Tehran needs strategies and facilities to manage and recycle electronic waste, said a top official at the Tehran office of the Department of Environment.
According to Iran Recycling Industries Union, a number of electronics recycling units have so far been launched in Iran, but Tehran still lacks basic infrastructure for electronic waste recycling.
Mohammad Hossein Bazgir, head of the Tehran’s DOE office, said electronic waste—composed of heavy metals such as nickel and gold—can harm the environment and human health if not managed properly, ISNA reported.
Bazgir called on the denizens of Iranian capital to help separate electronic waste from other types to manage e-waste.
The Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade has ordered its subsidiaries and all affiliated organizations to keep track of e-waste production and strive to manage it.
The ministry’s list of electronic waste includes heating and lighting tools, lights, electronic parts used in vehicles, light bulbs, LED lamps, mobile phones and television electronic boards.
People’s commitment to recycling has increased dramatically over the past decade throughout the industrialized world. This interest has been driven by a variety of factors, including concerns about increasing waste generation and dwindling landfill capacity, air pollution from incineration and a general appreciation of the need for environmental protection.
Electronics recycling (e-waste recycling) has gained particular significance in recent years due to rapid changes in technology, which has triggered a fast-growing surplus of electronic waste around the globe.
An estimated 50 million tons of e-waste are produced each year, with the amount of e-waste production expected to rise by as much as 500% over the next decade in some countries.
The annual per capita production of e-waste in Iran is 7.4 kilograms, which is nearly twice Asia’s average.
A look at the developed countries and their recycling rate indicates that as countries become more developed, the need for recycling becomes highly evident, a sign of the vast potential for growth in the recycling sector.
