Forgotten electrical devices in focus of the international E-Waste Day

The "International E-Waste Day" of the WEEE Forum, an association of European collection systems, will take place for the seventh time on October 14th. Under the motto "Join the e-waste hunt - retrieve, recycle, and revive!", the international E-Waste Day 2024 calls on people to track down forgotten old electrical devices and dispose of them properly. The aim is to raise awareness of the treasure, the valuable resources that lie unused in drawers in our households.

Key facts about electronic waste

• According to the United Nations' current E-Waste Monitor, around 62 million tons of electronic waste were generated worldwide in 2022.
• One third are small electrical appliances, of which only 12 percent are disposed of properly.
• And this amount is growing rapidly: by 2030, the total volume is expected to rise to 82 million tons .
• In particular, small electronic products such as old cell phones or USB sticks pile up in households, often forgotten but full of valuable resources.

This year’s “International E-Waste Day” focuses on the proper disposal of these “forgotten” small electrical appliances – from broken mobile phones to worn-out cables to old games consoles.

Benefits of recycling outweigh the costs

The 2024 E-Waste Report highlights that if countries could increase e-waste collection and recycling rates to 60% by 2030, the benefits would exceed the costs by more than US$38 billion – including by minimizing human health risks.

Great dependence on rare earths

In addition, according to the E-Waste Monitor, the world remains “astonishingly dependent” on a few countries when it comes to rare earths, even though their unique properties are crucial for future technologies such as renewable energy generation and electromobility.

In Europe, 700 million old mobile phones are stored in households

Old electrical devices and batteries often end up in drawers: in European households alone, there are almost 700 million unused or worn-out mobile phones. They could and should be recycled so that the valuable materials they contain can be used.

"The correct handling of old electrical devices and batteries affects us all," emphasises UFH Managing Director Robert Töscher. "As a leading collection and recycling system in Austria, we are actively committed to raising awareness as part of E-Waste Day."

Tips for the correct handling of electronic waste

• Proper disposal, protecting the climate
  No disposal in household waste: The symbol of the crossed-out garbage can indicates that defective electrical devices and batteries may not be disposed of in household waste, but must be taken to municipal recycling centers or to return points set up by distributors or retailers. There are over 2,000 municipal collection points throughout Austria. If a new electrical device of the same type is purchased, the old one can be returned directly to the retailer free of charge. This also applies to online purchases.

• Keeping resources in circulation
  Electrical devices and batteries contain many valuable raw materials, including iron, aluminum, copper and plastics, and increasingly lithium and cobalt in small devices. These can be collected through recycling and put to new use. In addition, environmentally harmful substances such as lead and mercury are treated professionally.

• Avoid fire hazards – safely!
  Lithium batteries have an increased risk of fire. The following applies to disposal: Remove the batteries from the device, cover the contacts with tape and take them separately to a collection point. If the batteries are permanently installed, the entire device must be disposed of to avoid the risk of fire.

• Repair instead of throwing away
  Devices that are broken or no longer needed do not always have to be thrown away. It often makes more ecological sense to repair the broken parts or to pass on devices that are hardly used.