18 January 2013: The International Labour Office of the International Labour Organization (ILO) has released a report titled “The global impact of e-waste: Addressing the challenge.” The report calls for e-waste regulations and financial incentives to dissuade informal recyclers from engaging in destructive processes.

The 64-page report, published in December 2012, explores the volumes, sources and flows of e-waste, the risks it poses to e-waste workers and the environment, occupational safety and health issues, labor issues and regulatory frameworks, and links this growing global problem with the ILO’s current and future work. The report highlights that as responsible e-waste management is expensive, much of the world’s “e-junk” is currently exporting to developing countries, where processing is largely unregulated.

The report explains that e-waste workers may be exposed to lead, mercury, cyanide and dioxins. Health impacts include breathing difficulties, choking, pneumonitis, tremors, neuropsychiatric problems, convulsions, coma and even death, due to the bioaccumulative and toxic substances contained in e-waste.

As the recycling sector employs many people in developing countries, the ILO report calls for transforming informal e-waste recycling operations and integrating them into the formal sector, while improving methods and working conditions. Such a transformation would require regulations, as well as incentives for informal recyclers. The ILO says creating associations, small businesses or cooperatives also can be another important step, to facilitate registration and certification of e-waste recyclers. [ILO Press Release] [Publication: The Global Impact of E-Waste: Addressing the Challenge]