Smartphones, tablets, computers, e-bike batteries, solar photovoltaic panels... While a large number of electronic products enrich people's lives, they also cause a sharp increase in the amount of electronic waste. The global e-Waste Monitoring report released by the United Nations agency shows that the global e-waste production in 2022 increased by 82% compared with 2010, reaching a record 62 million tons, equivalent to 7.8kg of e-waste per person in the world every year.

The report, jointly released by the International Telecommunication Union and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, calls for a response to the sharp increase in e-waste. According to the report, the amount of e-waste being generated is growing at a much faster rate than the amount being recycled. In 2022, only 22.3 percent of the world's e-waste will be properly collected and recycled. According to the current development trend, by 2030, the global e-waste production is expected to increase by 33% over 2022, reaching 82 million tons, while the global e-waste recycling rate will fall to 20%.

A large amount of e-waste is not properly disposed of, causing a huge impact on the ecological environment. The report showed that of the 62 million tons of e-waste generated in 2022, about 14 million tons were illegally dumped into landfills, exposing some harmful chemicals to the environment. The UN Institute for Training and Research estimates that 58 tonnes of mercury and 45,000 tonnes of plastics containing brominated flame retardants are released into the environment each year as a result of non-compliant disposal practices, resulting in an economic cost of $78 billion in pollution.

From a global perspective, the level of e-waste production and recycling varies greatly in different regions due to different levels of development. In terms of per capita ratio, Europe tops the list with 17.6 kilograms of e-waste per person per year, which is seven times the per capita output of Africa. Europe also currently has the highest e-waste recycling rate in the world, at 42.8 percent. France, for example, produces 22.4 kilograms of e-waste per person per year, with a recycling rate of 59.6 percent. In France, shopping malls and supermarkets that sell electronic products and electrical appliances basically have electronic bins for sorting and recycling; In the purchase of large home appliances delivery, businesses also provide recycling of old home appliances at the same time.

The European Union first issued the Electronic Equipment Waste Directive in 2002, and has been amended many times, including almost all electronic and electrical equipment into its coverage, clear producers for the collection, recycling and treatment of hazardous substances in electronic waste responsibility, requiring producers to take measures to ensure that electronic and electrical equipment is properly recycled and disposed of. According to the Directive, since 2019, the minimum collection rate to be achieved by EU member States each year should be 65% of the average weight of electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market in the previous three years, or 85% of the waste electrical and electronic equipment generated in the territory of the Member State. The majority of EU member states fail to meet this target, according to Eurostat.

> Fanny Rato, project manager of the European Environmental Standards Alliance, believes that one key to the recyclability of electronic products lies in their design stage. When designing, it is important to pay attention to the durability of the product, non-toxic and easy to repair.

(Reporter Shang Kaiyuan, Paris, March 31)

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