As Dr. Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization puts it, the world faces a mounting “tsunami of e-waste” that poses risks to our lives and health. “E-waste”, short for “electronic waste”, refers to all forms of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) that have neared the end of their useful life and are ready to be discarded or recycled. Global e-waste generation has skyrocketed in both volume and per capita measures for the past few years. According to the Global E-waste Statistics Partnership, 53.6 million tons of e-waste has been generated in the five years up to 2019, with total volumes growing by 21%. 

A key cause of this ever-expanding issue is the increasing demand for electronic goods in the consumer market. As social trends lean towards possessing certain electronic goods, devices are being replaced faster than ever as older gadgets become “out of trend” and are considered “less fashionable.” The ongoing use of illegal disposal methods further contributes to the prolonged piling of e-waste. Only about 20% of global e-waste is formally recycled, and the remaining 80% is often dumped in landfills (“open dumping”), improperly incinerated (“open burning”), or traded through unlicensed businesses (“backyard recycling”). 

What makes the e-waste crisis a serious concern? The growing volumes and increasing acts of improper e-waste disposal cause open exposure to all of its metal components, leading to numerous problems such as carcinogenic emissions from burning heavy metal-laden, plastic-encased electronics, neurological damage, and muscle degeneration in people and animals. Considering such threats, local governments -also stakeholders- are entitled to imposing appropriate regulations and management systems, although only a few in the region do. In addition, whether or not electronics companies in East Asia should respond to this environmental issue also remains a heated controversy. Do these companies care about the e-waste crisis as much as they care about their profits? Their current attitudes seem to imply a “no” as an answer to that question, yet an immediate change of answer to “yes” is necessary. The e-waste crisis is no longer an approaching concern, but a current one - one that should be dealt with now. 

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