E-Waste Recycling Facts and Figures

Source: https://www.thebalance.com
Electronic waste, commonly referred as eWaste, is one of the fastest growing
segments in the municipal solid waste stream. Although nearly 100 percent of ewaste is recyclable, the current recycling rate of e-wastes is not promising at all. The
items that can be recovered from eWaste include constituents such as plastics,
metals, and glass.
Lets have a look on some useful facts and figures about eWaste recycling:
1. Currently, only 15-20 percent of all eWaste is recycled.
2. According to a recent report by EPA, every day, we are to get rid of over
416,000 mobile devices and 142,000 computers either by recycling or
disposing in landfills and incinerators.
3. A BBC Panorama program says that every year 20 to 50 million tons of
eWaste is generated worldwide. This amount accounts for more than 5
percent of municipal solid waste stream. However, the US EPA report says,
eWaste represents only 2 percent of solid waste stream, but the amount
accounts for 70 percent of hazardous wastes disposed in landfills.
4. EPA report says, in 2007, approximately 26.9 million television sets which is
nearly 910,600 tons were got rid of in USA.
5. In 2009, as reported by EPA, only 8 percent of mobile phones, 17 percent of
TVs and 38 percent of computers were recycled.
6. Another EPA report says that in 2011, approximately 3.41 million tons of
eWaste was generated in USA and only 24.9 percent (around 850,000 tons)
of that amount was recycled. This rate was slightly better than that of 2010. In
2010, the eWaste recycling rate was 19.6 percent.
7. Another EPA report reveals that recycling one million cell phones, we can
recover more than 9,000 kg (20,000 lb) of copper, 9 kg (20 lb) of palladium,
250 kg (550 lb) of silver, and 24 kg (50 lb) of gold.

8. According to a study conducted by the Consumer Electronics Association

(CEA), an average US household in 2012 spent $1,312 on consumer
electronics. The study found the average US household owns 24 discrete
Consumer

Electronic

products.

CEA

estimated,

in

2012,

sales

of

Smartphones and tablet computers would make global annual consumer

electronic sales to more than $206 billion.
9. A market research firm namely iSupply said, in 2010, around 1.56 billion
consumer electronics were bought globally by consumers. The number
reached to 1.6 billion in the very next year.
10. A study identified that producing a computer along with its monitor takes at
least 1.5 tons of water, 22 kg (48 pounds) of chemicals and 240 kg (530
pounds) of fossil fuels.
11. It is found that compared to disposal in landfills or by incinerators, reusing or
recycling computers can create 296 more jobs per year for every 10,000 tons
of computer waste disposed.
12. In Australia, each year, more than 1.5 million electronic wastes are dumped in
landfills.
13. A big number of materials which are termed as eWaste is actually not waste
at all, rather some parts or the whole electronic product are easily recyclable
or re-useable.
14. Recycling one million laptop computers can save enough energy to run 3,657
US home for a year.
15. Cell phones contain very high amount of precious metals such as silver and
gold. Americans throw away approximately $60 million worth of silver and
gold per year.
16. EPA report says, the excessive amount of lead in ewaste alone causes
serious damage in our blood, kidneys, and central and peripheral nervous
systems.
17. A research report from ABI Research estimates that by 2015, the worldwide
market for recycling eWaste will reach $14.7 billion which is nearly the triple of
the current size.
18. Each year, globally, around 1 BILLION cell phones and 300 million computers
are put into production.
19. The amount of global ewaste is expected to graw by 8 percent per year.

20. Roughly 80 percent of eWaste generated in the U.S. is exported to Asia, an

area of considerable controversy.
References

http://www.electronicstakeback.com/resources/facts-and-figures/
http://www.zerowaste.sa.gov.au/e-waste/what-can-be-recycled-from-e-waste
https://www.dosomething.org/actnow/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-e-waste
https://www.causesinternational.com/ewaste/e-waste-facts