High incomes and an insatiable thirst for new and fashionable gadgetry have combined to dramatically increase the volume of discarded electronics across south-east Asia, a new study shows.
The research, conducted by by the United Nations and funded by the Japanese Government, found that in Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam e-waste volumes increased by an average of 63 per cent between 2010 and 2015.
China more than doubled its amount of e-garbage during the period, generating more than 6.7 million tonnes of discarded gadgetry.
Although there were wide differences in e-waste stockpiles between countries – broadly reflecting average income levels – the upward trend was consistent. The researchers flagged this as bad news.
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"For many countries that already lack infrastructure for environmentally sound e-waste management, the increasing volumes are a cause for concern," co-author Ruediger Kuehr says. "Increasing the burden on existing waste collection and treatment systems results in flows towards environmentally unsound recycling and disposal."
The study found that the increase in e-waste generation was driven by increasing wealth, corporate marketing and consumer desire.
South-east Asia is rapidly industrialising, producing a larger middle class with greater disposable income. As a result, more gadgets are pouring into the market, with, inevitably, a promotional drive to encourage consumers to ditch old devices in favour of shiny new ones.
The researchers identified "product fashion" as a key driver of e-waste creation, because it encouraged consumers to use devices for ever shorter periods of time before replacing them,
The increase in discarded devices has led to an explosion in poorly regulated and sometimes illegal recycling and dumping. Backyard recyclers labour to retrieve gold, silver, palladium and copper from printed circuit boards, often using hazardous chemicals to do so.
In addition, non-functional parts of gadgets are often dumped and frequently set alight causing potentially lethal pollution.