The e-waste generated in 2022 would fill enough 40-tonne trucks to form a bumper-to-bumper convoy encircling the equator – and is set to grow further.
That’s according to the UN, which found 62 million tonnes of e-waste was produced in 2022, up 82% on 2010. This is defined as any discarded product with a plug or battery.
That figure is on track to rise by another 32% to 82 million tonnes by 2030, the Global e-Waste Monitor 2024 report said.
Some 22.3% of the year’s e-waste mass was documented as having been properly collected and recycled in 2022, leaving $62bn worth of recoverable natural resources unaccounted for and increasing pollution risks to communities worldwide, the report said.
That figure is set to drop to 20% by 2030 as recycling efforts fail to keep pace with growing e-waste volumes.
Technological progress, higher consumption, limited repair options, shorter product life cycles, society’s growing electronification, design shortcomings, and inadequate e-waste management infrastructure are among the factors to blame.
Although The United Nations Institute for Training and Research Executive Director Nikhil Seth praised the “hopeful embrace of solar panels and electronic equipment to combat the climate crisis”, he warned that the “surge” in e-waste “requires urgent attention”.
Indeed, solar panels are now a significant and growing e-waste category in their own right. Retired photovoltaic panels are set to contribute 2.4 tonnes of e-waste in 2030, up from 600,000 tonnes in 2022.
E-waste in the small IT and telecommunication equipment category (e.g. laptops, mobile phones, GPS devices, routers) generated 4.6 million tonnes of e-waste in 2022, meanwhile.
81 countries had e-waste legislation in 2023, up from 78 in 2019, the report said.
The value of metals embedded in 2022 e-waste reached $91bn, with $19bn of that being copper, $15bn gold and $16bn iron.
If countries could bring the e-waste collection and recycling rates to 60% by 2030, the benefits – including through minimizing human health risks – would exceed costs by more than US $38bn, the report said.
“Many in today’s society use multiple computers and phones, an ever-growing number of new appliances, monitors and sensors, e-bikes, e-scooters, clothes, toys, and furniture with embedded electronics, electric tools, and energy-saving equipment such as LEDs, photovoltaics, and heat pumps,” said Ruediger Kuehr , Senior Manager, Sustainable Cycles (SCYCLE), Programme, UNITAR/Adjunct Professor, University of Limerick (Ireland).”
“Urban and remote areas are increasingly connected to the Internet, and a growing number of data centers cater to the needs of the digital transformation. In the face of all this, concrete steps are urgently needed to address and reduce e-waste. Improved e-waste management could result in a global net positive of $38bn, representing a significant economic opportunity while addressing climate change and health impacts.”
