April 19, 2015

Electronic Waste Includes Toxic Materials, Precious Metals



Plastic pollution
The Bishnumati river running through Kathmandu in Nepal. The river is full of litter and raw sewage which is emptied into the river. The local people see the river as a rubbish collection service
Rex Features


[From article]
Gold worth more than £7bn is being thrown away amid the 42 million tons of electronic and electrical equipment discarded by consumers each year, according to United Nations experts.
A report by the United Nations University (UNU) reveals that the amount of “e-waste” generated globally is increasing by two million tons a year and will reach 50 megatons by 2018 – with Britons among the planet’s biggest generators of hi-tech junk.



The study warns that less than 16 per cent of global e-waste is being diverted from landfill into recycling and reuse – representing the loss of an “urban mine” of potentially recyclable materials worth more than £34bn.


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/electronic-waste-worth-34bn-piling-up-in-toxic-mine-warns-un-report-10187364.html

Electronic waste worth £34bn piling up in 'toxic mine', warns UN report
CAHAL MILMO 
Sunday 19 April 2015

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