Sustainable development goal target 12.5 is to reduce waste. But with a planet increasingly dependent on technology, is that even possible? As of today, over 30m tonnes of electronic waste has been thrown out so far this year, according to the World Counts. Most e-waste is sent to landfills in Asia and Africa where it is recycled by hand, exposing the people who do it to environmental hazards. Kai Loeffelbein’s photographs of e-waste recycling in Guiyu, southern China show what happens to discarded computers. (Photo by Kai Loeffelbein/laif Agentur)

Baka pygmies in their forest home preparing food in, Sangha Forest, Central African Republic, February 2016. Here, in their forest home, traditional life continues in the face of multiplying challenges ranging from poachers, to ill health. Deep in the rainforests of central Africa lives one of the world’s most mysterious tribes. (Photo by Susan Schulman/Barcroft Images)

Beautiful, strange and occasionally alarming pictures from the shortlist for this year’s Wellcome image awards – which celebrate the very best in science photography and imaging – from an x-ray of a bat to a micrograph of a kidney stone. The exhibition opens on 12 March at three science centres and the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester. Photo: Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of an Arabidopsis thaliana flower, also commonly known as thale cress. Some of the anthers are open, revealing pollen grains ready for dispersal. Arabidopsis was the first plant to have its entire genome sequenced and is widely used as a model organism in molecular and plant biology. Horizontal width of image is 1200 microns. Magnification 100x. (Photo by Stefan Eberhard/Wellcome Images)

The pictures were taken by photographer Jorge Farfan and reveal the spiders’ bright colours. The 33-year-old captured the jumping, wolf, and lycosa spiders in a riverside field near his home in La Coruna, Spain. (Photo by Jorge Fardels/Solent News/SIPA Press)

Natan Dvir, an Israeli photographer, focuses on the human aspects of political, social and cultural issues. For his “Coming Soon” series, Dvir says that in recent years, a kaleidoscopic net of huge billboards has enveloped the commercial hubs of New York. Seen here, a man looks at a Juicy Couture billboard while passing it on 52nd street close to 5th Avenue in New York, June 5, 2012. (Photo by Natan Dvir/Polaris)

A fruit importer's lorry at Covent Garden, London, with its driver's cabin in the shape of an apple. (Photo by Harold Clements/London Express/Getty Images). October 1928

A stewardess holding a lightsabre poses for photos with visitors during a tour of the Star Wars themed All Nippon Airways ANA R2D2 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft at Singapore's Changi Airport November 12, 2015. The aircraft was opened to the media on Thursday as it makes its first Asian stop outside Japan. (Photo by Edgar Su/Reuters)

Artwork by Ruth Bellotti & Steve Rosewell called “Soldier Scale 1:1” is seen at the 2008 Sculpture by the Sea launch at Mark's Park, Bondi on October 15, 2008 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Gaye Gerard/Getty Images)