Short lived electronic devices and electrical appliances, which are contributing to a growing e-waste problem, are a bigger problem in the UK compared to other countries, according to a new report.
Electronic goods are increasingly important to keeping people connected. But many are destined not to last, and short lived electronic devices and electrical appliances are a bigger problem in the UK compared to other countries, according to a new report by the Green Alliance.
The country generates the second highest amount of e-waste per person in the world.
This unnecessary waste frustrates consumers and also comes with a hefty environmental price tag: the process of producing an average smartphone, for instance, emits 60kg of CO2 equivalent, which is over 300 times the weight of the phone itself.
At a time when many experiencing financial difficulties and are becoming more dependent on electronic devices to communicate with family and friends, this couldn’t be more urgent
At a time of national crisis when ‘household budgets are increasingly squeezed and consumers need protecting from high costs’, the new report says, the UK should ‘act swiftly’ post-Brexit to improve standards and surveillance and avoid a flood of poorly made products onto the UK market.
This should include setting new UK standards for characteristics like durability, repairability and upgradeabilty and better enforcing existing standards.
Libby Peake, head of resource policy at Green Alliance, said: “Even before the pandemic, people were frustrated by products that didn’t last. At a time when many experiencing financial difficulties and are becoming more dependent on electronic devices to communicate with family and friends, this couldn’t be more urgent.
“The last thing we want to see this Christmas is consumers being ripped off with shoddy products because the government is not doing enough to ensure better design and protect people.”
Impact of e-waste
Currently, the UK generates more e-waste per person than any country in the world, with the exception of Norway.
This high turnover is particularly problematic for items like smartphones and other IT equipment, where the bulk of environmental impacts happen during the production phase. Two thirds of people in Britain surveyed are often frustrated by products that don’t last and three quarters want the government to do something about it.
For instance, consumers say they want phones that last more than five years, but they normally last just two to three years. New research by PwC for Green Alliance shows that extracting 75g of metals used in a typical smartphone requires at least 6.5kg of ore to be mined.
The phone manufacturing process emits 60kg of CO2 equivalent, which is more than 300 times the weight of the finished product.
One reason consumers are being exposed to shoddy appliances is poor enforcement of product standards, with up to a quarter of those sold not meeting current standards for energy efficiency.
This means that the UK is missing out on 800,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent savings a year, and that those UK businesses producing goods to high standards are being undercut by others that get away with selling poorer quality products.
Recommendations
Better enforcement is needed, Green Alliance says, especially if new requirements to address short lifespans are created.
The report suggests this should include:
- adequate funding, including for sufficient staffing to monitor and enforce
regulations; - better communication and engagement with producers and online marketplaces
to ensure they know the legal requirements; - naming and shaming producers that violate standards, as in the Japanese Top
Runner system, where compliance is estimated to be 100 per cent; - heavy fines for repeatedly non-compliant companies, with revenue ringfenced to
pay for market surveillance
