Foreign media cite a report from the United Nations Environment Programme saying that by 2010, the volume of IT related electronic waste products will be four times of that of 2007 and China and India will be the main source of toxic e-waste.
The report shows that the United States is currently the world's largest producer of e-waste with an annual e-waste volume of about three million tons, and the next largest producer is China with about 2.3 million tons of e-waste each year.
Achim Steiner, the executive director of UNEP, said that the report shows once again that China urgently needs to build large and effective facilities for e-waste collection and management. "It is not only China that is facing the stern challenge alone. If e-waste is still be processed by non-formal parties, both the environment and the health of people in India, Mexico, and Brazil will also be endangered," Steiner concluded.
E-waste refers to discarded electronic products such as computers, telephones, printers, TV sets, and refrigerators and other home appliances. Surveys show that e-waste is increasing by 40 million tons annually.
