Mexico among the 10 countries that generate the most electronic waste, reveals the UNAM

Mexico is one of the 10 countries that generates the most electronic waste with more than 62 million tons per year, according to the International Observatory on electronic waste funded by the United Nations Institute for Vocational Training and Research, the Carmignac Foundation and the International Telecommunications Union.

According to this global monitoring, China is the nation that produces the most, followed by the United States and India. Furthermore, only 22.3 percent of said electronic waste was recycled properly, that is, on average only two out of every 10 of these devices has an ideal recycling, while the rest ends up in unsuitable areas that contaminate soil and water.

Given this “garbage” that usually ends up in unsuitable places, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) will carry out the Mega Recyclatrón on January 29 and 30 in parking lot 8 of the Olympic University Stadium.

Academic Heberto Ferreira, from the Ecosystem and Sustainability Research Institute of the national university, Morelia campus, warns that the amount of this waste has increased at a rate almost five times higher than that of officially recycled waste.

“When these devices come into contact with water, the Sun and pollution, they begin to degrade and can contaminate bodies of water,” the professor warned.

The above, he points out, is due to the fact that more and more electronic products are being sold for the first time and it is necessary to review the extent to which they can contribute to climate change and the scarcity of resources.

Some pollutants they carry are heavy metals and in the case of Mexico, he adds, there are rivers that are highly contaminated by heavy metals, which ultimately harm health. “Contamination by metals that come in these electronic components is now irreversible.”

He recommended that if the device can no longer be used, label a small box where you put electronic waste and store cables, hard drives, memories, chips, USB sticks, laptops or anything that becomes damaged.