One of the problems damaging our planet is the number of things we throw away. Rubbish of all kinds is piling up in landfill and polluting our rivers and oceans. A more recent addition to the list of things we threw away is e-waste—electronic items that are broken and not recycled. 【小题1】

Millions of tonnes of televisions, phones, and other electronic equipment are abandoned each year. 【小题2】 And we lack the skills to repair them. A UN report claims the 50 million tonnes of e-waste generated every year will more than double to 110 million tonnes by 2050, making it the fastest growing waste stream in the world. 【小题3】 The BBC visited a Restart Project in London, which is one of many found around the world. One of its volunteers, Francesco Calo, said that “this project allows you to reduce waste, extend the life of objects, and it helps people who cannot afford to get rid of items that have developed a fault.”

As many electrical items contain valuable metals, another solution is e-waste mining. An experiment at the University of New South Wales involves extracting these materials from electronic gadgets. 【小题4】 With phones typically containing as many as 60 elements, this could be part of the solution to our appetite for new technology.

These projects make total sense, but collections of e-waste for recycling are decreasing. 【小题5】 However, the European Union, for example, is trying to tackle the problem by insisting manufacturers have to make appliances longer-lasting and attempt a collecting service for e-waste recycling.