The amount of electronic waste generated across the globe spiked by two million metric tonnes (Mt) in 2019, resulting in a total amount of 53.6 million tonnes in just one year.
This enormous electronic pile-up of discarded phones, computers, appliances, and other gadgets tallies up to the weight of over 4 million London double-decker buses. Overall, this is estimated to have released roughly 98 million metric tonnes of CO2-equivalents into the atmosphere.
In a worldwide comparison of each continent's e-waste, a UN-backed annual report ranked Europe as the continent with the highest electronic waste generation per person, with each citizen discarding 16.2kg of e-waste in 2019. Oceania was second with 16.1kg, followed by North America with 13.3kg.
Asia was placed at the top for the highest overall e-waste output, with 24.9Mt of tech being tossed to landfill in 2019. North America followed behind in second place with 13.1Mt, Europe came third with 12Mt, while Africa and Oceania generated just 2.9Mt and 0.7Mt respectively.
Think these figures are surprising? Things are only going to get worse; e-waste shows no signs of slowing down. The rapid development of technology is leading to a shocking incline, with an overall increase of 21% in the past five years.
Researchers have predicted that the global generation of electronic waste will grow to 74.7Mt by 2030.
