International E-Waste Day 2023

Oct 14, 2023

2 min read

It’s International E-Waste Day 2023!

🌱 Why is there an International E-Waste Day?

International E-Waste Day, which is held annually on October 14th, intends to create awareness around the global impacts of e-waste and to promote circularity in electronic and electrical products. The day was initiated by the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Forum and it was first held in 2018, which makes today the sixth International E-Waste Day!

🌱 What is the focus this year?

The slogan this year is: “You can recycle anything with a plug, battery, or cable!”. With this slogan, consumers are being encouraged to recycle their electrical and electronic devices and special attention is being drawn to the issue of “invisible e-waste”.

🌱 What is “invisible e-waste”?

A lot of products sold today contain electrical or electronic components, but consumers do not always realize this. “Invisible e-waste” is a term used for electronic and electrical waste from products whose recycling potential goes unnoticed due to their appearance. Examples of “invisible e-waste” include e-bikes and e-scooters, electric and electronic toys, power tools, smart home gadgets, smoke detectors, vapes and e-cigarettes, wearables and e-textiles, as well as unused cables.

🌱 How much “invisible e-waste” is produced?

One sixth of all e-waste produced worldwide – or roughly 9 billion kg – falls into the category of “invisible e-waste”. The weight of this waste alone is “equal [to] the weight of almost half a million 40-tonne trucks, enough to form a 5,640 km bumper-to-bumper line of trucks from Rome to Nairobi”.

🌱 What happens when devices are not properly recycled?

When disposed of improperly, electronic devices and components often end up in incinerators or landfills. If this happens, the valuable and finite resources found in e-waste go to waste and they cannot re-enter the manufacturing cycle. Moreover, improper disposal can pose a risk to both the environment and human health, as e-waste contains hazardous substances such as cadmium, flame retardants, lead, and mercury. When these hazardous substances leach into soil and the groundwater, they can contaminate ecosystems and cause a variety of health issues.

🌱 What is the value of “invisible e-waste”?

“Invisible e-waste” contains valuable metals – such as gold, silver, and copper – as well as critical raw materials that “are crucial for the green transition and [the] production of new electronic devices”. It is said that almost $10 billion in “essential raw materials [would be] recoverable from [the] world’s annual mountain of electronic toys, cables, vapes [and other “invisible e-waste”].

💡 Are you interested in learning more about e-waste and its impacts? Then, have a read through our blog posts on or check out the hashtag #EWasteDay.