The session “ITU-UNEP-UNITAR E-Waste Monitoring for the Western Balkans" was held virtually on 15 December from 14:30 to 15:10 CET, within the framework of the ITU-State University of Telecommunication of Ukraine co-organized event "Digital transformation based on ICT innovations for the development of the digital economy", which was held the same day from 9:30 to 15:20 CET.
This special briefing provided a platform to present the “E-waste Monitoring for the Western Balkans" initiative implemented by UNEP Europe Office, UNEP Vienna Office, and ITU, in close cooperation with UNITAR-SCYCLE and with the respective governments and statistical offices of the participating countries. Namely: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia.
Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE) offers great opportunities for sustainable development. But discarded equipment, such as phones, laptops, sensors, TVs, washings-machines, tools, air-conditioners, automatic dispensers, etc. contain substances that pose considerable environmental and health risks, especially if disposed of or treated inadequately. E-waste constitutes one of the fastest-growing streams of solid waste. This is because more people are using EEE, and because of the rapid pace of change in technologies, shorter product lifecycles, and designs that do not support repair or reuse. In addition, more people are using ICTs.
A lot of e-waste is not - or not properly -recycled and ends up in dumpsites, and valuable resources, including gold and rare earths, are wasted. Measuring e-waste volumes is an important step towards addressing the e-waste challenge. Statistics help to evaluate developments over time, and set and assess targets and policies. Better e-waste data will help minimize its generation, prevent illegal dumping, promote recycling, and create jobs in the reuse, refurbishment, and recycling sectors.
Given the fact that international comparable information on the e-waste situation in the countries of the Western Balkans is limited, within the framework of the Global E-waste Statistics Partnership, this initiative aims to make an assessment of e-waste statistics, e-waste management practice and e-waste legislation landscape in this region to produce the Regional E-waste Monitor report for the Western Balkans, building foundations for making digitization and digitalization processes green and sustainable. Learn more about this initiative by reading the concept note.
This initiative will contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular SDG 12, to 'ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns, where e-waste has a sub-indicator under SDG 12.4.2, hazardous waste management and SDG 12.5.1 on national recycling rate.
