated in Ireland over the next 5 years.
One of the key findings of this report is that the age of the products that are currently being returned for recycling remains high. So called Historic, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), or products that were placed on the market before the WEEE Directive came into force in 2005, still make up over 50% of the material being returned for recycling in Ireland. This has implications for the financing of e-waste recycling which is currently partly funded by the visible Environmental Management Cost at the time of purchase and partly by producers.
The latest figures released by the United Nations University estimates that there were 41.8 million metric tonnes generated globally in 2014 and this is expected to rise by 21% to 50 million tonnes by 2018. Less than one-sixth of this is thought to have been diverted to proper recycling and reuse. This e-waste contained an estimated 16.5 million tonnes of iron, 1.9 million tonnes of copper, 300 tonnes of gold (equal to 11% of the world’s total 2013 gold production), as well as silver, aluminum, palladium plastic and other resources with a combined estimated value of 48 billion Euro.
Toxins in that e-waste included 2.2 million tonnes of lead glass, 0.3 million tonnes of batteries, as well as mercury, cadmium, chromium and 4,400 tonnes of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbon (CFCs). Health problems associated with such toxins include impaired mental development, cancer, and damage to liver and kidneys.
Speaking at the summit Dr Colin Fitzpatrick, Department of Electronic & Computer Engineering, UL said, “EWAS provides a unique platform for scientists involved in e-waste-related research to share their knowledge, interact with experts and develop collaborative partnerships that will foster high quality, cutting-edge scientific research on all areas related to e-waste, including policy, technology, economics, social aspects and more. While the ever increasing use of technology in society is providing tremendous benefits to people’s lives and is set to grow on a global scale for the foreseeable future, it is producing some very challenging issues around e-waste that are being generated as a result.”
To read the full story, visit http://www.ul.ie/news-centre/news/electronic-waste-expected-to-rise-by-an-astounding-21-by-2018.