Maximising Resource Efficiency and Circularity in the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Value Chain and the E-Waste Sector

Countries face various challenges in streamlining the management of e-waste, whose global volume reached an estimated 53.6 million metric tonnes (MT) in 2019. Primary of these challenges is lack of accurate data reporting. The untapped recovery of e-waste also results in huge financial losses. The Global E-Waste Monitor, 2020, calculated the valuation of materials that could be recovered from e-waste generated in 2019 alone at about US$57 billion. Effective management of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) can help the G20 nations improve their environment and economy as well as meet several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This Policy Brief provides recommendations to the G20 on policy instruments to decouple growth in the electronics sector from virgin resource consumption and environment degradation through improving resource efficiency, particularly in consumer EEE.