Electronics industry is the world’s largest and fastest growing industry.
In the industrialized world, the combination of rapid product obsolescence and discarded electronics is now the fastest growing waste stream.
Electronic waste or e-waste is the waste generated from type of electric and electronic equipment that lose their value to users or no longer satisfy their original purpose.
This term is applied to consumer, industrial, or regularly used household electrical equipment.
By inclination towards adoption of technologically advanced electronic products, constant consumer demand for the latest version of e-devices, and growing preference for a luxurious lifestyle increases the usage of electrical and electronics equipment, resulting in a rise in the amount of e-waste produced each day.
Around half the world’s population uses the internet and most people in the world have access to mobile networks and services.
These current trends suggest that the amount of e-waste generated will increase substantially over the next decades.
However, most of the countries still lack proper disposal or recycling systems and policies which can efficiently help in e-waste management.
The large share of this segment is attributed to high amount of e-waste generated of small equipment as compared to other equipment; short lifespan of such devices; and continuously updating model, designs, and features in small equipment leading to their short life cycle and higher replacement rates.
Growing disposable income of the middle-income populations across the world and their desire to opt for luxurious and smart lifestyles are driving greater adoption of small equipment, such as vacuum cleaners, microwaves, ventilation equipment, toasters, electric kettles, electric shavers, scales, calculators, radio sets, video cameras, electrical and electronic toys, small electrical and electronic tools, small medical devices, and small monitoring and control instruments among the populations.
This in turn is contributing to the greater volume of e-waste generated every year, thereby driving the need for better e-waste management.
The large share of this segment is attributed to the growing awareness about health and environmental hazards of e-waste among the population, implementation of regulations about e-waste management at country level, and growing reuse of extracted materials through recycling process in various industries.
On the basis of waste source, the e-waste management market is majorly classified into six segments: household appliances, IT & telecom equipment, consumer electronics, PCBs, industrial electronics, and medical equipment.
The household appliances segment accounted for the largest share of the overall e-waste management market in 2019.
Increased adoption of advanced household appliances owing to growing demand for comfort and luxury goods, increasingly busy lifestyle of the population and hence the reduced time for household chores, and higher disposable incomes are supporting the largest share and growth of this market.
The PCBs segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period due to its vast use in production of electronic devices and need for better options for related waste management.
Geographically, the global e-waste management market is categorized into six major geographies, namely, North America, Europe, Asia-pacific, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa.
In 2019, Europe accounted for largest share of the global e-waste management market, followed by North America, and Asia Pacific.
The dominating position of European region in the e-waste management market is mainly due to increased consumption of electronic devices in the region and their increasingly shorter lifespans.
Moreover, the e-waste collection rate in Europe is relatively higher as compared to other countries, which support the large share of Europe in the global e-waste management market.
However, Asia-Pacific region is estimated to register the fastest growth during the forecast period, primarily due to increasing use of electronic products, higher volume of e-waste imported to the Asia-Pacific countries, and upgradation of government policies for reducing e-waste.
Some of the key players operating in the global e-waste management market are Electronic Recyclers International, Inc. (ERI), Aurubis AG, Sims Metal Management Limited, Umicore, Boliden AB, Global Electric Electronic Processing Inc., Triple M Metal LP, Tetronics (International) Limited, Enviro-Hub Holdings Ltd., and Stena Metall AB among others.
This is a report by Meticulous Market Research Pvt. Ltd in its Global Market Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecasts.
