DESPITE the accelerated shift to digital, electronic and electrical equipment sales during the first three quarters last year plunged—and the low- and middle-income countries suffered deeper cuts compared to high-income nations, a United Nations report revealed.
In a study entitled, “The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on E-waste in the First Three Quarters of 2020,” UN noted that low- and middle-income countries saw their electronics sales slide by 30 percent while high-income countries booked a 5-percent decline for the period.
With this, UN e-waste researchers see a decline of 4.9 million metric tons (MMT) in sales-related e-waste, which is about 6.4 percent less than the “business as usual” scenario.
Sales of heavy electric appliances—refrigerators, washing machines and ovens, among others—registered the steepest fall at 6 percent to 8 percent based on worldwide data.
Small information technology and telecommunications equipment sales—such as laptops, cell phones and gaming equipment—were slashed by 1.4 percent globally. Broken down, the sales for this segment dipped in low- and middle-income countries while high-income countries saw an increase.
Dr. Ruediger Kuehr, director at UN University’s Sustainable Cycles Program (SCYCLE), described the scenario as the “digital divide” in the pandemic, noting that it has been increasing.
“The ability to adapt to digitization and earn a living or simply to own and benefit from electronics is decreasing in some parts of the world,” he said. “Covid-19 also revealed a digital divide in high-come countries, where many poor are left behind.”
Northern Africa, Western Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia saw the biggest decrease in electronics sales for the period, UN noted, adding these regions have many low- and middle-income countries.
The UN report explained that electronics consumption declined in the first three quarters of 2020 in Northern Africa and Western Asia. The same is for Sub-Saharan Africa, but the think tank noted that the second quarter saw a further decline at 40 percent. While Central Asia saw an uptick in consumption during the third quarter, it has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels.
Meanwhile, the UN noted that high-income countries—mostly in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand—were the least affected by the pandemic in terms of electronics sales.
“Australia and New Zealand even show a boost in consumption in the first three quarters of 2020 of 4 percent in weight. However, all other high-income regions show decreases between 2 percent [and] 6 percent,” it explained.
UN University Senior Program Officer Kees Balde stressed that the global data on electronics sales was in contrast to prior forecasts.
“Home offices and schooling, online hang-outs and shopping, movie streaming and other activities driven higher by Covid-19 lockdowns had many experts predicting a sizeable increase in electrical and electronic equipment consumption, as well as an increase in e-waste disposal as people went house-cleaning and shopping to replace near-broken electronic equipment,” the report noted.
Across the globe, however, sales of screens and monitors, large equipment, temperature exchange equipment, small equipment and lamps declined by 6 percent to 8 percent, UN said.
The large equipment category saw the largest decline in consumption by weight, which is down by 1.7 MMT. This is followed by small equipment and lamps.
“So, in one respect, this can be interpreted as positive, as less e-waste is likely to be mismanaged, causing environmental and health effects,” the report said. “However, it should be noted that this effect is expected to be only temporary, and e-waste is still generated in the region and is still expected to grow in the coming years.”
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