A record 53.6 million metric tonnes (Mt) of electronic waste was generated worldwide in 2019, up 21 per cent in just five years, according to the UN’s Global E-waste Monitor 2020, released on Monday.

Discarded electrical and electronic equipment (such as phones, laptops, fridges, sensors and TVs), which is referred to as e-waste is becoming a huge problem, needing urgent intervention globally.

Three African countries lead others in the continent’s five per cent contribution to global electronic waste (eWaste) menace, amounting to 2.2 Mt. The world is reported to have generated 44.7Mt eWaste in 2017.