AZO Cleantech reports that in 2020 alone e-waste generated around 580 tons of carbon dioxide emissions and scientists believe that, without making devices that we use on a daily basis last longer, e-waste generated CO2 emissions will reach 852 million tons per year by 2030.

Oladele Ogunseitan, Ph.D., professor of population health and disease prevention at UCI, said that "reversing the trend of harmful greenhouse gas emissions created because of e-waste into the environment will require strategies for source reduction, including extending the useful lifetime of the electronic products, which will directly address the quantity issue."

For their study, researchers analyzed 1.003 life cycle reports from various manufacturers in order to determine how many carbon emissions were created during a product's lifespan, including production, transportation, use and disposing of that particular device.

Flat screen TVs were responsible for the most emissions, at 41% of the total, with laptops and tablets following next.

Computer monitors, desktop PCs, mobile phones and consoles were some of the other devices included in the analysis.

Researchers believe that, 19 to 28 million tons of e-waste could have been avoided between 2015 and 2020 by a 50 to 100% increase in the usable lifespan of ITC devices.

That could have also been aided by reducing, reusing and recycling products.

"We assume that extending the lifetime of an electronic product such as a mobile phone is equivalent to reducing the production of the same product that would otherwise replace that device because an increase in the useful life expectancy of a device would lead to fewer replacements", Ogunseitan added.

Electronic waste can also be dangerous due to exposure of the population to toxic e-waste, which accounts for about 30 million people living in 32 cities that are listed as e-waste recycling centers from 15 countries.

Study co-author Narendra Singh, a sustainability specialist with the British Geological Survey, said that "we have an opportunity to develop an international consensus on a legal framework to support eco-design and source reduction, repair, refurbishment and reuse."