What is e-waste and why does it matter so much in Asia?
E-waste refers to discarded electrical and electronic equipment, including computers, mobile phones, televisions, printers, refrigerators, batteries and air conditioning units and any other type of electronic waste. According to the Global E-waste Monitor 2024, worldwide, the annual generation of e-waste is rising by 2.6 million tonnes annually, on track to reach 82 million tonnes by 2030. Countries such as China, India, and Japan are among the largest producers, driven by economic growth, urbanisation, and new technology adoption.
Much of this waste is not recycled properly in many countries across Asia due to lack of recycling infrastructure and other reasons. Instead, it ends up in informal processing facilities where hazardous materials are released into the environment, posing serious health risks to workers and local communities. For global mobility professionals, this matters because relocations and corporate assignments directly involve the purchase, use, and disposal of electronic equipment across borders and within local markets.
The human cost of informal recycling
Behind the statistics lies a severe human toll. According to the World Health Organization, millions of women and children work in the informal waste recycling sector across Asia, often without protective equipment or safety protocols. The International Labour Organization estimates that 12.9 million women work in informal waste processing, potentially exposing them and their unborn children to toxic substances. More than 18 million children and adolescents, some as young as 5 years old, are engaged in e-waste processing activities. These workers use rudimentary methods such as burning cables to extract copper, manually dismantling devices with bare hands, and using acid baths to recover precious metals.
Exposure to lead, mercury, cadmium, and other hazardous materials has been linked to adverse birth outcomes, impaired neurological development in children, respiratory problems, and skin conditions. Children are particularly vulnerable due to their smaller size, developing organs, and behaviours such as hand-to-mouth contact. When global mobility operations contribute to e-waste streams that end up in informal recycling channels, they indirectly affect these vulnerable populations. More information is available at https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/electronic-waste-(e-waste).
How e-waste connects to global mobility operations
E-waste touches nearly every part of the mobility value chain. Human resources teams procure devices for assignees. Temporary accommodation companies provide serviced apartments complete with electronics. Relocation companies coordinate the movement of household goods, including appliances. Technology providers in the mobility ecosystem also face e-waste considerations as devices used for expense management, immigration tracking, and relocation coordination are regularly updated and replaced.
A growing but often overlooked source comes from data centres, which underpin the digital infrastructure many global mobility operations depend on. As artificial intelligence, edge computing, and increasingly sophisticated processing requirements drive demand for greater capacity, data centres must replace servers, storage systems, and networking components every 2-3 years. This rapid upgrade cycle generates substantial volumes of discarded equipment often shipped to regions with less stringent disposal standards, compounding the e-waste challenge in Asia.
Regional complexity and regulatory variation
E-waste management across Asia is not uniform. Some countries, such as Japan and South Korea, have established extended producer responsibility (EPR) frameworks requiring manufacturers to take back and recycle products. According to the Global E-waste Monitor 2024, Asia generated nearly half of all global e-waste but contributed only about a quarter of global recycling efforts, highlighting a significant gap between waste generation and processing capacity.
Recent developments highlight the urgency. In February 2026, Malaysia implemented a complete ban on e-waste imports following environmental concerns and corruption investigations. Authorities had intercepted 701 containers suspected of carrying e-waste over the previous 4 years, with each estimated to contain around 20 metric tonnes of hazardous materials.
The issue extends beyond national borders. A 2025 investigation by the Basel Action Network revealed that United States companies exported over 10,000 containers of e-waste worth more than one billion dollars to Asian countries between January 2023 and February 2025, with Malaysia identified as the primary destination.
Why this matters for global mobility professionals
E-waste intersects with duty of care, corporate responsibility, and operational risk. Companies are increasingly held accountable for their full value chain impact, including how goods and services procured through mobility programmes affect communities and ecosystems. Professionals who understand e-waste risks can better support clients in making informed decisions, ask suppliers about disposal practices, and educate assignees on responsible technology use during assignments.
What global mobility professionals can do next
