A tech-jewel from reused materials
Made of computer mother board and glass, the lovely turtle pendant in our e-shop spreads the message of recycling and reusing materials. Do you recycle electric and electronic devices?
“Awareness to the problem of rising quantities of electric and electronic equipment waste is important”, she said. “181.000 tons of EEE were generated in Greece in 2019 and the collected amount was about 56.000 tons, representing 31% of the total”.
We looked into this further and here is what we learnt:
First the good news. In 2017, EU countries managed to collect and recycle at least 45% of the average weight of electric and electronic equipment (EEE) waste put on the market in the three preceding years. The next target is set to 65% and will be reported in 2021.
Now, the problems. The amounts of electronic waste has increased 3 times faster than global population during the last 5 years, according to "Global E-waste Monitor 2020" of OECD.
Greece reported the collection of 55.831 tons of Electric and Electronic Equipment (EEE) waste in 2017 (1). There is information on the breakdown of this amount of collected (see infographic), but we could not find any information on the recycling end. What happened after the collection?
There are many obstacles to reaching higher collection and recycling rates in the EU, according to a report by Ecostandard (2). They have to do with incorrect disposal of e-waste, insufficient infrastructure and inadequate recycling facilities. A lot of work needs to be done!
Next time you need to dispose an electric or electronic device, look for a collector near you – For Greece: www.electrocycle.gr and www.fotokiklosi.gr
Do not forget to check out our turtle- tech pendant here! Season’s greetings!
Sources:
(2) https://ecostandard.org/news_events/the-inconvenient-truth-about-e-waste/
Social media posts help shed light on the impacts of “turtle spotting” in Laganas bay, Zakynthos
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