On our desk, you can see that 8 things will eventually become e-waste: printers, keyboards, computer screens, laptops, mice, mobile phone chargers, and mobile phones and landlines. Turning the chair, digital cameras, TV sets and TV set-top boxes are all in our eyes.

E-waste is an informal term for the so-called Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE). It encompasses any household or office item that contains circuitry or electronic components powered by batteries or power supplies and that has reached the end of its useful life. In addition to the above common office supplies, e-waste also includes refrigerators, toasters, washing machines, stereo systems, electric toothbrushes, and toys that can be activated by themselves.

Globally, in 2016, about 49 million tons of such things were discarded – about 13 pounds per person. A UN-led study shows that by 2021, this number will increase to more than 57 million tons. The reason why it grows is because more and more people can afford mobile phones and other electronic devices, and because these products don't last as long as they used to.

At present, only 20% of the world's electronic waste is properly recycled and recorded as electronic waste. Garbage is just a resource that has been misplaced. Electronic waste contains metals such as gold, silver, copper, platinum and palladium. In fact, the gold content of smartphones is 30 times that of gold ore mined from gold mines. According to UNU reports, the amount of raw materials contained in electronic waste discarded each year is about $65 billion. This value exceeds the gross domestic product of some countries. For “urban miners” who seek to extract value from garbage, these e-wastes are worthy of being a “golden country”.