Rising Toxic Piles of E-Waste Amid Rapid Technology Obsolescence Raises a Red Flag, Prodding Regulatory Authorities to Take Timely Action & Tighten Recycling Norms
The global market for Electronics Recycling is projected to reach US$42.9 billion by 2025 , driven by rapid technology obsolescence and shorter product replacement cycles, concerns pertaining to environmental degradation and health due to e-waste, urgent need for stringent end-of-life regulations and the ensuing tightening of recycling norms. Since electronic waste (e-waste) or e-scrap represents one of the world’s fastest growing waste streams, its recycling is being promoted with the promise of reclaiming valuable materials such as platinum, gallium, gold, silver and copper from the recycled electronics. While e-waste has been a part of the waste management industry for a long time, the speed and volume of discarding old devices has increased at alarming proportion only in the recent years, thanks mainly to the shortened product lifecycles of electronic devices. Continuously evolving technology and emerging innovations are driving proliferation of consumer electronics, includin...