Shafaq News- Baghdad
Iraq generates an estimated 150,000 metric tons ofelectronic waste each year, posing growing environmental and public healthrisks amid the absence of a national system for collecting and recyclingdiscarded electronics, according to estimates released on Tuesday by the IraqGreen Observatory, an environmental watchdog.
The figures come as global electronic waste continues torise. The United Nations' Global E-waste Monitor 2024 reported that the worldgenerated 62 million metric tons of e-waste in 2022, a figure projected toincrease to 82 million tons by 2030.
Based on population density and international generationrates, Baghdad accounts for an estimated 60,000 to 90,000 tons of electronicwaste annually, followed by Basra with 25,000 to 40,000 tons.
Much of Iraq's electronic waste ends up in landfills or isburned and dismantled in informal scrapyards without environmental safeguards,releasing hazardous substances including lead, mercury, cadmium, and dioxinsinto the air, soil, and groundwater. The World Health Organization warned thatthese pollutants pose serious health risks, particularly to children andworkers involved in informal recycling.
The report also noted that recoverable raw materials inelectronic waste are worth an estimated $91 billion globally each year, butmuch of that value is lost in Iraq due to weak collection, sorting, andrecycling systems.
It called for legislation to regulate electronic wastemanagement, the establishment of specialized collection centers, a ban onunsafe burning and dismantling practices, and producer responsibility schemesthat require importers to collect used electronics and batteries when sellingnew products.
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