14 October 2025
As the global demand for smartphones, electric vehicles, solar panels, and other technologies continues to rise, so does the need for the materials that power them. International E-waste Day this year focuses on Critical Raw Materials (CRMs) – rare elements essential for creating these technologies and often mined in only a few countries. CRMs such as gold, copper, and nickel are vital to modern technologies such as smart phones, but these materials can be recovered from old or broken electronics stored in homes.
It is estimated that by 2050, there will be more than 130 million metric tons of e-waste produced per year, containing precious metals such as gold, copper, and nickel. The level of e-waste far-outstrips current capacities to properly manage it in an environmentally sound manner[1] as outlined in the Basel Convention.
The Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions, together with partners – the European Institute for Innovation and Technology’s RawMaterials Knowledge and Innovation Community (EIT RawMaterials - Academy), the university KU Leuven (KUL) in Belgium, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the World Resources Forum (WRF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) – are proud to launch an updated Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), on the E-waste challenge, both in English and in Spanish.
The MOOC includes updated materials and a new course on conformity assessment of e-waste standards and is aimed at students, researchers, policy makers in the environment and telecommunication sectors, practitioners, entrepreneurs, e-waste recyclers and government officials. The MOOC invites participants to become part of the solution to this growing problem. Relevant for developed and developing countries alike, the programme covers all aspects of e-waste with a view to turning the threat of this global explosion of e-waste into an opportunity. The course is organised into five mini courses, which can be completed independently.
Rolph Payet, Executive Secretary of the BRS Conventions, said “E-waste is a growing challenge for our society, and on International E-Waste Day, we join hands to promote solutions, from prevention, recycling and the final disposal, fostering a circular model. The MOOC and live lectures will provide the latest knowledge on critical raw materials recycling from E-waste and the latest research available. The MOOC offers five courses in English and in Spanish that will introduce you to the challenge of e-waste and especially to its environmentally sound recycling. The course will guide you through the issues at stake and will expand on opportunities as well as on possible actions to take at the local, national and regional levels. It will also introduce you to policy tools, standards and best practices for the collection, recycling, and final disposal of e-waste”
“Sound e-waste management is key to our health, environmental sustainability, and recovering valuable raw materials,” said Seizo Onoe, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau. “The ITU standards covered by this course address the entire lifecycle of digital technologies to help you change the equations that lead to e-waste, handle e-waste sustainably, and create new jobs in recycling.”
World Resources Forum Managing Director, Mathias Schluep, said:
"Education is one of the most powerful tools to address the global e-waste challenge. Through the MOOC, we want to empower students, policymakers, and practitioners to see e-waste not as a burden but as an opportunity for innovation and sustainability. At the World Resources Forum, we were proud to contribute to two courses that build on our longstanding engagement in addressing e-waste challenges. Together, these courses provide learners with both the vision and the practical tools needed to understand the complexity of this waste stream and develop effective solutions."
Notes to editors:
The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal was adopted in 1989 and entered into force in 1992. It is the most comprehensive international environment treaty on hazardous and other wastes and is almost as universal as the United Nations membership, with 191 Parties. With an overarching objective of protecting human health and the environment against the adverse effects of hazardous wastes, its scope covers a wide range of waste subject to transboundary movements: it includes wastes defined as hazardous based on their origin and/or composition and characteristics, as well as four types of waste defined as “other wastes”, namely household waste, residues arising from the incineration of household waste ash, certain plastic waste and certain electronic and electrical waste requiring special consideration.
For more information on E-Waste and the MOOC:
The Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, please contact asana.greenstreet-tommasino@un.org
International Telecommunication Union, please contact matthew.dalais@itu.int
World Resources Forum, please contact rebecca.suhner@wrforum.org