“Major health and environment impacts as unwanted gadgets pile up”

Discarded electronic devices are piling up across Southeast Asia, and risky methods of disposal are causing major environmental and health concerns, a UN report has revealed…

As incomes and living standards rise, there has been a marked increased in the use of smartphones and other electronic devices across the region. And as technology rapidly progresses, gadgets quickly become obsolete and are discarded without seeing much use.

Poorer countries often lack the government regulation necessary to ensure proper waste disposal and rely on informal recycling, or “backyard recycling”…

The common practices of burning electronics and using “acid baths” in these countries to recycle materials has profound negative impacts on the health of those processing the products. According to the report, these include reduced lung function, birth defects, stunted childhood growth and mental health issues…

According to Sara Behdad, an engineering professor at the University of Buffalo and e-waste expert, solving the issue of electronic waste falls into two categories: more intuitive product design and smarter consumer behaviour. Electronic products, she said, should be made easier to disassemble and built to be repaired, not thrown away…