On October 13th, the first international E-Waste Day was held to promote the recycling of electronic equipment worldwide. The goal of the E-Waste Day is to raise public awareness of the recycling of e-waste.
Only 20% of electronic waste is recycled annually worldwide. This means that 40 million tonnes of e-waste will reach landfills or incineration plants. Outdated electronics are also sold to countries with inadequate waste management options even though 66% of the world’s population live in countries where e-waste legislation is in place. This results in the loss of substantial and critical raw materials in the supply chain. Illegal shipments of waste are causing serious health, environmental and social problems.
“Consumers play an important role in the recycling of e-waste. It begins with the right place and the right people for delivering e-waste” said Margus Vetsa, Member of the Management Board of EES-Ringlus.
Prior to E-Waste day, on 12 October, a media excursion was held at the Rahumäe waste station and additionally at the only electronic equipment reprocessing plant in Estonia – WeeRec OÜ.
The International E-Waste Day was launched by the WEEE Forum and their 26 members, involving 40 different organizations in 20 different countries around the world.
