In 2019, some 53.6 million tonnes of electronic and electrical waste (e-waste) were generated worldwide, a 21 percent increase over the past five years. Global e-waste generation is projected to grow to 74.7 million tonnes by 2030.
This is the first comprehensive World Health Organization (WHO) report on the dimensions of the e-waste problem, including the pathways through which children are exposed, the health effects associated with the different pathways of exposure, and actions that the health sector can take alongside other sectors to confront this new and insidious health risk globally, nationally and locally.
The report shows that children and pregnant women working in the informal e-waste recycling industry or living in neighboring communities are among the most at risk of exposure to hazardous chemicals. Based on the most recent estimates, between 2.9 and 12.9 million women may be at risk from exposure to toxic e-waste through their work in the informal waste sector and over 18 million children (11.9 percent) in industries of which waste processing is a subsector. An estimated 73 million children worldwide are working in hazardous labor, with still uncounted numbers in the informal waste recycling sector. The study also shows that children are at risk of chemical exposure even before they are born. For pregnant women working or living near e-waste sites, fetal exposure to toxicants, even at very low doses can have short-term impacts on the pregnancy and long-term impacts on the health of newborns and later in childhood or in adult life.
The study also calls for more action by the global, national, and local health sectors in order to place the e-waste issue at the centre of health agendas and stimulate more effective and binding actions by e-waste importers, exporters and governments. It recommends that the overarching goals include the following:
- Ensuring the health and safety of e-waste workers and communities in systems that train and protect workers and monitor exposure and health outcomes, with children’s protection of the highest priority;
- Improving sound environmental health practices for disposal, recapture, and reuse of materials;
- Shifting to a circular economy through manufacture of more durable electronic and electrical equipment, using safer and less toxic materials, and sustainable consumption leading to reduction of e-waste;
- Mainstreaming health-conscious and environmentally aware management of e-waste throughout the lifecycle, with reference to the Basel Convention, appropriate regional conventions, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on waste management; and
- Promoting decent work for e-waste workers across the value chain (collection, processing, recycling and resale), including incorporation of informal workers into the formal economy and the complete elimination of child labour.