BERLIN–The mountain of refrigerators, cellphones, TV sets and other electrical waste disposed of annually worldwide is forecast to grow by a third by 2017, according to a UN study.E-waste–defined as anything with a battery or a cord–can pose a big problem because it often contains substances that are harmful to humans and the environment if not properly treated. On the other hand, some of it can be profitably recycled.
A UN think tank dedicated to the issue estimates that the amount of e-waste will rise from almost 48.9 million metric tons (53.9 million tons) in 2012 to 65.4 million metric tons (72.09 million tons) in 2017. That's nearly 200 times the weight of the Empire State Building.The US dumped the most last year, generating 9.4 million metric tons of e-waste, followed by China with 7.3 million metric tons.
Per capita the US was even further ahead, with almost 30 kilograms (66 pounds) of high-tech trash for China's 5.4 kilograms (12 pounds).The global average is 7 kilograms (15 pounds) per person.
AP