India is the fifth biggest producer of e-waste in the
world, discarding 1.7 million tonnes (Mt) of electronic and electrical
equipment in 2014, a UN report has warned that the volume of global
e-waste is likely to rise by 21 per cent in next three years.
The
‘Global E-Waste Monitor 2014’, compiled by U.N.’s think tank United
Nations University (UNU), said at 32 per cent, the U.S. and China
produced the most e-waste overall in 2014.
India is behind the U.S., China, Japan and Germany.
Most
e-waste in the world in 2014 was generated in Asia at 16 Mt or 3.7 kg
per inhabitant. The top three Asian nations with the highest e-waste
generation in absolute quantities are China (6.0 Mt), Japan (2.2 Mt) and
India (1.7 Mt).
The top per capita producers by far
are the wealthy nations of northern and western Europe, the top five
being Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Denmark, and the U.K.
The
lowest amount of e-waste per inhabitant was generated in Africa (1.7
kg/inhabitant). The continent generated 1.9 Mt of e-waste in total.
In
2014, people worldwide discarded all but a small fraction of an
estimated 41.8 Mt of electrical and electronic equipment — mostly
end-of-life kitchen, laundry and bathroom equipment like microwave
ovens, washing machines and dishwashers.
While only 7
per cent of e-waste last year was made up of mobile phones,
calculators, personal computers, printers, and small information
technology equipment, almost 60 per cent was a mix of large and small
equipment used in homes and businesses, such as vacuum cleaners,
toasters, electric shavers, video cameras, washing machines, electric
stoves, mobile phones, calculators, personal computers, and lamps. — PTI
