Why the 5G revolution is expected to generate a global cataract of electronic waste. "This is bigger than the passage from black and white to color, larger than the analog to digital step," said an e-waste expert on the hundreds of millions of equipment that will become obsolete.
Once that smartphone was the best on the market and the consumer used it with a mixture of fascination and pride. It had a camera with 8 megapixels and a storage capacity of 16 gigabytes, bluetooth and headphones with cable, a screen with 1280 by 720 pixels of resolution and supported the 3G band. Today it is part of the 152 million telephones that are thrown per year only in the United States, and that contain more than USD 60 million in gold and silver components, among other valuable metals.
In developed countries every year, 21 kilos of electronic waste are thrown, on average and per person. In the world only between 12.5% and 20% of the 50 million metric tons of annual electronic waste is recycled, according to the Statistics Society of E-Waste Global, which also predicted that this figure could grow to 120 million by 2050. But the arrival of the 5G network could make that figure even higher.
5G revolution generates electronic waste global cataract
"In our society we always have to have the best and newest product," Aaron Blum, co-founder and operator of ERI, the largest US company dedicated to the destruction and recycling of electronic materials, with capacity to process more than 500, told Time. tons.
"The consumption cycle made e-waste the fastest-growing stream of solid waste in the world," the article added. On the one hand, every time something new is bought, something old is thrown away; on the other hand, there are more and more products, which is why Americans spent five times more money in 2017 than in 2010 on phones alone.
"The current is expected to become a torrent when the world moves to 5G, the next big step in wireless technology," the text continued. "The 5G network promises more speed and other benefits, but experts say it will also cause a drastic increase in electronic waste, since millions of smartphones, modems and other devices incompatible with 5G will become obsolete."
Another co-founder of ERI, which is its executive director, John Shegerian, warned: "I do not think people understand the magnitude of the transition, this is bigger than the passage from black and white to color, bigger than the analog step. to digital, by far ".
The fraction of e-waste that is reduced to hammering (televisions and other large electronics) or disassembled carefully (hazardous components such as lithium-ion batteries) ends in copper, aluminum, steel and plastic piles. But the great majority, in general four-fifths, ends up incinerated or as a filling.
"That's bad, because electronic waste contains harmful materials such as mercury and beryllium, which present environmental risks," said Time. Although it accounts for only 2% of total waste in the United States, e-waste produces 70% of total toxic waste and 40% of heavy metals in landfills. In 2014, when 41.8 million metric tons of this waste were exported, the large scale of the problem also reached the developing countries that receive it.
"One solution is to make the electronics last as before," the article proposed. "But technology companies accelerate the pace of obsolescence Most batteries can not be easily replaced once they cease to retain their charge;. The new laptops do not accept old cables, software firms impose updates that do not work on devices old".
In the few places where there are rules about recycling of e-waste, sometimes the consumer can receive a payment for leaving your old device, but others have to pay the cost of sending it to the manufacturer. Many times the old electronics are simply stacked in a closet, along with other disused things.