According to the UN report, we produced 53.6 million tons of e-waste in 2019. Less than 20 percent of it was collected and professionally recycled. What happened to the rest is uncertain. But it is assumed, that a lot of electronics ends up in garages or basements and never reaches recycling yards. We know also, that companies resell e-waste on a grand scale from countries like US, Germany or UK to nations like Ghana, India or Brazil. There the e-waste ends up in landfills, handled unprofessionally, poisoning humans and environment. Yet old devices are real gold mines: smartphones, laptops, refrigerators contain valuable metals and rare earths, their recycling is economically and ecologically worthwhile. So it is time to develop new solutions for how we deal with e-waste – one includes blockchain, that allows us to make the recycling process traceable for consumers.
My name is Nina Schmulius. I am a writer, lecturer and founder of 7479c. I started my research about electronic waste and its impact a year ago and I am now on my way to shape a business model involving distributed ledger technology to empower people to think about waste and start... Read More →
