October 14 is International E-Waste Day – an opportunity to raise awareness about what the World Health Organisation calls “the next growing threat to the environment.
International E-waste Day aims to highlight the growing issue of electronic waste and promote responsible e-waste management, with this year a particular effort being made to remind people of the fact that anything with a plug, battery or cable can be recycled.
According to the United Nations, 8 kg of e-waste per person will be produced worldwide in 2023. This means 61.3 million tonnes of electronic waste discarded within a year – more than the weight of the Great Wall of China, or every commercial airliner ever built.
Less than 20 per cent of this waste, containing a mixture of harmful substances and precious materials, will be recorded as being properly collected, treated and recycled globally. The rest will either end up hoarded in homes, dumped in landfill, burned or illegally traded.
If all small old electricals that are currently hoarded in people’s homes or thrown away in general household rubbish each year were recycled, 2.8 million tonnes of CO2 emissions could be saved, the equivalent of taking 1.3 million cars off the road.
Estimates suggest on average each household in the UK could make £620 from the re-sale of their hoarded and unused electrical items.
In July this year Envision Racing unveiled its Recover E car, a full-size replica of the team’s Gen3 racing car that won the 2022-23 Formula E World Championship made entirely out of discarded e-waste.
From vapes to laptops, mobile phones to games consoles, artist Liam ‘Lazerian’ Hopkins created the functioning car which gained worldwide media attention when it was unveiled at the London E-Prix in July.
The popular YouTube channel ‘Fully Charged’ recently published an in-depth feature on the Recover E car, which can be watched below.
Envision Racing’s pioneering Race Against Climate Change™ programme aims to inspire and empower fans and the wider public to take climate action.
Through Formula E’s platform, Envision Racing exists to make electric mobility and renewable energy a global reality.
Head on over to our climate calculator to learn more about e-waste – and join over 200,000 people in making a pledge to change your habits and reduce your carbon footprint!