Solar panel recycling: Turning ticking time bombs into opportunities

Source: PV Magazine

Australia has certainly demonstrated its appetite for solar power. Now, with the average lifespan of a solar panel being approximately 20 years, many installations from the early 2000’s are set to reach end-of-life. Will they end up in landfill or be recycled?

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5G: the true cost will be measured in e-waste

Source: UNSW Newsroom

5G, the successor to the 4G network currently servicing your mobile phone, is more than just the next generation of phone network technology. In increasing download speeds dramatically, it will also enable new connected technologies. But it could also usher in an unprecedented wave of electronic waste we’re not prepared for.

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Global e-waste growth rate poses increased danger to the environment

Source: Inhabitat

Recent research findings published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) have revealed that global e-waste is growing at an alarming rate. Many people worldwide use electronic gadgets such as smartphones, laptops and TVs, but few countries have an elaborate plan for disposing or recycling the waste generated. Today, approximately 5.16 billion people use mobile phones globally. Interestingly, most people only use a new phone for 2.5 years.

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World’s e-waste ‘unsustainable’, says U.N. report citing China, India and U.S.

Source: Reuters

Across the river from Delhi’s Red Fort, the grim neighbourhood of Seelampur lives off what consumers in the modern world throw away – their broken or obsolete electronic and electrical goods.

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Earth’s annual e-waste could grow to 75 million metric tons by 2030

Source: ScienceNews

The planet’s hefty pile of discarded electronics is getting a lot heavier, a new report finds. 

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Congrats, Humanity, We Trashed a Record Number of Electronics Last Year

Source: Gizmodo

The world keeps producing more headphones, microwaves, laptops, air conditioners, and other pieces of electronics even as a record amount ends up as e-waste. A new report concluded that in 2019, humanity generated its highest ever total of e-waste globally, underscoring a rapidly growing problem.

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What E-Waste Journalism Gets Wrong

Source: The MIT Press Reader

This article argues that consumers need to understand a lot more than just where old electronics end up – we must look at the full life cycle to understand the true costs, from mining, to production, to use and end of life

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Global Ban on Exporting Hazardous Waste to Developing Countries Becomes Law

Source: Basel Action Network (BAN)

Seattle, Washington, USA. 09 August, 2019. Croatia’s 6th of September deposit of ratification of the 1995 Basel Ban Amendment has allowed this global waste dumping prohibition to finally enter into the force of international law.

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Public Health Burden of E-waste in Africa

Source: U.S. National Library of Medicine

Environmental impacts from informal e-waste recycling are increasing in Africa.

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Why Do Electronic Products Continue to be a Profound Challenge for the Planet?

Source: APHA, Basel Action Network

Focus on E-Waste presentation notes

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Biomonitoring of Metals and More in Vietnamese Female Electronic Waste Recyclers

Source: Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

E-waste has increased exponentially in recent years. Unsafe e-waste recycling techniques can lead to unsafe chemical exposures.

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