New e-waste map shows the global toll of electronics

All of our used electronics are here to stay, unfortunately, we haven’t figured out what to do with them yet. A new interactive e-waste map, created by the UN partnership organization StEP Initiative, shows that the volume of our e-waste, or any disposed item with an electrical cord or battery, is growing. And the international challenge of exporting and recycling them isn’t being sufficiently addressed.

The e-waste issue is hard to grasp due to a lack of comprehensive data. Though there is considerable knowledge about the negative environmental and health impacts through primitive recycling methods, a better information about the quantitative and qualitative dimensions associated with the e-waste problem would make it more understandable and be more useful in order to better inform policy making at the private and public levels.