A dangerous amount of toxic waste, 1,000 tons of silver and 300 tons of gold were dumped across the world in 2014 due to inadequate recycling - says a recent United Nations University study.

Precious metals are used as components for household appliances and electronic gadgets. Almost 42 million tons of such 'e-waste' were simply thrown away in 2014.

The UNU study estimates the potential value of the globally wasted resources at about $50 billion. The volume of gold alone is more than 10 percent of what is mined every year.