Members of parliament are concerned that little progress is being made by the UK government on tackling the country’s “e-waste tsunami.”

The MPs in question are a part of the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC), a 16-member cross-party group which includes the likes of the Green Party’s Caroline Lucas, Labour’s Clive Lewis, and the SNP’s John McNally. Its remit is to examine policies and programmes concerning environmental protection and sustainable development.

In November 2020, the committee published a report which looked at the environmental impact of electronic items in particular, calling on the UK government to do more regarding the use, re-use, and recycling of physical tech products. The report also offered 27 related recommendations, of which the government accepted one and part-accepted 22 the following February.

However, in an update published today (12 March 2024), the EAC said that the government’s current consultation on the issue, “Electrical waste: reforming the producer responsibility system,” has a “narrow focus” and doesn’t address many of the aforementioned recommendations.

While the EAC did say that it was encouraged to see certain measures, such as the mandatory collection of e-waste, as part of new obligations, proposals such as making it easier and safer for the public to repair their items were missing.

Speaking on the update and the perceived lack of progress, Philip Dunne, chairman of the Environmental Audit Committee, remarked: “When the committee reported on e-waste in 2020, each UK household had 20 unused electronic items hoarded at home, and there were enough unused cables in UK households to go around the world five times. Despite these extraordinary statistics, it appears the government is yet to grasp fully the scale of the e-waste tsunami.

“It is not just the amount of waste created in the sector through planned obsolescence or insufficient recycling schemes, but the significant environmental impact of creating the products in the first place. For example, when disposed of incorrectly, toxic chemicals can leak into the surrounding environment. The precious metals needed for our mobile phones, tablets or headphones are needed for Net Zero Britain and renewable energy infrastructure.

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“As a select committee, we are encouraged when the government looks carefully at the evidence we have collected and accepts our recommendations. However, four years on, we are yet to see many of these initiatives make it into policy or be reflected in its current consultation on e-waste. I look forward to receiving the Environment Secretary’s response to see how EAC’s recommendations can help mould this critically important piece of government policy.”

Around this time last year, DIGIT reported on a Uswitch study which found that the UK is the second-highest contributor to e-waste in the world, only behind Norway. In 2021, 36,681 tonnes of household waste electrical and electronic equipment was generated in the UK.