Every year, tons of electronic devices cross the fine line between usefulness and oblivion, becoming waste that rarely finds a second chance. But far from being worthless scrap metal, this technological waste holds an economic, environmental and social potential that the circular economy is beginning to rediscover with renewed interest. It is WEEE: Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment, an urban mine that the world is just beginning to exploit with the seriousness it deserves.
“The waste of the future is in the present”
By: Gabriel E. Levy B.
In the last two decades, humanity has consolidated a pattern of consumption that transformed electronic devices into extensions of everyday life.
From smartphones to refrigerators, the massive use of electrical appliances brought with it a logical consequence: the generation of electronic waste or WEEE, as the European Directive 2012/19/EU calls them.
The WEEE category encompasses any device that works with electrical energy and that has been discarded by its end user, either due to technical obsolescence or disuse. The list is vast: computers, televisions, printers, electronic toys, microwaves, routers, hair dryers, and a host of other products.
Their common characteristic is their complexity: they are made of multiple materials such as plastics, precious metals (gold, silver, palladium), copper, lithium, cadmium, among others.
Unlike other types of waste, WEEE requires specific treatment due to its polluting potential and its reusability.
They are highly dangerous if not managed properly, but also incredibly valuable if recovered efficiently. In her book Garbage and Value, sociologist Gay Hawkins explains how waste is also a reflection of consumer culture, but it can also represent a way to reinvent sustainability from the circular economy.
Since 2010, WEEE volumes have skyrocketed worldwide. According to the Global E-Waste Monitor 2024, humanity generated 62 million tons of e-waste in 2022 alone, a figure that is expected to rise to 82 million by 2030 if current trends are not reversed.
“Extracting without digging: the new urban mining”
At the heart of the circular economy, WEEE occupies a strategic place due to its potential to reduce the extraction of virgin raw materials and reduce the environmental impact of industrial processes. This branch of economics is committed to the redesign of the life cycle of products, proposing that waste is not the end, but the beginning of new production processes.
WEEE, containing precious metals and high-value components, has become the epicenter of what some economists call urban mining. The idea is simple: to recover from our waste the materials that were previously obtained at a high ecological cost from traditional mines. For example, according to data from the United Nations University, a ton of motherboards can contain more gold than a ton of ore extracted from a conventional mine.
But the value of WEEE is not only symbolic or environmental. It is also economic. According to estimates by the Global E-Waste Monitor 2024, the total value of the materials contained in the WEEE generated in 2022 exceeded 91,000 million dollars, of which only 17.4% was effectively recycled. The rest was simply lost, buried, incinerated or mismanaged.
This mismatch between recovery potential and operational reality reflects both an opportunity and a warning. As the economist Walter R. Stahel, a pioneer of the concept of circular economy, points out, “the key is not to produce more, but to preserve the value of what is produced for as long as possible”.
“Obsolete technology, persistent problem”
Despite the growth in global interest in electronic recycling, WEEE management continues to face structural obstacles. One of the main ones is the informality of the sector. In many countries, especially in the global south, WEEE recycling occurs in precarious conditions, with workers exposed to contaminants without adequate protection and without access to modern recycling technologies.
In addition, electronic devices are designed, for the most part, without thinking about their disassembly or reuse. So-called planned obsolescence —a business strategy that intentionally shortens the life of products—prevents efficient reuse of components, forcing consumers to discard appliances that could still function if repaired or upgraded.
The problem is compounded by the lack of specialized infrastructure. Recycling WEEE requires advanced treatment plants, know-how and adapted legislation. Without these elements, recycling is relegated to rudimentary practices or directly to the illegal export of waste to countries with lax regulations.
The environmental cost is also high. Many WEEE contain toxic materials such as mercury, lead or brominated flame retardants. When this waste is improperly managed, it pollutes soil, water, and air, affecting human health and ecosystems. WHO studies have shown how unsafe handling of WEEE can affect children’s neurological development in communities near electronic dumpsters.
“Recycling as a business: lights and shadows”
Despite the challenges, there are cases that show how WEEE can be transformed into an economic opportunity. In Europe, countries such as Germany and Sweden have developed integrated WEEE management systems that allow up to 85% of recyclable materials to be recovered. These policies combine tax incentives, strict regulations and citizen awareness campaigns.
In Latin America, Uruguay and Chile have made progress in laws that hold producers responsible for their end-of-life appliances, under the principle of extended producer responsibility. These laws seek to get companies to design products that are easier to recycle and finance their recovery.
In the private sector, companies such as ERI (Electronic Recyclers International) in the United States and Umicore in Belgium lead electronic recycling models with demanding environmental and social standards. Umicore, for example, recovers precious metals from electronic devices with an efficiency that exceeds many traditional mines, and has a turnover of more than 3,000 million euros per year, largely thanks to this activity.
Even startups in Africa, such as Ecopost in Kenya or Enviroserve in Rwanda, are developing innovative solutions to turn e-waste into reusable materials and decent employment.
In conclusion, WEEE represents a paradox of our time: garbage with value, problem with solution, waste with a future. Inserting them into a circular economy logic is not only desirable, but urgent. Instead of continuing to extract from the subsoil, we can start extracting from our waste. But for that to happen, we need regulation, investment and a citizenry aware that, many times, the real treasure is where we least expect it: in what we no longer use.
References:
- Hawkins, G. (2006). The Ethics of Waste: How We Relate to Rubbish. Rowman & Littlefield.
- Stahel, W. R. (2019). The Circular Economy: A User’s Guide.
- Global E-Waste Monitor 2024. United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), International Solid Waste Association (ISWA).
- World Health Organization (WHO), health and e-waste reports.
- European Commission, “Directive 2012/19/EU on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)”.
- Umicore Annual Report 2023.
