The E-Waste Database

🌱 How much e-waste is produced each year? Global e-waste production is sometimes referred to as “a tidal wave of pollution”. All in all, 62 million tonnes of e-waste are produced each year. This is “enough to fill 1.5 million transport trucks” and makes e-waste “one of the world’s fastest-growing w

🌱 How does mining impact Indigenous People’s rights to water? According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, “the impact of extractivism on natural resources, compounded with the effects of climate change, has meant many indigenous peoples no longer have access to

🌱 Why does mining disproportionately impact Indigenous Peoples? Mining disproportionately impacts Indigenous communities. Over half of the “transition materials [are] located on or near land where Indigenous people live”. Moreover, “85% of […] lithium extraction projects [are] on or near land manag

🌱 What role can recycling and urban mining play? Across the board, “electronics that can no longer be reused or repurposed […] should be managed in formal electronic waste facilities to recover as many raw materials as possible”. Through recycling or urban mining, e-waste can be used as a stockpile

🌱 What are conflict minerals? In many conflict areas or politically unstable regions, the trade of minerals may be used to purchase weapons and fund armed groups. This trading may be linked to corruption and money laundering, and it can cause human rights abuses. The minerals traded in this context

🌱 What frameworks can be useful to companies? When approaching the protection of water, companies can, for example, turn to the Nature Future Framework for guidance. The three value perspectives encourage one to think of the intrinsic value of water (nature for nature), the utilitarian value of wat

🌱 Do Indigenous Peoples have access to safe drinking water? According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, “the impact of extractivism on natural resources, compounded with the effects of climate change, has meant many indigenous peoples no longer have access to s

🌱 What are precious metals? Metals that are rare and have a high economic value are often called “precious metals”. These metals can be valuable due to their scarcity or their use in industrial processes. They can also be valuable because they have been used as a currency or to store value througho

🌱 Why does the EU want to increase domestic mining? Over the past few years, the EU has pledged to scale up its domestic extraction of critical raw materials. Critical raw materials are needed for many renewable energy technologies. To “lessen its dependence on Chinese minerals and meet its climate

🌱 What are transition metals and minerals? A rapid transition over to renewable energies is needed in order to reach the goal of having net-zero emissions by the middle of this century. Yet, large quantities of metals and minerals — such as copper, lithium, and nickel — are needed for the productio

🌱 What are raw materials? The term “raw materials” refers to any materials used to manufacture products.[i] Materials used to produce consumer goods are typically called raw materials, before they have been processed and embedded in the end products. Raw materials may be used for durable products –

🌱 Why is water a concern when mining? Large amounts of water are needed for mining and mineral processing. Yet, a good half of all copper and lithium production sites worldwide are in areas facing “high water stress”.[i] The adverse impacts of lithium extraction have — for example — “been documente

🌱 Why are wetlands and riverine systems at risk? Wetlands and riverine systems play a key role in protecting biodiversity, and they are therefore “central to any hopes of tackling the climate emergency facing our planet”.[i] Despite this, on “a global scale, 70% of rivers occur outside protected ar

🌱 Why do barriers pose a threat to water habitats? Change in water habitats can be seen in artificial barriers in waters, such as water-storing and hydroelectric dams. They hinder species migration in the river and alter water quality, sediment and nutrient flows. These are, notably, “environmental

🌱 Why is it vital to protect forest biodiversity? More diverse forests – with “more different species with individual genetic codes” living in them – are better at coping with environmental and climate change. In line with this, “[n]atural forests are one of the most important and stable stores of

🌱 Why is there a list of strategic projects under the CRMA? The EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) “aims to ensure [domestic] European extraction, processing and recycling of strategic raw materials meet 10%, 40% and 25% of [the] EU's [total] demand by 2030, respectively”. The CRMA came into fo

🌱 How do Indigenous Peoples view water? By many Indigenous communities, “[w]ater is not considered or managed as a resource but is considered to be part of an interconnected whole”.[i] This is because, “[in] the traditions of many indigenous peoples, water is life itself”.[ii] Many Indigenous Peopl

🌱 How does mining impact people and the planet? Mining strongly affects ecosystems and the people surrounding the area. Overall, mining is estimated to impact 23 million people worldwide.[i] Open-pit mining is especially known to “destro[y] vast territories, including wetlands, underground aquifers

🌱 What is urban mining? Urban mining is the process of reclaiming materials from urban waste. A common form of urban mining involves recovering metals and minerals from e-waste. 🌱 Why is urban mining relevant for a circular economy? Urban mining can play a key role in the circular economy. There

🌱 How have the Rights of Nature evolved? Over the past two decades, “the connections between nature, human beings, and law” have become increasingly recognized globally.[i] The movement for legal ‘Rights of Nature’ started in Ecuador in 2008, “when it enshrined rights of nature in its constitution”

🌱 How could water management by improved using Indigenous knowledge? An overarching issue in modern water management and Indigenous Peoples’ access to water is “water and sanitation projects not having a sustainable strategy to prevent funding exhaustion”.[i] One way to solve this is to factor in t

🌱 What is the value of water? Water can be seen to have an intrinsic value, a utility value, and a relational value. Following the Nature Future Framework initiated by an expert group of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), water in its many

🌱 What are rare earths? There are only 17 elements that are classified as rare earths (or REEs), and they are all metallic elements. The so-called light rare earth elements (or LREEs) are cerium, europium, lanthanum, neodymium, praseodymium, promethium, and samarium. The so-called heavy rare earth

🌱 What are critical raw materials? It is difficult to define critical raw materials, as “[t]here is no universally accepted definition or list”. What is classified as a critical raw material “varies according to the needs and priorities of policymakers and industries”. Minerals are, however, typica

🌱 What are materials? Materials are substances or mixtures of substances. In practice, they are commonly the components used to produce consumer goods or end products. Materials are sometimes processed or made into parts, before they are used to make end products.[i] Across the board, “materials ar

🌱 What ecosystem services do rivers and wetlands provide? As rivers and wetland ecosystems provide a plurality of ecosystem services, damage to them can also lead to huge economic losses. Recent research from the European Central Bank — for example — shows that approximately 75% of all euro area co

🌱 What adverse effects can mining have? Mining comes with both actual and potential adverse effects.[i] The precise impacts at any given location depend “on several factors, including the methods and technology used, the size of the project, and the ecological and hydrological conditions specific t

🌱 How does increasing pollution impact rivers? There are a variety of different industrial and other waste streams that find their way into rivers. Amongst these, particularly plastic pollution and pollution through perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are growing areas of concern.[

🌱 What biodiversity is found in rivers and wetlands? While “covering less than 1% of the global surface area, freshwater ecosystems […] support a disproportionate number of flora and fauna”.[i] Overall, wetlands host 40% of all species.[ii] As rivers connect different wetlands to one another, they

🌱 How does mining impact habitats? Opencast mining can cause a loss of both habitats and biodiversity.[i] Opencast mining often results in large-scale land destruction. The terrain is permanently altered, and hydrological conditions change.[ii] Mining also brings the construction of settlements and