By Reaven D’Souza
Managing Editor
Humanity generates an appalling amount of waste each year. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 2020 the world generated around 2.25 billion tons (2.25 trillion kilos) of municipal solid waste (MSW), or everyday items that we use and then discard as garbage. Unless this crisis is addressed effectively, the total MSW is expected to nearly double to 3.34 billion tons by 2050, causing catastrophic impacts on the health of people and planet.
Worldwide, waste generated per person per day averages 0.77 kilogram, but this varies widely between countries, with more per capita waste generated in developed high-income countries and less so in developing nations. Only around 55 percent of global waste is managed in controlled facilities, the rest is either untreated or mismanaged, posing a hazard that threatens lives and livelihoods.
To put the enormity of global waste in perspective, the 2.25 billion tons generated in 2020 is equivalent to the combined weight of around 375 Great Pyramid of Giza, which is estimated to weigh around 6 million tons. Annual global waste includes, among others, around 14 million metric tonnes (Mt) of plastic waste that eventually enters our aquatic ecosystems, over 930 Mt of food that is lost or wasted at the consumer level, and more than 53 Mt of electrical and electronic waste, or e-waste.
The 53 Mt of e-waste recorded in 2020, which is predicted to increase by over 70 percent to reach 75 Mt in 2030, makes e-waste the world’s fastest-growing domestic waste stream. Only around 18 percent of this e-waste is documented as being collected and recycled, the remaining 82 percent is undocumented and possibly ends up in landfills or being exported by high-income countries for unregulated and improper recycling in developing nations.
E-waste lying unattended in landfills poses a health threat to individuals and the natural habitat, as hazardous chemicals from the waste contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and could over time leach down into the soil, endangering plant life and polluting groundwater supplies. Also, with nearly 82 percent of e-waste not collected or recycled in 2020, the high-value, recoverable materials present in them such as gold, silver and copper end up in landfills or being incinerated.
Considering the impact of waste on other world crises such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, it is heartening, even if belatedly, that the UN General Assembly decided that, beginning from this year, the 30th of March will be marked annually as International Day of Zero Waste. The Day aims to raise awareness among the public on how the waste crisis is undermining the Earth’s ability to sustain life in all forms.
Day of Zero Waste also draws focus on how zero-waste initiatives can foster sound waste management and minimize and prevent waste, protect environments, enhance food security, improve human health and well being, and help address various global crises. In addition, the Day seeks to encourage everyone to prevent and minimize waste, as well as promote a societal shift towards a circular and sustainable economy.
In Kuwait, a study conducted in 2020, by the Global E-waste Statistics Partnership (GESP), which is managed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), estimated that the country generated around 74,000 tonnes of e-waste, and that the electric and electronic equipment (EEE) placed on market (PoM) was 100,000 tonnes. On a per capita basis, the e-waste generated in Kuwait was 15.8 kilogram per inhabitant (kg/inh) and EEE put on market was 21.4kg/inh.
The high per capita e-waste in Kuwait places the country among the top e-waste generators in the region. Given this less than commendable distinction, it is interesting that young people in Kuwait are taking the lead in recycling initiatives. Enviroserve Kuwait, a startup by young nationals and funded by the National Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises, has set out to reduce the e-waste problem in the country, as well as support local industries to decrease their waste footprint, by opening what is the country’s first e-waste recycling facility.
With their public e-waste collection bins located at key locations, Enviroserve aims to reduce the irresponsible dumping of e-waste in garbage. People can also schedule the pickup of recyclable items by contacting the company directly. Among the e-waste they pick up are large equipment such as refrigerators, TVs and washing machines, as well as smaller appliances, including microwaves, blenders, computers, printers, mobile phones, tablets and lighting equipment.
A lack of awareness among the public about e-waste and its proper use and disposal has hampered e-waste management in Kuwait. The need to increase awareness was highlighted by a recent survey among citizens and residents in the country. The study revealed that, while 33 percent of people were keen to sort their electronic waste, only 10 percent were aware of appropriate ways to dispose of e-waste such as used mobile phones,or computers.
The study, conducted by the Sabah Al-Ahmad Center for Environmental Training at Kuwait Environmental Protection Society, also showed that nearly 40 percent of respondents did periodic sorting of e-waste at home and donated electronic items they did not need; 9.6 percent said that they just threw away the items they did not need; and less than one percent said they kept the unused items at home.
More interestingly, when asked about their knowledge of the fate of waste in Kuwait, the most-selected answer among respondents was, “I do not know”. The low level of awareness among consumers about the e-waste they generate, points to a potential increase in unbridled consumption and disposal of EEE in future. The survey points to the need to increase public awareness, and to start at a young age by conducting seminars and awareness programs in schools.
This year, on the first International Day of Zero Waste, the United Nations Environment Programme Regional Office for West Asia (UNEP-ROWA) in collaboration with the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) published the ‘2050 Electronic and Electrical Waste Outlook in West Asia’. The outlook provides projections of e-waste generation and challenges of managing e-waste in the economically diverse West Asia region, which encompasses Kuwait, and the other five Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, as well as Yemen, Iraq, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon and Syria.
The report finds that an estimated 1.5 Mt of e-waste was generated in the West Asia region in 2020, and that, without access to proper management, nearly 99.9 percent of this waste ended up in landfills causing severe health and environmental impacts. The study also warned that in a ‘Business as Usual’ scenario, the e-waste generated in the region over the next 30 years could more than double to between 3.1–3.9 Mt by 2050.
The UN report pointed out that rather than being sent to landfills, e-waste could be managed in an environmentally sound manner, and should be treated as a valuable resource that can be utilized for economic growth of the country. Proper e-waste management also creates new jobs and investment opportunities, and contributes to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), especially SDG 11 on making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, and SDG 12 on ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns.
The UN report puts forward several recommendations and opportunities for transitioning from a linear economy toward a circular economy. In a linear economy, which is the traditional economic model, raw materials are extracted, processed and transformed into products that consumers use until discarding them as waste, with no concern for their ecological footprint and consequences.
In contrast, a circular economy manages e-waste in an environmentally sound manner and utilizes e-waste as a source for economic, social, and environmental benefits. It reduces material use, redesigns materials, products, and services to be less resource intensive, and recaptures ‘waste’ as a resource to manufacture new materials and products. A transition toward a circular economy will reduce both the amount of EEE placed on the market, as well as e-waste generation.
The report, which assesses the future of e-waste management in the region up until 2050, projects two contrasting scenarios — Business as Usual (BaU), and Circular Economy (CE). Under the BaU scenario both the amount of EEE placed on market (POM) and e-waste generation in the region will more than double by 2050. In this scenario, EEE POM increases from 2.2 Mt in 2020 to reach a potential high of 7.5 Mt in the year 2050, while the e-waste generated increases from 1.5 Mt in 2020 to around 3.9 Mt in 2050.
Under the alternate CE scenario, products become more durable, are shared and reused more, and are managed in an environmentally sound manner when becoming e-waste, while the population still has access to the same functionality that EEE can offer under the BaU scenario. The CE scenario could have a 33 percent decrease in EEE POM as compared to the BaU scenario, and also have a 14 percent decrease in e-waste generated as compared to BaU by 2050.
The report notes that, to realize the benefits of the CE scenario, a considerable effort must be made in capital investments to set up e-waste management infrastructure, develop the right legislation, and raise consumer awareness of the issue across the entire West Asia region. Strong long-term binding targets, aiming to reach 100 percent e-waste collection rates by 2050 (or preferably earlier), are the only way to slow down and reverse the growth of the unmanaged e-waste.
Consumers, producers and the authorities have a key role in the sustainable and environmentally sound management of e-waste. Enhancing collection systems, increasing reuse and recycling facilities for e-waste, producing electrical and electronic equipment that have longer lifespans, and enhancing efforts to raise awareness among consumers in the region are all vital in addressing the e-waste challenge.
The UN report will hopefully inspire policymakers, the private sector, and other stakeholders in Kuwait and the region to take appropriate measures to manage their e-waste in an environmentally sound manner, thereby protecting the people and the environment from adverse impacts of e-waste, and ensuring the sustainable development of the country and region.
Unlike other challenges facing Kuwait that need intervention by the government or parliament, e-waste is one problem that we can do something about and help mitigate at the individual level. So let us all resolve to be prudent in our consumption patterns and to reduce, reuse and recycle our electrical and electronic equipment. Our children and future generations will thank us for this foresight.
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