13/11/2024

 

160 organizations from 47 countries on 6 continents officially joined the International E-Waste Day 2024 celebrations and countless more took part by organsing diverse awareness raising activities.

 

 According to the latest UN’s Global E-Waste Monitor, in 2022, 62 billion kg of e-waste were generated globally. This means 1.55 million trucks filled with e-waste lined up along the Earth’s equator. The quantity of e-waste is expected to rise to 82 billion kg by 2030. Currently, the amount of e-waste is growing five times faster than formal recycling collection rates since 2010.

To help tackle this global problem, and believing education is part of the answer to the e-waste issue, WEEE Forum and its members held, on 14 October 2023, the seventh edition of the International E-Waste Day. This awareness-raising event, initiated by the WEEE Forum and its members, aims to highlight the importance of the formal and responsible management of e-waste and the solutions available to each citizen within their community. Under the slogan “Retrieve, recycle and revive!”, 160 organisations from 47 countries, spread across 6 continents, officially registered and developed different kinds of activities to promote the correct treatment of electrical and electronic equipment to enable reuse, refurbishment and recycling. Countless other entities also joined the celebrations marking the day with e-waste collections, news reports and online and other awareness raising campaigns.

For the occasion, and to show that disposing of e-waste is not as complex as it seems, the WEEE Forum and its members decided to ask people from different countries what motivates them to hand over e-waste and show the CO2 savings it represents. What we found out? That just as it’s common worldwide to have a drawer full of unused equipment, it’s also common to feel happy once we’ve done the right thing by recycling it! Check out the Vox Pop video to see for yourself.

To explain the reasons behind the low global collection rates we have prepared an animation and a series of infographics based on the latest UN latest statistics. It explains the e-waste issue, trends and the recycling process in layman terms as understanding creates more inclination to act with the right attitudes.

A social media contest was also held with the idea of showing the ‘junk drawer’, a common feature in many households around the world. The participants were publishing the practical details of how they proceeded to responsibly hand over the electronics waste such drawer contained. This way social norms around e-waste recycling and ‘lead by example’ attitudes were reinforced.

The WEEE Forum members, who act as leaders of International E-Waste Day activities in the countries they cover, secured large national media coverage by hosting conferences, e-waste collections, as well as TV and radio appearances and high-level promotion on social media. The international press coverage, including articles by Associated Press, RTE Ireland, Independent, Yahoo!, la Repubblica,  Infobae and many other national news wires and influential media news outlets worldwide resulted in an estimated reach of nearly 2 billion people. Over 1,217 articles appeared in the press covering 60 countries and 19 languages.

Pascal Leroy, Director General of the WEEE Forum, expressed his satisfaction with the results of the campaign, “Seeing such broad participation in International E-Waste Day—from major corporations, authorities, and international organisations to small businesses, schools, universities, NGOs, and other key players in the e-waste sector—demonstrates that collaboration across all levels is achievable. We are optimistic that the momentum and opportunities generated will drive more effective action in addressing the e-waste challenge”.

A short overview of all the activities can be found below:

The infographics, animations, videos and other materials prepared for this edition of the International E-Waste Day can be found here.