Each U.S. Family Trashes(traSH) 400 iPhones’ Worth of E-Waste(wāst) a Year

Each U.S. Family Trashes(traSH) 400 iPhones’ Worth of E-Waste(wāst) a Year

A new report warns(wôrn) of billions of dollars lost around the world as countries fail to recycle(rēˈsīkəl) a growing glut(glət) of electronics(ilekˈträniks,ˌēlek-) waste.

By Stephen(ˈstēvən) Leahy(lāhē)

Imagine(iˈmajən) a 176-pound (80 kilogram(ˈkiləˌgram)) pile(pīl) of discarded products with a battery or plug(pləg) in your living room. That’s how much e-waste the average(ˈav(ə)rij) American household of four throws out every year.

Around the world, as incomes rise(rīz) and prices(prīs) fall, the yearly e-waste mountain is growing, reaching 44.7 million metric(ˈmetrik) tonnes (Mt) in 2016, according to the latest data available(əˈvāləbəl), released(riˈlēs) Wednesday(-dē,ˈwenzdā). That includes old refrigerators(riˈfrijəˌrātər), television(ˈteləˌviZHən) sets, vacuum(-yəm,ˈvakˌyo͞o(ə)m) cleaners, hair dryers(ˈdrīər), mobile phones, computers, and much more. That amount would fill 1.23 million 18-wheel (40-ton) trucks(trək)—put them nose(nōz) to tail and they form a line from New York to Bangkok(baNGˈkäk,ˈbaNGˌkäk) and back.

This e-waste mountain is expected to grow another 17 percent by 2021 to 52.2 million metric tonnes. This makes it the fastest growing part of the world’s domestic(dəˈmestik) waste stream, according to “The Global E-waste Monitor 2017,“ which published Wednesday. The Monitor is a collaborative(kəˈlabərətiv) effort of the United(yo͞oˈnītid) Nations(ˈnāSHən) University (UNU), the International Telecommunication(ˌteləkəˌmyo͞oniˈkāSHən) Union(ˈyo͞onyən), and the International Solid(ˈsälid) Waste Association(-SHē-,əˌsōsēˈāSHən).

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https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/12/e-waste-monitor-report-glut/