ViaTeK Solutions is proud to celebrate International E-Waste Day on October 14th! This day brings awareness to the global electronic waste (e-waste) crisis.
According to the United Nations, less than 20% of e-waste gets recycled correctly. The rest often gets dumped in landfills, where it can leach harmful toxins into the ground. Sometimes, e-waste might get outsourced to be recycled by hand in developing countries, exposing the workers to serious health problems like respiratory diseases.
Tackling the growing e-waste problem is crucial.
WHAT IS INTERNATIONAL E-WASTE DAY?
The WEEE Forum created international E-Waste Day in 2018 as a call to action for individuals, businesses, and governments to do their part in recycling e-waste.
The WEEE Forum is an international organization that works to improve electronic waste’s environmental and social impacts. One of their key goals is to increase the recycling rate of e-waste to 80% by 2030. ViaTeK Solutions is excited to be a part of that goal.
WHY IS INTERNATIONAL E-WASTE DAY IMPORTANT?
International E-Waste Day shines a spotlight on the growing global e-waste crisis. Each year, the world produces more electronic waste than the year prior. If we don’t take action now, the problem will only get worse as technology continues to evolve and grow in quantity.
The volume of e-waste is increasing, and the types of electronic waste are also becoming more complex. As technology advances, we’re seeing an increase in the use of rare earth metals and other materials that are difficult to recycle and don’t naturally replenish at the rate of our demand.
THE IMPACT OF INTERNATIONAL E-WASTE DAY ON CORPORATE ELECTRONIC RECYCLING
Corporations are often the biggest culprits when it comes to electronic waste. They produce the most e-waste and are often the least likely to recycle it properly.
However, International E-Waste Day endeavors to change that. Last year, 172 organizations from around the world participated in #ewasteday. This year, the number is expected to grow.
As more businesses become aware of the e-waste problem, they’re taking steps to recycle their electronic waste responsibly. Furthermore, they’re working with electronic recycling companies like ViaTeK Solutions to ensure that their e-waste is recycled ethically and domestically.
RECYCLE IT ALL, NO MATTER HOW SMALL!
The 2022 International E-waste Day slogan is “recycle it all, no matter how small!” The campaign focuses on small electronic items that get overlooked in electronics recycling. The goal is to increase awareness of recycling all electronic waste.
WHAT CAN YOU DO ON INTERNATIONAL E-WASTE DAY?
Your company can do many things to celebrate and honor the efforts of International E-Waste Day. Here are a few ideas:
- Educate your employees about the importance of electronic recycling
- Commit to recycling all electronic waste responsibly
- Partner with a trusted electronic recycling company like ViaTeK Solutions
- Encourage your employees to donate their used electronics to charity
GLOBAL E-WASTE STATISTICS
Global e-waste is a staggering problem. The world produces an estimated 57 million tons of electronic waste annually. If global trends continue, that number could reach 120 million by 2050.
To put it in perspective, E-waste is growing at three times the rate of general municipal waste.
Here are a few more alarming e-waste statistics:
- Each year, the US produces enough electronic waste to fill the Empire State Building two and a half times over.
- The U.S. exports 10 – 40% of its e-waste.
- Recycling one million phones lets you recover “35 thousand pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold, and 33 pounds of palladium.”
- E-waste is valuable. One ton of circuit boards contains up to 800% more gold than a ton of ore. There’s up to 40% more copper.
- Up to 7% of the gold on earth gets used in e-waste
RECYCLE YOUR E-WASTE RESPONSIBLY
Investing in electronic waste recycling is essential for modern corporations. It’s not only the right thing to do but also good for business.
Recycling electronic waste reduces your company’s carbon footprint and helps to preserve the environment. It also protects your company from data breaches and potential liability.
When you recycle electronic waste with ViaTeK Solutions, you can be confident that your e-waste will get recycled responsibly. We are a certified electronic recycler that follows all federal, state, and local regulations.
Contact us today to learn more about our electronic liquidation and recycling services. We have the experience and expertise to recycle your e-waste responsibly and ethically.
Happy International E-Waste Day!
