International Exchange Initiative on Regulating E-waste and Engaging Tech Companies – Creating a Circular Economy for Electronics

E-waste, also known as ‘waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)’, constitutes one of the fastest growing waste streams globally. In 2023, it was estimated that 5.4 billion people were connected to the Internet and the number of mobile phone subscribers is currently greater than the human population. Annually, an estimated 62 million tonnes of e-waste is generated but less than one quarter is formally collected and recycled, and the rest is undocumented. 

The objective of this exchange initiative is to promote improved regulatory measures to address e-waste and support the transition to a circular economy for electronics in African, Latin American and Asia-Pacific countries. This will be achieved by providing an international exchange initiative for best practices and lessons learned for the participating countries to grow their knowledge and experience. The results of this project will also be reported/referenced under ITU’s Green Digital Action (GDA) Circular Economy pillar of ITU’s GDA initiative.