Why has e-waste continued to worsen?

Moore’s law is a famous law that states that the density of transistors on chips would double every two years. Despite that seemingly outlandish claim, it persisted for nearly 50 years taking its final breath in 2020 (Rotman). The jump from 1 transistor in the 1950s to the billions now is indicative of rapid technological improvement. Now we see an issue arise: the speed of innovation outmatches the lifespan of the products.

Take an Apple iPhone, with a life expectancy ranging from 4 to 6 years. Yet, a study by Consumer Affairs found that only 29% of people even reach over 3 years. 17% of people upgrade each year or more than once a year (5% upgrade less than every six months). Despite the shocking figures, it is not too surprising that people want to fully enjoy the new features: new cameras, Artificial Intelligence, new software, etc.

Companies are also in part contributing to this, new technologies are simply getting more and more difficult to repair, meaning they will break quicker. Planned obsolescence is an example companies building mechanisms into products to make them last for a shorter time.

In my research, I was reading a book on Waste Management from just under 2 decades ago (2006) and I realized that whilst the information was valuable the figures were incredibly off, often by many orders of magnitude to today. Some values like the average e-waste produced per year by Americans had more than doubled (from 9kg to 20.6kg).

E-waste in Jordan

Much of this portion is based on a study conducted by Mr. Sudki Hamdan and Mr. Motasem N. Saidan.

The study will be linked at the bottom of the page.

Unlike many other nations, no real governmental systems are in place to properly dispose of e-waste in Jordan. However, efforts are being made, and the Ministry of the Environment published a Green Growth National Action Plan (2021-2025) regarding the waste sector, published in 2020. In it, under the project, WS10, 33.3 million JDs were allocated to, “Implement a pilot extended producer responsibility program for e-waste”. It also further outlined a desire for national policy to manage e-waste. However, little to no updates have been provided recently. Currently, Jordan produces 67,812 kg of e-waste annually, yet only 6% is properly disposed of. Compared to the worldwide average of 22%.

The dominant disposal method is dumping, which is practiced by 58% of households, 16% of households opt to sell the electronics instead, 6% dispose of e-waste correctly, and the 7% remaining are miscellaneously dealt with. Much of the increase has come with the rapid speed of Jordan’s development. Whilst there is some legislation, falling under: Directive on Management, Transportation and Handling of Harmful and Hazardous Substances No:24/2005, which bans improper disposal in landfills if it would have harmful effects, it is rarely enforced.

Jordan has many amateur disassemblers who disassemble e-waste for valuable parts such as SSDs and copper, whilst improperly disposing of the rest. Whilst it is akin to many other nations, these recyclers deal with significantly fewer hazardous materials. A study conducted described Jordan as a “throwaway society” regarding e-waste. The most disposed of e-waste items (for net weight) are household appliances: refrigerators, washing machines, and heaters in that respective order. Overall, the study found that most opted to dispose of electronics instead of fixing them.

Study: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00267-020-01341-1