E-waste represents the world’s fastest-growing waste category & consists of any household or business item containing circuitry or electrical components powered by batteries or electricity, typically containing hazardous elements such as lead, cadmium, mercury, & nickel, as well as organic compounds like flame retardants & chlorofluorocarbons.
According to data collected by the United Nations, a staggering 62 million tonnes of e-waste was generated worldwide in 2022 but only 22.3% of this e-waste mass was documented as having been properly collected, treated and recycled. Southeast Asia alone was estimated to generate a staggering 12.3 million metric tons of e-waste in 2021, making the region's e-waste concerns a looming catastrophe. Some of the factors that have influenced these numbers include technological progress, higher levels of consumption, limited options to repair damaged electronics, shorter product life cycles, flaws in product design, and inefficient e-waste management initiatives.
To effectively combat this growing concern in Sri Lanka, LEF has awarded a grant of USD $3000 to Gap HQ, an organisation dedicated to fostering sustainable innovation and advancing environmental engineering solutions through multidisciplinary collaboration between academia and industry, specialising in research and development in environmental science, engineering, with a strong focus on sustainability and resource efficiency.
The grant will fund research in e-waste in the hopes of driving policy change and influencing public-private partnerships towards an e-waste-free Sri Lanka. The awarded grant encapsulates the following:
