DoomsdaysCW<p>ICYMI - From 2017</p><p>Levels of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EWaste" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>EWaste</span></a> soar in <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Asia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Asia</span></a> as gadgets become affordable, UN says</p><p>Amount of electronic waste up 63% in five years, with China’s more than doubling, United Nations University report finds</p><p>Agence France-Presse<br>Sun 15 Jan 2017 11.29 EST</p><p>"Levels of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ElectronicWaste" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ElectronicWaste</span></a> are rising sharply across <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Asia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Asia</span></a>, as higher incomes mean hundreds of millions of people can afford <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/smartphones" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>smartphones</span></a> and other <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/gadgets" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>gadgets</span></a>, according to a UN study.</p><p>"The amount of e-waste in Asia has risen by 63% in five years, a report by United Nations University said, warning of the need to improve <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/recycling" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>recycling</span></a> and disposal methods across the region to prevent serious <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/environmental" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>environmental</span></a> and health consequences.</p><p>"Ruediger Kuehr, the report’s co-author and head of UNU’s sustainable cycles programme, said: 'For many countries that already lack infrastructure for environmentally sound e-waste management, the increasing volumes are a cause for concern.'</p><p>"For many years, China and other Asian countries have recycled discarded electronics from wealthier countries in rudimentary and often unsafe factories. </p><p>"But the report said Asia has become a major source of e-waste due to increasingly affluent <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/consumers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>consumers</span></a> buying electronic items including <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/phones" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>phones</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/tablets" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>tablets</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/refrigerators" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>refrigerators</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/computers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>computers</span></a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/televisions" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>televisions</span></a>.</p><p>"China’s generation of e-waste more than doubled between 2010 and 2015, the period of the study, according to the report.</p><p>"<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/HongKong" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>HongKong</span></a> generated the highest amount of e-waste in Asia in 2015, an average of 21.7kg (3.4st) per person.</p><p>"<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Singapore" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Singapore</span></a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Taiwan" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Taiwan</span></a> created just over 19kg per person in 2015.</p><p>"<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Cambodia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Cambodia</span></a>, <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Vietnam" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Vietnam</span></a> and the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Philippines" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Philippines</span></a> were among the lowest e-waste generators, with an average of about 1kg per person."</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jan/15/electronic-e-waste-levels-soar-asia-gadgets-united-nations-university-report" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">theguardian.com/environment/20</span><span class="invisible">17/jan/15/electronic-e-waste-levels-soar-asia-gadgets-united-nations-university-report</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Consumerism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Consumerism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Capitalism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Capitalism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Crapitalism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Crapitalism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/PlannedObsolescence" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PlannedObsolescence</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SupportLegacyProducts" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SupportLegacyProducts</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Landfills" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Landfills</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RightToRepair" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RightToRepair</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnvironmentalRacism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>EnvironmentalRacism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/WaterIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>WaterIsLife</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/SoilIsLife" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>SoilIsLife</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/RepairReuseRecycle" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>RepairReuseRecycle</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Consumerism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Consumerism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Anticonsumerism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Anticonsumerism</span></a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EnvironmentalPollution" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>EnvironmentalPollution</span></a></p>