Sustt: E-waste on the rise, floods in Italy, British wind power, inequality hurts the brain, coral weakened by light pollution
Canadian e-waste has tripled over the past 20 years: study
By Nicola Watts
What's happening??Canada's e-waste has more than tripled over the past 20 years, generating around a million tons in 2020 alone, according to a University of Waterloo study. Researchers estimated that the generation of e-waste per person has risen from 8.3 kg in 2000 to 25.3 kg in 2020. Large household appliances like washing machines and fridges dominate by mass, while small items, including household lighting, toys, sports equipment, phones and laptops, dominate in quantity. The growth of e-waste in the country is attributed to consumer habits and a growing population. (Engineering and Technology)
Why does this matter??According to UN data,?global generation?of e-waste, defined as discarded electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) and its parts, reached 57.4 million tons in 2021. However, just 17.4% was documented as being correctly collected, treated and recycled. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has?noted?that an estimated 74.7 mt of e-waste will be produced globally by the end of the decade and could rise to as much as 110 mt by 2050, making it one of the fastest growing waste streams.
Impact on climate change –?A University of California, Irvine?study?shows that greenhouse gas emissions produced by the waste from electronic devices increased by more than 50% between 2014-2020, with 580 mt of CO2 produced in 2020 alone. The authors estimate that, without action, around 852 million mt of CO2 will be emitted by e-waste sources by 2030.
Difficult to recycle –?E-waste is not biodegradable and contains?toxic chemicals?such as cadmium, lead, mercury, nickel, chlorofluorocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and flame retardants. Not only does this contaminate water and soil if e-waste reaches landfill, it also creates air pollution if?incinerated.
Shipped abroad –?A?report?by the ITU estimates that of the 53.6 mt of e-waste generated in 2019, around 5.1 mt (10%) was moved across countries. Of this, just 1.8 mt was controlled and the remainder was made up of uncontrolled but legal trade such as shipping EEE for reuse in recipient countries or illegal movements to take advantage of countries' lower treatment costs.
Unsafe working conditions –?With a significant amount of e-waste likely being illegally shipped to low- and middle-income countries there is also the issue that these nations will unfairly be subject to further environmental and climate damage than they already face. In such countries, informal waste workers, including women, children and adolescents, are?employed?to pick through, dismantle or use acid baths to extract valuable materials, such as gold and copper, leaving them at risk of a wide range of health issues from exposure to harmful substances.
Regulating waste –?In a bid to address the issue,?amendments?to the Basel Convention were approved at last year's COP15. The Swiss-Ghana Amendments, set to go into force on 1 January 2025, establishes new definitions of hazardous and non-hazardous waste and will ensure that both categories will either require notification by the exporting country and consent by the importing country or be banned from trade. Parties to the Convention will be prohibited from receiving e-waste from the US as it is not itself a party unless they have a special bilateral or multilateral agreement. Exports of e-waste from the EU to developing countries will be banned outright.
Untapped resource –?Overcoming?challenges?involved in e-waste recycling, such as collection, sorting, cost-effectiveness, prevention of further waste and emissions is needed. Not only will this help reduce damage to the environment it is also a?business opportunity?as the monetary worth of e-waste materials is estimated at $57bn. Tightening legislation in the some 78 countries that have already introduced it and developing standards for those that don't will also help improve recycling rates.
Solutions –?As noted by the University of Waterloo?study, improving data collection and measurements of e-waste would allow for the setting of reduction targets, progress monitoring and help inform policymaking. Mapping the flow of e-waste would also be a useful tool to prevent informal recycling and illegal dumping while also promoting formal recycling. Clamping down on?planned obsolescence, such as measures introduced by?France, and making electronics manufacturers produce items that are?easier?to repair are other actions that could be taken.
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Stat of the week
Six months of rainfall fell in just 36 hours across areas of north-eastern Italy
Heavy rainfall and flooding in Italy have caused?widespread?devastation, leaving 13 people dead and forcing thousands to evacuate their homes. Over 20 rivers have overflowed, and more than 280 landslides have occurred. The affected areas include regions between Bologna and the northeast coast, where nearly every river flooded. The mayor of Ravenna described the situation as the worst disaster in a century. Many towns and villages have been severely impacted, with homes, possessions, and infrastructure destroyed. Authorities are calling for a national plan to address the effects of climate change, as extreme rainfall events become more likely.
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Bite-sized insights
What else we're seeing this week ??
?? Wind overtakes gas in UK –?Wind farms generated more electricity than gas for the first time in Britain over the first three months of 2023, according to a report by Imperial College London. The analysis, commissioned by power generator Drax, showed that 32% of Britain's electricity came from wind farms versus 31.7% from gas-fired power plants. Overall, almost 42% of Britain's electricity in Q1 2023 came from renewables, including wind, solar, hydro and biomass, while 33% came from fossil fuels, such as gas and coal. The remainder came from nuclear power plants and imports. (Reuters)?
?? Inequality causes brain damage –?Chronic stress resulting from gender inequality could be causing damage to women's brains, according to a first-of-its-kind study in PNAS. Researchers from over 70 institutions examined MRI scans from around 4,000 women and 4,000 men across 29 countries. They found that in countries with worse gender inequality, the outer thickness of the right side of women's brains was thinner than men's and that in countries with better gender equality there was no substantial difference. Lead author, Nicolas Crossley, said the "changes were particularly located in brain regions involved in control of emotions and that are also affected in stress-related disorders such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder". (The Independent)?
?? Artificial light weakens coral reefs –?Light pollution from coastal developments is disrupting coral spawning, undermining the coral reef’s ability to recover from mass mortality, according to a new study. Artificial light at night (ALAN) from these sources threatens coral reefs by masking natural light-dark cycles that synchronise broadcast spawning. The study analysed 2,135 spawning observations from the 21st century and found that corals exposed to ALAN are spawning between one and three days closer to the full moon than those on unlit reefs. ALAN also possibly advances spawning by creating a perceived period of minimum illuminance between sunset and moonrise on nights following a full moon. (Nature)?
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