This document discusses the emerging issue of changing waste streams due to increasing demand for rare earth elements used in electronics and the growing problem of electronic waste. As demand for strategic minerals like lithium, neodymium, and indium rises to meet manufacturing needs, their supply risks depletion within the next 10-20 years without improved resource management and recycling. This could damage the environment and public health as stockpiles of hazardous e-waste reach 200-500% higher levels by 2020 if no action is taken to adopt a lifecycle approach and plan for a more circular economy that enables recycling and reuse of scarce resources.

1. 21 issue for the 21st century
Changing the Face of Waste: Solving the Impending Scarcity
of Strategic Minerals and Avoiding Electronic Waste

2. Why a UNEP foresight project?
UNEP Science Strategy – UNEP stronger leadership role in identifying and
prioritizing emerging global environmental issues
Ensure that UN community and & environmental policy community are
aware of most critical emerging issues having to do with the environment
Help set policy agenda
Make identification of issues more systematic for POW
Input to Rio +20

3. What is the UNEP Foresight process?
A systematic procedure for canvassing top experts every
two years identify and rank critical emerging issues.
Coordination: Chief Scientists Office & DEWA. Foresight Panel –
22 distinguished scientists/experts – Broad regional &
disciplinary representation
21priority
issues
UNEP community identified
68 issues
Foresight Panel meeting
debated 98 issues
Broad Electronic
consultation 933 scientists
worldwide 428 responses

4. What is an emerging issue?
It is critical to the global environment, can be positive or negative.
Must be environmental in nature, or environmentally-related.
Should be given priority over the next one to three years in work programmes
of UNEP and/or other UN institutions and/or other international institutions
Has to be of large spatial scale (global, continental, "universal")
Must be recognized as very important by the scientific community, but has not
yet received adequate attention from the policy community. Hence it is
considered an "emerging issue" from the perspective of the policy community.

5. Changing the face of waste:
Current condition
Increased demand
for some strategic
minerals, including
rare elements i.e.
lanthanum,
cerium, lithium,
neodymium,
indium and
gallium.
Hazardous
chemicals and
materials from
product made of
the above creates
new management
problems.
e-waste

6. Changing the face of waste:
Importance
Large
demand
for rare
elements
has
resulted in
depletion
Environme
ntal and
health risk
Estimated
200%-500%
increase of
e-waste by
2020

7. Changing the face of waste:
Options for action
Resource
management
Mining Recycle
“Planned
capacity for
evolution”
Life cycle
approach

8. Changing the face of waste:
Consequences of inaction
Manufacturing trend continues next 10-20
years accelerated depletion of key minerals
Build up of hazardous and e-waste
Risk to public health and environment
Heightened competition of strategic mineral

9. References
 http://www.unep.org/science/chief-scientist/Portals/76/docs/alcamo-foresight-geneva-15-12-11.pdf
 European Union (EU). 2011. Waste electrical and electronic equipment. Directive on waste
electrical and electronic equipment. http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/
environment/waste_management/l21210_en.htm
 GBI Research. 2010. E-waste Management Market to 2020 - Emerging Economies Poised to
Capitalize on E-waste Recovery and Recycling Market. The Electronic Industry Market Research
and Knowledge Network. GBI Research.
 Guiltinan, J. 2009. Creative destruction and destructive creations: environmental ethics and
planned obsolescence, Journal of Business Ethics, 89, 19-28 Humphries, M. 2010. Rare earth
elements: the global supply chain. CRS Report for Congress, Congressional Research Service.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R41347.pdf
 Long, K.R., Van Gosen, B.S., Foley, N.K., Cordier, D. 2010. The principal rare earth elements
deposits of the United States - a summary of domestic deposits and a global perspective. U.S.
Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2010 – 5220.
http://pubs.usgs.gov./sir/2010/5220.
 Nnorom, I.C., Osibanjo, O. 2010. Overview of prospects in adopting remanufacturing of end-of-life
electronic products in the developing countries. International Journal of Innovation, Management
and Technology, 1, 328-338
 UNEP. 2009. Recycling – from e-waste to resources - solving the e-waste problem. Sustainable
innovation and technology transfer industrial sector studies. United Nations Environment
Programme. http://www.unep.org/PDF/PressReleases/E-
Waste_publication_screen_FINALVERSION-sml.pdf
 US Department of Energy (DOE). 2010. Critical materials strategy, US Department of Energy.
http://www.doe.gov/sites/prod/files/edg/news/documents/ criticalmaterialsstrategy.pdf