NEWS: Importance of Education and Why E-Waste Matters
E-waste is one of Europe’s biggest environmental challenges and the fastest-growing waste. At the same time, electronic devices shape almost every aspect of our daily lives. WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) refers to all discarded electrical and electronic devices. In today’s digital era, driven by high levels of consumerism, we tend to replace our devices very frequently, and many of them are designed with a short lifespan from the start. In 2022, 14.4 million tonnes of electronic products were placed on the European market, while only about 5 million tonnes were officially collected and recycled. This means that a large portion of our electronics ends up in landfills, incinerators, or follows illegal export routes, creating serious environmental risks.
Today, everything is produced quickly, designed to break faster, so companies can sell more. Just a few generations ago, our grandparents lived differently and were taking care of nature without even knowing it. They repaired their household items, used them longer and bought less but better. Without calling it “circular economy,” they were already practicing it. We, on the other hand, often rush toward the newest phone, the newest laptop, the newest gadget, forgetting that every “new” device leaves behind a trail of mining, carbon emissions and toxic waste if it’s not disposed of properly. E-waste is a dangerous waste. It contains hazardous materials like lead, mercury and brominated flame retardants, which can leach into soil, air and water. People tend to forget that it’s us who breathe that air, drink that water, and eat what we seed. On the other hand, electronics hold valuable raw materials such as gold, silver, copper and rare earth elements, which we lose every time a device is discarded instead of repaired or recycled. Before electronic devices become waste, we should repair and reuse them.
Awareness must start with children. From preschool and primary school, children should learn about what kinds of waste exist, why proper separation matters and that there is no “magic wand” that makes waste disappear. Every piece of waste we throw away wrongly returns to us one way or another. We see it on beaches covered with plastic, in oceans filled with floating debris, in polluted rivers and in stronger greenhouse effects caused by toxins that leak from dumpsites. Nature gives us constant warning signs and somehow we tend to ignore them. That is why activities like the recent screening of Planet Ocean on 24 November at Cineplex – followed by a discussion led by our colleagues Marija Blažević and Kristina Joksimović with more than 250 students from Podgorica’s primary and secondary schools, organized by Green Home – are so important. The students talked about pollution, overconsumption, sustainable practices, and especially how e-waste affects oceans, the environment and health. These conversations show how essential it is to build awareness early, before those warning signs become impossible to ignore.
Everyone can act in a more responsible way. We can repair our devices instead of replacing them immediately, donate old but functional electronics to those who need them, support repair cafés, reuse centers and community workshops, buy second-hand whenever it is safe and possible, return end-of-life devices for some points in mobile companies or something similar. Proper management of e-waste protects our health, saves natural resources and supports a circular economy that creates local jobs and reduces environmental damage.
What we do with all the waste we produce is something that changes the world around us for better or for worse. The future we want depends on the habits we teach and practice today. So we should all start acting the right way now!
