Little is recycled More electronic waste than ever before

The half-time of the electric appliances is greatly diminished. Coffee machine, mobile phone, or a refrigerator will now be replaced after a few years. The majority of WEEE end up in the trash or be disposed of illegally. In the past year 53.6 million tons of electronic waste are created in the world, equivalent to 350 Times the weight of the "Queen Mary 2". This is the result of the published on Thursday, "Global E-waste Monitor 2020", in which inter alia the United Nations University is involved.

Madeleine Brühl

volunteer.

In the comparison to the 2014 e-scrap volumes increased by 21 percent. For 2030, the authors predict 74 million tons – will be counted, everything that has a plug or a battery. "Recycling is always a good idea, because the manufacture of electronic devices is very resource-heavy", says Rüdiger Kühr, Director of the program for sustainable cycles at the University of the United Nations and one of the four authors of the report.

The experts have determined that in 2019, worldwide, 17.4 per cent of electrical waste is recycled. The highest Recycling rate for Europe, with 42.5 per cent, is Africa, with 0.9 per cent. Also in the case of the Per-capita amount of Europe occupied with 16.2 kilograms of electronic waste in the first place. Reasons for the growing mountain are the technical innovations and rising affluence. Many devices have a shorter lifespan than in the past, and the repair will not be difficult to seldom be provided by the manufacturer, for example, in the case of Smartphones.