According to a recent survey, more than half of people left their last smartphone at home and stopped using it. At the same time, the European Union directive sets specific targets for the collection, recycling and recycling of electronic waste to combat its accumulation. :format(webp)/nginx/o/2024/06/21/16169247t1h7a8c.jpg)
Man with a smartphone. Illustrative photo. Photo: Shutterstock
According to a recent survey, more than half of people left their last smartphone at home and stopped using it. At the same time, the European Union directive sets specific targets for the collection, recycling and recycling of electronic waste to combat its accumulation.
“The growth of Estonia's economy and increasing consumption have also led to an increase in the amount of waste from electrical and electronic equipment. Most of this waste comes from the daily use of consumer electronics such as computers, monitors, smartphones, tablets, wires and televisions,” said Piret Otsason, head of hazardous waste and producer responsibility at the Ministry of Climate Change.
The European Union Directive sets specific targets for the collection, recycling and reuse of such electronic waste. “Both manufacturers and countries must ensure that at least 65 percent of the mass of electrical and electronic equipment put on the market in the previous three years, or 85 percent of the mass of electronic scrap generated in the country, is collected annually,” Otsason explained.
For example, in 2020, approximately 24,848 tons of electronic devices were placed on the market in Estonia. In 2022, 31,300 tons of electronic devices entered the market, and in 2023 – 24,617 tons. In the European Union, the e-waste flow is growing at an average rate of 2% per year.
Despite the directive's goals, according to a study conducted in Estonia this summer, people's interest in recycling devices remains weak. “54 percent of Estonians simply left their last smartphone, which they stopped using, in a drawer. However, many of these smartphones are still in perfect condition and usable. If people, for example, rented a phone instead of buying it, there would be a guarantee that the device would be sent for recycling,” said Piret Paulus, business development manager at Inbank.
Inbank, in collaboration with iDeal, has been offering the rental service of Apple smartphones and laptops since last fall, and recently, in collaboration with ONOFF, the range of rental devices has been expanded to include Apple and Samsung smartphones and tablet computers.
“The trend of leasing products instead of owning them is growing every year across various industries. The trend of renting small electronic devices such as smartphones and laptops is supported by European Union regulations aimed at manufacturers to add value to electronics rather than turning devices into waste after the first use, Paulus explained.
In addition to offering a rental service, to combat the accumulation of e-waste, manufacturer responsibility extends to electrical and electronic equipment to support the introduction of durable, reusable and recyclable devices to the market. This means that manufacturers of problematic products are required to collect old electronic devices, as well as fund and organize the sorting and recycling of waste from their products.
