E-waste:
from threat to opportunity
Helen Nakiguli
Editor of Question 13 of ITU-T Study Group 5
Facts about e-waste worldwide
 There were 50 million tons of
electronics discarded in 2013 about 7kg for every person on
the planet
 Only 8% of old cell phones are
recycled properly
 Only 12.5% of e-waste is
recycled
 Recycling one million laptops
saves enough energy to power
3,600 homes
Photo credit: Andrew McConnell/Alamy
Data sources: http://www.mailinmobile.com/blog/7-shocking-facts-ewaste-worldwide-recycle-devices-today/#sthash.UFwlEc7l.dpuf and
http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/dec/14/toxic-ewaste-illegal-dumping-developing-countries
Weaknesses of e-waste management systems
Illegal traffic
E-waste dispersed
Speculation on
compliance costs
No clear common
definition
Lack of
internationally
comparable data
Heterogeneous
reporting requirements
Lack of transparent
management of funding
Developing countryspecific criticalities
Prevention is better than cure
Policies and standards
Sustainable manufacturing
practices:
 Eco-design
 Choice of reusable and nontoxic materials
 Prolonged products life-cycle
 E-waste disposals
Source: http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/crazy-e-waste-statistics-explored-in-infographic.html
ITU
 UN specialized agency for ICTs
 unique public/private
partnership
Members:
 193 Member States (Governments and regulatory
bodies)
 Over 700 Private Sector (Sector Members and
Associates)
 Over 89 Academia
Importance of global standards
Drive competitiveness, for individual businesses and world economy;
Lower prices;
Reduce technical barriers;
Foster interoperability;
Manufacturers, network operators
and consumers;
Reduce negative impacts on the environment.
Work with us!
ITU-T Study Group 5
Question 13 - Environmental impact
reduction including e-waste
Working Party 3 – ICTs
and Climate Change
Study Group 5 – Environment
and Climate Change
Question 13/5: Environmental impact
reduction including e-waste
Main study area:
Avoid hazardous materials
through standards
Minimize the environmental and
health impact of ICT products,
equipment and facilities
Promote proper and
environmentally responsible
recycling
Foster responsible and proper
final disposal of e-waste
Question 13/5: Environmental impact
reduction including e-waste
Main tasks:
Raise awareness
Assist countries to develop policies
on e-waste management
Develop international standards on life-cycle
management of ICT equipment
Carry out research and development
Help companies becoming more sustainable
and socially responsible
Highlights on deliverables:
ITU-T Recommendations
E-waste
management
Batteries
Power supply
series
Power supply series
 Recommendation ITU-T L.1000: Universal power adapter
and charger solution for mobile terminals and other handheld ICT devices:
 Saves 82,000 tons of e-waste per year
 Saves at least 13.6 million tonnes of CO2 emissions
annually
 Recommendation ITU-T L.1001: External universal power
adapter solutions for stationary information and
communication technology devices:
 Saves 300,000 tons of e-waste per year
 Reduces the energy consumption and greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions of external power supplies by between
25% and 50%
Power supply series
 DRAFT Recommendation ITU-T L.1002​: External universal power adapter
solutions for portable information and communication technology devices:
 Reduces e-waste, optimizing the use of scarce and raw materials and
allowing for reuse
 Recommends design for MTBF 50.000 hours of active use
 Increases usability
 Recommendation ITU-T ​L.1005​: Test suites for
assessment of the universal charger solution:
 Describes specific test suites to assess energy
efficiency, interworking, safety and
electromagnetic compatibility of the universal
charger solution and charger
Batteries
 Recommendation ITU-T L.1010​: Green batteries solution for
mobile phones and other hand-held information and
communication technology devices.
 Extends the lifetime of handsets
 Reduces global resources consumption
 Eliminates toxic materials
E-waste management
Necessity of rare-metal recycling:
 A mobile phone contains no less than 20 rare
metals
 A ton of gold ore yields just 5 g of gold,
whereas a ton of used mobile phones yields a
staggering 400 g.
 Recommendation ITU-T L.1100: A method to
provide recycling information of rare metals in
ICT products.
E-waste management
Necessity of a common and accurate measurement method:
 For successful recycling, producers are required to provide detailed
information on rare metals to recyclers.
 A common measurement method can facilitate recycling information
exchanges between producers and recyclers.
 Recommendation ITU-T
L.1101: ​Measurement methods to
characterize rare metals in information and
communication technology goods:
 XRF (X-ray fluorescence)
 ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass
spectrometry)
Supplement 5 to ITU-T L-series Recommendations
Agreed: December 2014
Title: Life-cycle management of ICT goods
Scope:
 It provides information for the practical
implementation of the life-cycle
approach in companies, facilities and
plants as well as distributors, including
chapters on best practices with a
specific focus on material usage and
selection.
Supplement 4 to ITU-T L-series Recommendations
Agreed: December 2014
Title: Guidelines for developing a sustainable e-waste management system
Scope:
 It provides a set of guidelines that
countries could refer to when
designing their e-waste management
system;
 It provides guidance on policy/legal
framework, collection mechanisms,
financial mechanisms and
engagement with all relevant
stakeholders.
Photo: Fairphone, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 (cropped)
New work items
 Supplement on Collection of sustainable models
for e-waste management by private
corporations;
 Supplement on Assessment of quantity of
E-waste in developing countries;
 Supplement Circular Economy;
 Supplement on Implementation guidance for
ICT SME supply chains due diligence on conflict
minerals.
Research and development
Identifying standards needs
An energy-aware survey on ICT
device power supplies
ITU Toolkit on Environmental
Sustainability for the ICT Sector
Purpose: enable the ICT industry to drive environmental best practice into its
own performance.
Collaboration with over 50 partners.
Practical Support
Standards Support
Checklist
Detailed practical
support on how ICT
companies can build
sustainability into
their operations and
management
Ongoing contribution
to ITU-T Study Group
5 which has the goal
of developing global
standards in this
arena
Standardized
checklist of
sustainability
requirements
specific to the ICT
sector
Toolkit content
Document
Summary
Introduction to toolkit
A business-led perspective on the use of sustainability in
ICT organizations
Sustainable ICT in corporate
organizations
Sustainability issues with the use of ICT products and
services
Sustainable products
Sustainability-led design principles and practice for ICT
products
Sustainable buildings
Sustainability management of the construction, use and
decommissioning of ICT buildings
End-of-life management
Support in dealing with the various end-of-life stages of
ICT equipment
General specifications and KPIs Environmental KPIs that can be used to manage and
evaluate sustainability performance
Assessment framework
Mapping the standards and guidelines applying to the
ICT industry
End-of-life management for ICT equipment
An outline of the
various EOL stages
(and accompanying
legislation) , and
support for creating
a framework for
environmentallysound management
of EOL ICT
equipment.
End-of-life management
Material recovery and
recycling
Clean supply chains
Offsetting and mitigation
End-of-life management for ICT equipment
Structure of analysis:
Legal frameworks
EOL management steps
Regulatory compliance
Best practice guidance
Clean supply chains and conflict
minerals
Socio-economic issues
Corporate social responsibility
Checklists
Key guidance to ensure best practices on:
General Material Recovery and Recycling
Facility Guidelines: minimum criteria to
select a service provider
Clean Supply Chain and Conflict
Minerals: an opportunity for a greener
industry
Offsetting Opportunities and Mitigation:
the ICT sector response to Social and
Environmental issues generated by bad
EOL practices
Example of end-of-life management
processing for computing equipment
24
Example of end-of-life management checklist
25
Conclusions and way forward
ICT product design issues
Technical guidance for refurbishment and repair facilities
Recovery of rare metals and green supply chain
Environmental, socio-economic aspects
Principles for donors of ICT equipment
Development of national ICT policies
Development of a global CO2- equivalent market
Adoption and implementation of international standards
26
Global portal on ICTs,
environment and
climate change
Launched in February 2014
Raising awareness
 Workshop on “The role of women in
e-waste management” during WSIS
Forum (May 2015)
 Workshop on “E-waste management
in the Latin America Region” during
COP Basel Convention (May 2015)
Next steps to keep e-waste from growing
 Policy makers should have long-term sustainability ambitions
 Consider e-waste management in the design of ICT policies
 Implement international standards (ITU-T Recommendations) at the
national level
 Encourage concerted cooperation in handling e-waste at the national,
regional and international level
 Improve the sustainability and competitiveness of manufacturing
and business practices
 Create manufactured products through economically-sound processes
that minimize negative environmental impacts while conserving energy
and natural resources
 Sustainable manufacturing also enhances employee, community, and
product safety and promote green jobs
 Foster public-private partnerships
 Raise awareness at consumer level
THANK YOU
 ITU-T/SG5 “Environment & Climate Change”
itu.int/go/tsg5
 ITU-T and Climate Change
itu.int/go/ITU-T/climate
cristina.bueti@itu.int