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CAN WE FIX OUR WAY OUT OF THE GROWING E-WASTE PROBLEM?

By Elisabeth Mahy
Radio 5 Live

Published17 February 2020
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image sourceFrancesco Calo
image captionIt only cost Francesco "a few pennies" to repair his TV screen

"I was a kid of the early 80s, when electronic items were quite expensive and
were supposed to last for ages."

Francesco Calo has been learning how to fix his broken TV at a repair event in
Tooting, south London.

It might seem a simplistic idea - but repair initiatives such as this one could
be part of a solution to the growing amount of electrical and electronic waste.

This waste is becoming a huge problem. The 50 million tonnes of e-waste
generated every year will more than double to 110 million tonnes by 2050, making
it the fastest growing waste stream in the world, according to the author of a
UN report.


ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE

Francesco says the staggering volume of e-waste was one of the main reasons he
wanted to get involved in fixing broken gadgets.

He enlisted the help of volunteers at the Restart Project in London. Other,
similar projects exist in the UK and around the world.



"This project allows you to reduce waste, extend the life of objects, and it
helps people who cannot afford to get rid of items that have developed a fault,"
he says.

"The issue of electronic waste is overlooked, as electronic items that could be
fixed easily go to waste instead, contributing to pollution and increasing the
demand for components like rare earth elements, which can have a damaging impact
on the environment when sourced."



Dr Ruediger Kuehr, of the United Nations University, which produces the UN's
Global E-Waste Monitor, told the BBC that despite having ambitious collection
targets in place, "world-wide collections are stagnating or even decreasing".

The UN's next Global E-Waste Monitor is due to be published in April, but with
only 41 countries producing official e-waste statistics, the fate of the
majority of the waste is "simply unknown", according to Prof Ian Williams of the
University of Southampton.

"In countries where there is no national e-waste legislation in place, e-waste
is likely treated as other or general waste. This is either land-filled or
recycled, along with other metal or plastic wastes," he says.

But e-waste from discarded electrical and electronic products is only part of
the problem. A significant contributor to e-waste is the release of toxins from
mining and manufacturing.



The rare earth elements being mined are currently crucial components in
high-tech electronics, but they are hazardous to extract.

"There is the high risk that the pollutants are not taken care of properly, or
they are taken care of by an informal sector and recycled without properly
protecting the workers, while emitting the toxins contained in e-waste," Prof
Williams says.

image sourceGetty Images
image caption50 million tonnes of e-waste is being generated every year,
according to the UN

By far the biggest contributors to the level of e-waste are household appliances
such as irons, vacuum cleaners, washing machines and fridges.

But the rapidly-growing "Internet of things" - internet-connected gadgets - is
expected to generate e-waste at a faster rate, as connectivity becomes embedded
into everyday items.

There are rules on the management of e-waste. Sellers of electrical and
electronic equipment (EEE) within the European Union must provide ways for
customers to dispose of their old household device when they sell them a new
version of the same product.

And in October 2019, the EU adopted new Right to Repair standards, which means
that from 2021 firms will have to make appliances longer-lasting, and will have
to supply spare parts for machines for up to 10 years.



The UK government has pledged to "match and even exceed EU eco product
regulations" post-Brexit.

image sourceGetty Images
image captionThe "Internet of things" is expected to generate e-waste at an even
faster rate

Several high-profile electronics companies have faced criticism over a lack of
availability of spare parts or upgrades, or alleged built-in obsolescence.

In 2017, Apple admitted that it had deliberately slowed down some models of the
iPhone as they aged. Customers had suspected this was to encourage people to
upgrade, although Apple said it was to prolong the life of customers' devices.
In 2018, the company introduced its Daisy robot, used to disassemble iPhones to
recover and recycle minerals.

In November 2019, owners of Sonos products criticised the speaker manufacturer
for no longer issuing software updates for some of its older models. Affected
customers were offered discounts on newer devices in return for recycling their
existing product.

Increasingly, investors are only looking at companies that are committed to
helping create a cleaner global economy.

Amanda O'Toole, a fund manager at AXA Investment Managers, says that e-waste is
"a significant and growing issue".

"We're starting to see companies that, I think, are very mindful of their
reputation investing quite heavily here. They recognise the reputational damage
of not doing so."

image sourceMark Phillips
image captionRepair pop-ups teach people how to repair their broken tech, rather
than discard it

But some consumers are taking matters into their own hands - literally. And they
don't want new devices.

Back at the Restart Project in London - part of a wider repair movement of
community based projects around the world - Francesco's succeeded in repairing
his TV screen at the cost of "a few pennies" for a new diode, and the help of
one of the volunteers. He tells the BBC he is thinking of becoming a volunteer
fixer in the future.

"I love the idea of watching and learning to fix, rather than simply having your
item fixed.

"I always try to extend the lease of life of the electronic items I own... by
using old mobile phones as music players, or old tablets as digital frames."

Francesco's may only be one fix, but Prof Williams thinks this type of action
plays a small, but important, role in tackling what he calls the e-waste
"tsunami".

"I think that the repair cafes, the reuse clubs, and people who are trying to
prolong the life of electronic equipment - they definitely have a role," he
says.

"But the truth is that one in five people - at best - are going to be motivated
to do that, so for the remaining four out of five, we need to put systems in
place that are convenient, that match their lifestyles and enable us to get the
electronic equipment back... into the next item."


RELATED TOPICS

 * Landfill
 * Recycling
 * Companies
 * Waste management
 * United Nations


MORE ON THIS STORY

 * Sonos speaker update sparks anger
   
   Published22 January 2020

 * Electronic devices 'need to use recycled plastic'
   
   Published15 October 2019

 * 'Right to repair' rules brought in for appliances
   
   Published1 October 2019

 * France investigates iPhone slowdown
   
   Published8 January 2018

 * Apple apologises for iPhone slowdowns
   
   Published29 December 2017


RELATED INTERNET LINKS

 * Institute for Environment and Human Security

 * Waste electronic equipment - Environment

 * University of Southampton

 * The Restart Project

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.








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