E-waste hazards and opportunities
THE Philippines is one of the largest producers of e-waste in Southeast Asia, a report released by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (Unitar) and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) says.
The report “Global E-Waste Monitor 2024” says the Philippines produced 537 million kilograms of e-waste in 2022, comprised of electrical and electronic equipment, including items with circuitry or electrical components and a power supply or battery.
This made the country the third-biggest producer of e-waste in the region, behind Indonesia (1,866 million kg) and Thailand (753 million kg).
In terms of per capita e-waste, Singapore was the highest among Southeast Asian countries, with 20.3 kg of e-waste for each person. It was followed by Brunei (19.9 kg), Thailand (10.5 kg), Indonesia (6.9 kg), Vietnam (5.3 kg) and the Philippines (4.7 kg).
Southeast Asian nations accounted for a combined e-waste output of 4.34 billion kg — only 6 percent of the global total of 62 billion kg.
Globally, the amount of electrical and electronic equipment grew from 62 billion kg in 2010 to 96 billion kg in 2022 and is projected to increase to 120 billion kg in 2030.
In the same period, the amount of e-waste generated annually grew from 34 billion kg to a record 62 billion kg. It is projected to increase to 82 billion kg by 2030.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted the dangers this growth poses to people’s health and the environment.
When electrical and electronic equipment become e-waste, the toxic substances they contain can be released into the environment if these devices are not recycled properly, says the WHO. Unsound practices at e-waste sites include scavenging, dumping on land or in bodies of water, open burning, acid baths or acid leaching, and stripping and shredding plastic coatings.
“These activities are considered hazardous to the environment and human health, as they release toxic pollutants, contaminating the air, soil, dust and water at recycling sites and in neighboring communities,” the WHO says.
“Burning or heating is considered one of the most hazardous activities due to the toxic fumes created. Once in the environment, toxic pollutants from e-waste or produced through unsound recycling activities can travel significant distances from the point of pollution, exposing people in faraway areas to health-damaging substances,” it adds.
These hazards are aggravated by the general lack of laws or policies on the safe recycling and disposal of e-waste. Also, except for Singapore, no Southeast Asian country has national collection or recycling targets in place.
In response to the growing e-waste challenge, the Philippines has enacted laws and regulations on e-waste management. The Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 mandates the proper handling and disposal of solid waste, including e-waste. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has also issued an administrative order that sets out guidelines for the environmentally sound management of e-waste.
But the Unitar-ITU report says there is a lack of proper regulation and enforcement of existing laws on e-waste management.
The Philippines, it notes, has a mixed approach to formal and informal e-waste management. The formal sector is made up of government and private sector initiatives that focus on properly disposing, treating and recycling e-waste. These include facilities put up with the help of the UN Industrial Development Organization, national and local governments, and various private groups.
The informal sector, on the other hand, is made up of scavengers and waste pickers who collect and extract valuable components from discarded electronics without safety training or equipment.
The key challenge in the Philippines, then, is to improve access to proper e-waste disposal facilities and infrastructure, especially in rural areas, where the lack of access often results in the illegal dumping of e-waste in rivers, landfills and other areas.
On the other side of the coin, the potential for growth is high. The Unitar-ITU report says the economic value of the metals contained in e-waste generated globally in 2022 was estimated at $91 billion. But ewaste management generated only $28 billion, or 30 percent of that value.
“These metals can be efficiently reclaimed with high recycling rates using current e-waste management technologies, implying that improved collection rates could substantially increase current value recovery rates,” the report says.
The potential is not lost on some private companies that are already setting up environmentally sound recycling facilities in the country. With the proper policy support, they could form the backbone of a thriving industry that provides employment to Filipinos who might otherwise be eking out a living in unsafe landfills.