Repair or replace: The impact of e-waste

As the fastest growing solid waste stream in the world, between 50 and 60 million tons of e-waste is produced each year, less than 20% of which is properly recycled. More than three-quarters of global e-waste is sent to countries in Africa and Asia, wreaking havoc on the health and environmental conditions of local communities.  

In this article, we explore some of the surprising statistics on e-waste, its impact on human health and the environment, and the legislation in place to promote more sustainable production and disposal.

What is e-waste?

E-waste stands for electronic waste, and refers to discarded electrical and electronic devices and equipment. It can also be known as waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE).  

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies e-waste into ten categories:

Why is there so much e-waste? 

The electronics sector is booming. Alongside traditional electronic products, functionality is now being added to day-to-day appliances and accessories such as smartwatches, fridges with video cameras and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities, electric vehicles, and many more. This is not only taking these products into new areas of compliance, it’s also creating many more products and product components that fall into the product and therefore waste category.   

As new products are developed, consumers are encouraged to upgrade to the latest versions. The Apple iPhone is a good example of rising volumes. Apple sold 1.4 million units in 2007. By 2023, this had risen to 231 million units sold worldwide, driven by the regular release of new ‘improved’ models with only minor changes from generation to generation.  

For consumers, “perceived obsolescence” encourages the take up of replacement products even when a device is functioning optimally. This perceived obsolescence, combined with a consumer culture of replacement over repair, and a desire to have an always-new and always-better model, is resulting in surging volumes of e-waste and damage to the environment. By 2030, e-waste volumes are projected to hit 81.6 million tons in the US alone.

Impact of e-waste on human health

Electrical and electronic products contain many chemicals which can permeate the air, soil, and water at recycling sites and surrounding neighborhoods. Treating e-waste inappropriately has the potential to release more than 1,000 different chemicals into the environment, including harmful neurotoxicants such as lead, dioxin, and mercury. Once these chemicals are present in the environment, they can spread, causing harm to animals, humans, and plant life.  

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the “10 Chemicals of Major Public Health Concern” include: 

1. Hazardous pesticides 
2. Air pollution 
3. Arsenic 
4. Asbestos 
5. Benzene 
6. Cadmium 
7. Dioxin 
8. Inadequate or excess fluoride 
9. Lead 
10. Mercury 

A 2021 review on the health consequences of exposure to e-waste reported that those living in areas where e-waste is generated “had significantly elevated levels of heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants.” These toxic chemicals affect neonatal growth and hormone levels, making children and pregnant women the most vulnerable. 

Furthermore, a WHO report states e-waste exposure can lead to cancer, miscarriages, stillbirths, adverse birth outcomes, neurocognitive issues, decreased lung function, cardiovascular disease, damaged DNA, and impaired thyroid function.  

Other impacts of e-waste

The environmental damage of e-waste is widespread, especially when chemicals released during improper electronic recycling penetrate our soil and water supplies. These can be dissolved through rainfall to then enter other waterways, acidifying rivers, poisoning wildlife, and contaminating drinking water.  

Additionally, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are nonbiodegradable carcinogenic chemicals. When they enter waterways, POPs bioaccumulate in marine life, polluting seafood. And when they’re released into the air through processes, POPs increase the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the environment. 

With 75-80% of e-waste being shipped to Africa and Asia, the environmental cost of westernized waste is felt disproportionately among local communities. To cope with the huge quantities being exported, e-waste is often burned in the open air, causing mercury, hydrochloric, nitric and other acids to be released into the atmosphere. 

And when e-waste isn’t recycled properly, valuable resources are lost. The Global E-waste Monitor (2020) report estimates that USD 57 billion of recoverable gold, silver, platinum, and other precious metals is lost in unrecycled e-waste. Losing out on those metals results in further mining to extract replacements.

Solutions to e-waste

In addition to the proper treatment and recycling of e-waste, other efforts are needed to combat rising volumes and to mitigate the pollutive impacts around the world.  

Many regions have begun implementing legislation to hold businesses and households accountable for the waste they generate. In the EU, multiple directives seek to promote more sustainable production of EEE and to control the type of hazardous substances that could enter the environment.  

In the US and Europe, right to repair laws are coming into play to allow consumers to repair electronic products themselves, at a lower cost, rather than having to return them to the manufacturer or buy an alternative. Further, stricter regulations on batteries and battery safety are under discussion in the EU and several US states to protect children and other consumers.

Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)

In the EU, 13.5 million tons of electrical and electronic equipment is put on the market yearly, and 4.9 million tons of e-waste collected. The WEEE Directive aims to promote sustainable consumption by preventing electrical wastage, encouraging reuse and recycling, and improving the environmental performance of EEE. 

The WEEE Directive lays out the following objectives: 

• Requires the separate collection and proper treatment of WEEE, monitored through targets for collection, recovery and recycling 
• Helps EU countries fight illegal waste exports by making it harder for exporters to disguise illegal shipments 
• Reduces the administrative burden by calling for the harmonization of national EEE registers and reporting
  

Restriction of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (RoHS)

Also in the EU, and working in conjunction with the WEEE Directive, the RoHS Directive restricts the use of 10 substances:  

1. Lead 
2. Cadmium 
3. Mercury 
4. Hexavalent chromium 
5. Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) 
6. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) 
7. Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) 
8. Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) 
9. Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) 
10. Diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP) 

All products containing electronic components must comply with these restrictions. The RoHS Directive ultimately aims to reduce the type of substances that will end up in landfill to protect the environment and human health from contaminants and toxicants

Right to Repair

The Right to Repair Act in the EU and US mandates that consumers can turn to product manufacturers to repair their product for a reasonable price even after the legal warranty period. The Act also rules that manufacturers must make spare parts, tools, and repair information available to consumers, so they can fix products themselves.  

In the EU, the Right to Repair law was adopted in April 2024 to strengthen the repair market and reduce repair costs for consumers. Each Member State is required to implement a minimum of one measure to promote repairs, such as vouchers, information, repair courses, and direct support.  

In the US, New York became the first state to sign the Digital Fair Repair Act into law, effective July 2023. The bill establishes that consumers have a right to manuals, diagrams, diagnostics, and parts from manufacturers to repair their own devices, at a much cheaper cost. The Act aims to save New York citizens approximately USD 330 annually.  

In addition to the right to repair legislations, the Act highlights the need for companies to focus on providing durable technology and promoting repairing over replacing.

Stricter battery regulations

As a constant component in almost every electronic device or appliance, batteries have been under further scrutiny this year. Until recently, batteries were only subject to a few global regulations, including: 

• Restrictions on mercury in the US via Public Law 104-142, in the EU via the Batteries Directive 2006/66/EC, and the Minamata Convention globally 
• Restrictions on cadmium in the EU and labeling for lead  
• Extended producer responsibility (EPR) requirements in the EU 

Now, as technology continues to evolve, there’s been a renewed focus on battery regulations for both safety and waste.
 

EU

The EU issued the batteries regulation, establishing a framework to restrict additional chemicals in production to manage the sustainability, performance, safety, and “second life” of batteries. 

By 31 December 2027, the European Commission is expected to submit a report to the European Parliament identifying additional substances in batteries that could negatively impact human health, the environment, or the recycling process.  

The regulation also requires batteries in equipment and appliances to be removable by the end-user using commercially available tools, mandating that companies redesign any products with inaccessible batteries.
 

US

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued new rules on batteries to implement Reese’s Law to protect children from choking hazards concerning button cell or coin batteries.  

Consumer products with these battery types must comply with the Standard for Safety for Products Incorporating Button Batteries or Coin Cell Batteries (ANSI/UL 4200A:2023), which mandates the following: 

• Replaceable button cell or coin batteries must be secured in such a way that they require tools or at least two independent and simultaneous hand movements to open 
• Button cell or coin battery compartments must remain inaccessible after use and abuse testing 
• Warnings must appear on the packaging, product itself, and any accompanying instructions 

Additionally, New York and San Francisco have also recently enacted battery safety legislation for lithium-ion batteries.  

Beyond regulations

Besides regulations, companies are being encouraged to place greater emphasis on producing durable technology with safer chemicals and processes, and to have a lifelong commitment to reducing waste through reusable and recyclable materials. Combating e-waste needs to start from the beginning of the supply chain.  

Further, consumers practicing caution and being more conscious of their purchases, as well as taking better care of electronics, will inevitably help reduce the volumes of appliances and equipment being sent to landfill.