We all are aware that any electronic product or accessory that has reached their end of useful life is categorized as e-waste and are even more familiar with the hazardous threats posed by improper disposal of electronic and electrical waste, not to mention the health risks associated with it. To deal with this global menace, awareness is one of the key motivators for people to act and dispose of their unused, broken, or non-functional electronic items with a certified recycling company. 
The first-ever International E-Waste Day was developed by the WEEE Forum to promote awareness and proper disposal of electronic waste took place on 13th October 2018, and since then has been celebrated worldwide to raise the public profile of e-waste recycling and its benefits for the planet. It was aimed at increasing the reuse and recycling rates of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) throughout the globe.
Consumers are believed to be the key to a circular economy and their habits of production and consumption play a vital role in environmental safety. By the end of 2021, each person on the planet will produce, on an average, 7.6 kg of e-waste, meaning that a massive 57.4 million tonnes will be generated worldwide – a UN report reveals. Several initiatives are being carried out to tackle this sensitive issue but none of them would be successful without an active participation and a mindset change of the consumers. This is crucial because the volume of e-waste that is being generated is increasing day after day at an alarming pace and the improper handling is resulting in a huge loss of valuable raw materials. It might be interesting to note that for every million mobile handsets that are recycled, around 24kg of gold, 16,000kg of copper, 350kg of silver, and 14kg of palladium (worth 57 billion dollars) could be recovered and reused for sustainable practices! No wonder, e-waste is a rich source of precious metals that can be brought back into the production cycle.
In a commitment to ensure a greener future, individuals, and organizations overall, need to observe International E-Waste Day in its true essence. Initiatives to enhance people’s knowledge about e-waste and the correct measures of disposal will help in creating the ideal circular economy. As long as citizens do not change their mindset towards a proper disposal of electronic waste, reuse, recycle and refurbishment, we will continue mining for precious materials that is even more destructive to the environment. International E-Waste Day promotes sound e-waste collection, repair, reuse, and recycling of all kinds of electronic items, consumer electronics and personal gadgets on a global level.
Let us all pledge to change the trend of dropping waste electronic products in the trash can and donating them to certified recycling organizations so that we leave a greener planet for our generations to come.