The pandemic legacy will take many forms. Changes in energy practices and a proliferation of electronic waste may be among the most enduring.
When we talk about the pandemic, we tend to focus – understandably – on issues related to wellbeing, the continued need for caution, medicines and vaccines. But beyond the world of healthcare, COVID-19 has accelerated existing shifts and inspired new trends in our personal, professional and consumer habits. Perhaps chief among these changes has been the mainstreaming of various technologies and tech-enabled modes of work. As we begin to emerge from the darkest depths of the crisis, it is worth exploring how these developments might exacerbate the problem of e-waste.
The give-and-take of electric vehicle infrastructure
The pandemic has certainly produced some apparently good news stories. In the early days of lockdown there were encouraging signs that skies above the world’s most polluted cities were clearing The environment, it seemed, was grasping a unique opportunity to heal itself. And more recently, there have been various indications that green energy and infrastructure are rising up the order of priorities for policymakers and investors alike. With governments around the world pledging to pursue sustainable recoveries, renewable and clean energies are being explored more enthusiastically than might previously have been the case.
This is particularly true of electric vehicles – which are all but ready to take over our roads and highways, notwithstanding a relative lack of supportive infrastructure. Some of that infrastructure is now being factored into recovery investments. This is ultimately a good thing for our overarching progress toward a cleaner and more energy-efficient world. It does, though, raise serious questions about e-waste. Some scientists have warned that today’s electric vehicle (EV) batteries are tomorrow’s e-waste calamity. This is not to suggest that EVs are a net negative, nor that progress on EV infrastructure is a bad thing. We should recognize, however, that one of the roundabout, long-term effects of COVID-19 could be a hastening of this already looming crisis.
“Some scientists have warned that today’s electric vehicle batteries are tomorrow’s electronic waste calamity.”
The growing need for IT materials
The most direct impact of the pandemic on our e-waste problem has been the new, intensive demand for work-related IT materials. The New York Times “starter kit” for remote workers provides some sense of the scale of the emerging need for new electronic equipment. Laptops and keyboards, corresponding cables, webcams, chargers and headphones are among the wide assortment of hardware required for effective home work. Surveys indicate that a majority of businesses have met this need by providing new equipment for their employees. Simply put, vast amounts of electronics have entered general use over the past 18 months.
Keep in mind also that e-waste is not limited to these devices, nor the old devices that they replace. Recently, an FXCM piece indicated that the sharp increase in electronics use last year caused an unprecedented global semiconductor shortage. Sales of chips totalled US$439 billion around the world in 2020 – up 7% from 2019. This was almost certainly attributable in part to demand caused by new and widespread work-from-home arrangements. And when it comes to e-waste, semiconductors are notoriously problematic.
“The sharp increase in electronics use last year caused an unprecedented global semiconductor shortage. This was almost certainly attributable in part to demand caused by work-from-home arrangements.”
Towards circular supply chains
It is possible that, in the long-term, burgeoning work-from-home economies could encourage new circular supply chains, helping to address the e-waste crisis.
This past spring, a World Economic Forum article on electronics and sustainability pointed out that existing electronics supply chains are “predominantly linear.” That is, electronics are shipped to where they’re needed or sold in a one-way stream, and are eventually recycled or, more commonly, thrown out. At the industry level, businesses tend to supply themselves with the electronics they need and discard them when they break down or become outdated. With companies now shipping electronics out to employees, there is a chance that new systems will develop.
With the right incentive schemes, we could see the advent of truly circular supply chains. Products will be shipped to employees, who are in turn asked to ship them back when the time comes to upgrade. Old electronics would be consolidated in one place, such that it becomes the responsibility of businesses, rather than individual employees, to recycle items in bulk. This is, admittedly, an optimistic hypothetical scenario.
In the short-term, the remote working revolution looks set to cause a sharp uptick in the volume of e-waste produced across the developed world. And it is possible that this is just the beginning, with a series of corollary, longer-term problems a very real prospect. It is equally possible, though, that operational innovations in electronics supply chains and disposal protocols can reverse this emerging trend. If we’ve learned anything from the COVID-19 crisis, it’s that long-established practices can be rapidly, radically disrupted.