Όσλο (Reuters) – Μόνο το ένα τρίτο των ηλεκτρονικών αποβλήτων στην Ευρώπη ανακυκλώνεται σωστά, ενώ πολύ μεγάλοι αριθμοί κινητών τηλεφώνων, ηλεκτρονικών υπολογιστών και τηλεοράσεων διακινούνται παράνομα ή που αποτελούν αντικείμενο ντάμπινγκ, σύμφωνα με μια study held by the United Nations and INTERPOL.
Sweden and Norway were very close to the European collection and recycling targets after they were able to recycle 85% of all electrical and electronic waste. The two countries are at the top of the ranking while Romania, Spain and Cyprus were among the last with less than one 20%.
European regulations require the recycling of "e-waste" to recover metals such as gold or silver and to prevent the release of toxins such as lead or mercury.
In total, 35% of the continent's electronic waste was recycled correctly to 2012. The report rejected past proposals that essentially export old electrical or electronic devices to African nations, such as Nigeria and Ghana, for profit.
"Most of the illegal e-commerce is happening in the countries around us, and not so much in Africa," said Jaco Huisman of the University of the United Nations, who is working on the project with the Interpol office and other partners.
"Mismanagement of recycling is happening everywhere," he told Reuters.
A broken refrigerator, for example, is especially valuable due to copper in its compressor. Often the compressor will be removed and all the rest are thrown into the trash.
Stealing the valuable components from these devices in Europe brings in up to €1.700.000.000 a year to fraudsters, the study reports. The money of course, the European Union loses these.
The report's recommendations include better police cooperation, more education των καταναλωτών για την ανακύκλωση και την απαγόρευση των συναλλαγών με cash in the scrap trade.
