UN: E-waste levels surge 20% in five years

Old mobile phones fill a bin at a warehouse in Beringen, Belgium. The world’s mountain of discarded flat-screen TVs, cellphones and other electronic goods grew to a record high last year, according to an annual report released on July 2. — AP

PARIS: Humans discarded more than 50 million tonnes of electronic waste last year – an increase of 20% in just five years – making tech refuse the world’s fastest growing waste problem, the United Nations said on July 2.

In its annual report on e-waste – tossed away smartphones, computers, white goods and electronic car parts – the UN said that materials worth more than US$55bil (RM235.78bil) were being wasted every year.