A study carried out by the United Nations University in Japan has revealed that the amount of e-waste in the Eastern and SouthEastern parts of Asia has increased by 63% between 2010 and 2015. The waste currently sitting at 12.3 million tonnes has Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and the Chinese Mainland as major waste generators.
The huge surge in e-waste has been attributed to the rapid rate at which the middle class in countries like China is growing. People can now afford to buy more electronics and easily replace faulty ones or outdated ones. It has also become cheaper and easier to import products.
According to the research, some countries don’t have e-waste laws or don’t enforce them. It is also not unusual to see people uneducated about proper disposal of electronic wastes and those who are educated find it difficult to do so since recycling locations are far and few.
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It is not all that bad though as countries like Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are doing well when it comes to e-waste management. Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and China have created laws related to e-waste disposal recently and should get better as public awareness increases.
