TUCSON, May 3 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists said they've determined developing nations will produce at least twice as much electronic waste as developed countries by 2016.
A study by Assistant Professor Eric Williams and colleagues at Arizona State University also foresees that by 2030 developing countries will be discarding up to 700 million obsolete personal computers per year compared to 300 million by developed countries.
Williams said not only is there a continuing increase in ownership of PCs and other electronic devices worldwide, but at the same time technological advances are shrinking the lifetime of consumer electronics so people discard the products sooner than ever before.
"Our central assertion is that the new structure of global e-waste generation … combined with economic and social considerations, call for a serious reconsideration of e-waste policy," the researchers said.
The findings are detailed in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
