Driven by rising incomes and high demand for new gadgets and appliances, the volume of discarded electronics in East and South-East Asia jumped almost two-thirds (63 percent) between 2010 and 2015, new research from United Nation University (UNU) shows.
The analysis is based on data from Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Province of China, Thailand and Vietnam. The total volume of e-waste generated in these countries 12.3 million tons or a weight 2.4 times that of the Great Pyramid of Giza, according to the report.
China also more than doubled its generation of e-waste between 2010 and 2015 to 6.7 million tons, up 107 percent.
The first “Regional E-waste Monitor: East and Southeast Asia” report were compiled by the UNU through its Sustainable Cycles (SCYCLE) program and funded by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment.
The study shows that the average e-waste generation per capita in the region was approximately 10 kilograms in 2015, with the highest generation found in Hong Kong (21.7 kg), followed by Singapore (19.95 kg) and Taiwan, Province of China (19.13 kg).
There were large differences between nations on the per capita scales, with Cambodia (1.10 kg), Vietnam (1.34 kg) and the Philippines (1.35 kg) the lowest e-waste generators per capita in 2015.
“For many countries that already lack the infrastructure for environmentally sound e-waste management, the increasing volumes are a cause for concern,” said co-author Ruediger Kuehr of UN University. “Increasing the burden on existing waste collection and treatment systems results in flows towards environmentally unsound recycling and disposal.”
The report cites four main trends responsible for increasing volumes:
More gadgets: Innovation in technology is driving the introduction of new products, particularly in the portable electronics category, such as tablets and wearables like smart watches.
More consumers: In the East and Southeast Asian region, there are industrializing countries with growing populations, but also rapidly expanding middle classes able to afford more gadgets.
Decreasing usage time: The usage time of gadgets has decreased; this is not only due to rapidly advancing technology that makes older products obsolete due to hardware incompatibility (e.g., flash drives replacing floppy disks) and software requirements (e.g., minimum requirements for personal computers to run operating software and other applications) but also soft factors such as product fashion. E-waste grows as more devices are replaced more rapidly.
Imports: Import of EEE provides greater availability of products, both new and second-hand, which also increases e-waste as they reach their end of life.
The report warns of improper and illegal e-waste dumping prevalent in most countries in the study, irrespective of national e-waste legislation. Consumers, dismantlers, and recyclers are often guilty of illegal dumping, particularly of “open dumping”, where non-functional parts and residues from dismantling and treatment operations are released into the environment.
According to the report, Japan, Republic of Korea and Taiwan, Province of China have a head start in the region in establishing e-waste collection and recycling systems, having begun in the late nineties to adopt and enforce e-waste specific legislation. This was built in large part on experience in solid waste management. Among the most advanced economies and areas in Asia, the three are also characterized by high per capita e-waste generation, formal collection and recycling infrastructure and relatively strong enforcement.
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