The Problems Plastics in E-Waste Pose

🌱 How much plastic value is in e-waste?

Plastics make up to 20-25% of e-waste. In 2016, the value of plastics in e-waste globally was estimated to be EUR 15043 million by the Global E-waste Monitor. Notably, recycled plastic from e-waste has a “virgin-like quality” and it is estimated to require “less than 10% of the energy than virgin production”.

🌱 Why is this plastic dangerous?

According to a UNEP report published on 3 May 2023, the “chemicals released throughout the life cycle of plastics pose serious health and environmental threats and should be the focus of global regulations”. This is particularly relevant for plastic from e-waste as it “is largely released into nature” and its “value chain remains fragmented”. According to the Global E-waste Monitor, roughly “71 kt of plastic containing [brominated flame retardants arose] from the unaccounted flows of e-waste generated in 2019”. Notably, “a significant percentage of the global e-waste stream [is] transported to developing countries and processed in rudimentary and dangerous conditions, or otherwise dumped and burned in open pits”. In line with this, “alarming Dechlorane Plus contamination [was found] in and around e-waste recycling sites in Thailand” in a recent study from the International Pollutants Elimination Network. Dechlorane Plus is “a flame retardant [that is] added to plastic coatings and electrical wires” and it has been linked to a variety of health issues. The study’s “group of 40 Thai recycling workers had blood serum concentrations of Dechlorane Plus that were more than 39 times higher than those of a control group”.

🌱 Why is the recycling problematic?

While “there are individual efforts to improve the collection and recycling of plastics in e-waste at the local level”, too little attention is given to the impacts of plastic from e-waste overall. Moreover, “recycling of e-waste plastics can be more complicated” than other plastics because some of it contains brominated flame retardants, which need to be sorted and treated separately. Within the EU, 6.2% of all plastic produced is used for electrical and electronic equipment. Yet, only around half of the plastic from e-waste is collected or sorted properly. Amongst others, “low collection rates, poor intra-European movement and rapidly changing legislation” are seen as barriers to the recycling of plastics from e-waste in the EU.

🌱 What is currently happening?

At the recent COP meeting in Geneva, the parties “reached [an] agreement on a legally-binding, globally-reaching mechanism for managing plastic waste”. The 2nd session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution will take place in Paris from 29 May to 2 June 2023. This session will focus on developing a “binding instrument on plastic pollution, including [pollution] in the marine environment”.