Electrical and electronic waste is a massive problem already across the world but looks set to become even worse if current regulations fail to control the huge quantities of discarded electrical and electronic items beginning to contaminate our planet. Many wealthy countries are closing their eyes to the problem by shipping their e-waste to developing nations where poor regulations mean that the health of landfill workers and the environment surrounding landfill sites are both in danger.

However, some countries are starting to tackle the issue. The European Parliament, for instance, has set up the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive to force both individuals and organisations in the European Union to behave responsibility when disposing of their e-waste. Yet many people and companies are still not fully aware of the WEEE regulations nor fully aware of the dangers posed by failing to dispose of electronic items properly; there is also confusion over what actually constitutes Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. Quite simply it is anything with an electrical plug attached or anything that runs off batteries, and includes the batteries themselves.

To grasp why e-waste is such a problem and why the WEEE Regulations are important take a look at these key facts and figures.

·         50 million tons of waste electrical and electronic equipment is discarded each year across the globe and for that 50 million tons of e-waste more new items are being produced to replace the old ones.

·         Only a small percentage of e-waste is recycled – The percentage of e-waste recycled in 2015 was a mere 12.5 per cent and while steps like the WEEEE regulations are being taken to increase this amount it is still very low and will require a change of mindset across whole communities, regions and countries to significantly improve the recycled amount of e-waste. Of the 87.5 per cent that is not recycled it ends up in landfill, harming the surrounding environment and posing serious health risks to those living and working nearby.

·         Precious metals are being wasted – Mobile phone, as just one example, contain quantities of valuable metals such as copper, gold and silver so we are collectively throwing away precious resources. Even worse, we then have to mine those same wasted resources at huge expense in both financial and energy terms.

·         Cadmium batteries are polluting our water supplies – The batteries most commonly found in a mobile phone contain cadmium yet many people are not aware of how to dispose of batteries safely.

·         A quarter of all e-waste could be reused – research has shown that nearly 25 per cent  of all waste electrical and electronic equipment waste could be re-used, either as a whole item if repaired of for parts. In the UK alone this could amount to a wasted value of £200 million per year.

·         The majority of all toxic waste comes from electrical and electronic equipment – Hazardous substances such as cadmium, mercury and lead are all found in smartphones and other electronic gadgets. It is these electronic gadgets that make up 70 percent of all the hazardous waste polluting our planet.

·         E-waste volumes predicted to grow – As individuals, small businesses and large organisations  become more reliant on electrical and electronic equipment and expect to upgrade them regularly worldwide e-waste looks likely to increase to more than 65 million tons by 2017.