FactsandFiguresonEWasteandRecycling

TAKE IT BACK. MAKE IT GREEN. RECYCLE RESPONSIBLY.

Thisisasummaryofavailablestatisticsthatquantifytheproblemsofelectronicwasteande wasterecyclingefforts.Eachitemincludesitssourceandlinktotheoriginaldocuments(where available),tomakeiteasyforreporterstoconfirmdatabacktotheoriginalsource. Weassembledthesestatisticsprimarilyformediaandforlegislatorsandadvocatesofewaste policies.Thislistwillbeupdatedperiodicallyasnewstatisticsarereleased. Contents Topic Howmuchewasteisbeingdiscardedtrashedor recycled? Howmuchewastegetsstockpiledorstored? Salesofelectronicshowmuchisbeingsold Computers Televisions CellPhones Allconsumerelectronics DigitalTVConversionstatistics Resourcerecoveryfromelectronicsrecycling Resourcesusedinelectronics(energy,water,etc)
Updated:June4,2010

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E-Waste Facts and Figures

HowMuchEwasteisBeingDiscarded?
Whethertrashedorrecycled,whatarewegettingridofeachyearintheUS?(Seenextsectionforwhat westockpile.)

EWastein2007WasitTrashedorRecycled
Products Televisions Computer Products* CellPhones Total disposed**
(millionofunits)

Trashed
(millionofunits)

Recycled
(millionofunits)

RecyclingRate
(byweight)

26.9 205.5 140.3

20.6 157.3 126.3

6.3 48.2 14

18% 18% 10%

*ComputerproductsincludeCPUs,monitors,notebooks,keyboards,mice,andhardcopyperipherals,whichare printers,copiers,multisandfaxes. **Thesetotalsdontincludeproductsthatarenolongerused,butstored. 1 Source:EPA

41.1milliondesktops&laptops

TheEPA(inreportsummarizedabove)estimatesthat29.9million desktopsand12millionlaptopswerediscardedin2007.Thatsover 112,000computersdiscardedperday! TheEPAreport(above)estimatesthat31.9computermonitorswere discardedin2007bothflatpanelandCRTs. Ina2006report,theInternationalAssociationofElectronicsRecyclers projectsthatwiththecurrentgrowthandobsolescenceratesofthe variouscategoriesofconsumerelectronics,(abroaderlistthantheEPA usedabove,includingDVDs,VCRs,mainframes)somewhereinthe neighborhoodof3billionunitswillbescrappedduringtherestofthis decade,oranaverageofabout400millionunitsayear. 2 In2008,wegenerated3.16milliontonsofewasteintheU.S.Ofthis amount,only430,000tonsor13.6%wasrecycled,accordingtothe EPA.Therestwastrashedinlandfillsorincinerators.(Thetotal generatedincreasedfrom3.01milliontonsofewastegeneratedin 2007,buttherecoveryratestayedat13.6%. 3 SelectedconsumerelectronicsincludeproductssuchasTVs,VCRs, DVDplayers,videocameras,stereosystems,telephones,and

31.9millioncomputermonitors 400millionunitsof ewaste

Over3milliontonsofewaste disposedin2008inUSA

ElectronicWasteManagementintheUnitedStates,Approach1Table3.1EPA530R08009USEnvironmentalProtection Agency,July2008.http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/ecycling/docs/app1.pdf 2 InternationalAssociationofElectronicsRecyclersIndustryReport,2006.Availableat http://www.iaer.org/communications/indreport.htm 33 MunicipalSolidWasteGeneration,Recycling,andDisposalintheUnitedStates:FactsandFiguresfor2008.UnitedStates EnvironmentalProtectionAgency,OfficeofSolidWaste(EPA530F009021,November2009.DataisfromCharacterizationData Tables1214,beginningonpage14:http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/msw2008data.pdf 4 IBID

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E-Waste Facts and Figures

computerequipment. 4 Note:EPAs2009dataisexpectedinNovemberorDecember2010. 20to50millionmetrictonsof ewastedisposedworldwide eachyear Some20to50millionmetrictonnesofewastearegenerated worldwideeveryyear,comprisingmorethan5%ofallmunicipalsolid waste.Whenthemillionsofcomputerspurchasedaroundtheworld everyyear(183millionin2004)becomeobsoletetheyleavebehind lead,cadmium,mercuryandotherhazardouswastes.IntheUSalone, some14to20millionPCsarethrownouteveryyear.IntheEUthe volumeofewasteisexpectedtoincreaseby3to5percentayear. Developingcountriesareexpectedtotripletheiroutputofewasteby 2010. 5 Thecategoryofselectedconsumerelectronicproductsgrewby almost5%from2007to2008,from2.84milliontonsfrom3.01million tonsto3.16milliontons. 6 Whileitsnotalargepartofthewaste stream,ewasteshowsahighergrowthratethananyothercategory ofmunicipalwasteintheEPAsreport.Overall,between2007and 2008,totalvolumesofmunicipalwasteDECREASED,whileewaste volumescontinuetoincrease. Only13.6%oftheconsumerelectronicproductsgeneratedintothe municipalwastestream(meaning,thatpeopletossedout)were recoveredforrecyclingin2008.Thiscomparestotheoverall recoveryrateofallcategoriesofmunicipalwastewas33.2%in2008.A totalof430,000tonsofelectronicswererecoveredin2008. 7

Ewasteisstillthefastest growingmunicipalwaste streamintheUS

Only13.6%ofdisposed ewastewasrecycledin2007 and2008

HowMuchElectronicWasteGetsStoredorStockpiled?
68%ofconsumersstockpile 68percentofconsumersstockpileusedorunwantedcomputer equipmentintheirhomes. 8 TheEPAestimatesthefollowingquantitiesofelectronicswerein storageby2007(notincludingcellphones) Televisions:99.1million Desktopcomputers:65.7million Desktopmonitors:42.4million Notebookcomputers:2.1million Hardcopyperipherals:25.2million(printers,copiers,faxes,multis) TOTAL:234.6millionunitsinstorage 9

235millionunitsinstorageas of2007,including99million TVs

PressRelease,BaselConferenceAddressesElectronicWastesChallenge.November27,2006,UnitedNationsEnvironment Programme(UNEP).Availableat: http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=485&ArticleID=5431&l=en 6 MunicipalSolidWasteGeneration,Recycling,andDisposalintheUnitedStates:FactsandFiguresfor2008.UnitedStates EnvironmentalProtectionAgency,OfficeofSolidWaste,November2009.DataisfromCharacterizationDataTables1214. Report:http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/msw2008data.pdf 7 Ibid.Table13.Note:Seepage33ofreportfordefinitionsofgenerationandrecovery. 8 HPFactSheet,EarthDay2005. http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press_kits/environment/earthdayfs.pdf 9 ElectronicWasteManagementintheUnitedStates,Approach1Table3.1EPA530R08009USEnvironmentalProtection Agency,July2008,Table3.4onpage25.http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/ecycling/docs/app1.pdf

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E-Waste Facts and Figures

SalesinElectronicsHowMuchElectronicsAreBeingSold
Note:Manystatisticsonsalesareexpressedintermsofunitsshippedfromthemanufacturersintotheirvarioussaleschannels.

ConsumerElectronics 500millionunitsin2008inUS AccordingtotheConsumerElectronicsAssociation(CEA),consumers wereexpectedtopurchase500millionunitsofconsumerelectronics intheUSin2008.UShouseholdsspendabout$1407peryearon hardware. 10 TheaverageU.S.householdspent$1,380onconsumerelectronics (CE)productsinthepast12months,anincreaseof$151fromlast year,accordingtoanewstudyreleasedinMay2010bytheConsumer ElectronicsAssociation(CEA). 11 AccordingtotheConsumerElectronicsAssociation,USconsumerswill purchase$165billioninconsumerelectronicsin2010,aslight increaseover2009sales. 12 [SeeTVsalesnumbersbelow.]

Spending:$1380perhouseholdon consumerelectronicslastyear.

$165billioninconsumerelectronics productsprojectedfor2010 ComputerSales 305millioncomputerssoldin 2009worldwide.TheUS bought96millionofthem. Computersalesprojections: 366millionworldwidein2010, up20%over2009.70%of thosewillbemobilePCs. TelevisionSales 3.3MillionTVsboughtforthe superbowlin2009. 2.6MillionHDTVsboughtfor SuperBowl2009.
10 11

AccordingtoGartner,Inc,manufacturersshipped305.8million computersin2009.55%oftheseweremobilePCs(notebooks, netbooks,tablets). 13 NinetysixmillionoftheseweretotheU.S. 14 WorldwidePCshipmentsareprojectedtototal366.1millionunitsin 2010,a19.7percentincreasefrom305.8millionunitsshippedin2009, accordingtothelatestpreliminaryforecastbyGartner,Inc.Worldwide PCspendingisforecasttoreach$245billionin2010,up12.2percent from2009. 15

USconsumersbought3.3 millionHDTVsforSuperBowl2010,up from2.6millionin2009. 16 Americansbought3.9millionTVsforthe2008SuperBowl, accordingtotheNationalRetailFederation. 17 Thatsupmorethan

ConsumerElectronicsAssociation,PresentationbyParkerBruggetoEScrapConference,Sept17,2008. ConsumerElectronicsAssociationPressRelease,May6,2010. http://www.ce.org/Press/CurrentNews/press_release_detail.asp?id=11900 12 ConsumerelectronicsAssociationPressRelease,January7,2010. http://www.ce.org/Press/CurrentNews/press_release_detail.asp?id=11861 13 GartnerSaysWorldwidePCShipmentstoGrow20Percentin2010,March4,2010. http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1313513 14 GartnerSaysWorldwidePCShipmentsinFourthQuarterof2009PostedStrongestGrowthRateinSevenYears,January13, 2010,http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1279215 15 GartnerSaysWorldwidePCShipmentstoGrow20Percentin2010,March4,2010. http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1313513 16 SuperBowlisspurringablitzofTVsalesforretailers,IndianapolisStar,quotingConsumerElectronicsAssociation,Feb4,2010. http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2010/02/04/4606159.htm 17 PressReleasefromNationalRetailFederation:AsSuperBowlSalesNear$10Billion,RetailersPlanBigPromotions,Accordingto RAMA,January213,2008.Availableat:http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=461

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E-Waste Facts and Figures

50%fromthe2.5millionweboughtforthe2007superbowl.We bought1.7in2006. TheConsumerElectronicsAssociation(CEA)predictsthatin2009, wewillbuy34.5milliondigitalTVsintheUS,upfrom26.8soldin 2008.Theypredictthat29.8millionofthesewillbeHDTVs. 18 AccordingtonewCEAsalesprojections,manufacturerswillpost 11percentrevenuegrowth,toover$25billion,fromsalesof digitaltelevisionsin2007.CEAalsoforecasts13percentrevenue and17percentunitsalesgrowthfordigitaltelevisionin2008.19 MarketresearchfirmDisplaySearchsaid211millionTVsweresold worldwidein2009. 20 Thiswas2%higherthan2008,despite expectationsthatsaleswoulddecreaseduetoeconomic conditions. WearebuyingBIGTVs.WhiletheaverageTVsizeinNorth Americais29.5inches,NorthAmericaaccountedfor83%ofthe 50"+marketand52%ofthe40"+market 21 DisplaySearchforecasts3.4million3DTVstobeshippedin2010, withthemarketexpectedtoreach42.9millionin2014.Basedon thisforecast,3DTVmarketpenetrationisexpectedtogrowfroma 5%shareoftotalflatpanelTVsin2010to37%in2014.Justover 2millionofthesewillbetoNorthAmerica. 22 AccordingtoGartner,Inc,1.21billionmobilephonesweresoldin 2009,aslightdecreaseover2008.Ofthose,172.4millionwere smartphones. 23 Bytheendof2008,animportantmilestoneintheICT [informationandcommunicationstechnologies]developmentrace wasachieved:over4billionmobilecellularsubscriptions worldwide 24

34.5milliondigitalTVsin2009 26.8milliondigitalTVsin2008 Manufacturersearnedover $25BILLIONsellingdigitalTVs in2007. 211millionTVssoldworldwide in2009

NorthAmericaaccountsfor 83%ofthe50+TVmarket 3DTVsales

CellPhoneSales 1.211billioncellphonessold worldwidein2009 4BILLIONcellphoneusers worldwide

PressReleasefromConsumerElectronicsAssociation,Jan30,2009. http://www.ce.org/Press/CurrentNews/press_release_detail.asp?id=11679 19 IBID 20 DisplaySearchpressrelease:GlobalLCDTVShipmentsReached146MUnitsin2009,FasterGrowthThan2008,Feb22,2010, http://www.displaysearch.com/cps/rde/xchg/displaysearch/hs.xsl/100222_gobal_lcd_tv_shipments_reached_146m_units_in_2009 _faster_growth_than_2008.asp 21 DisplaySearchpressrelease,November27,2006;DisplaySearchReportIndicatesSamsungTakestheTopPositioninGlobalTV UnitsandRevenues,http://www.displaysearch.com/press/?id=1014 22 DisplaySearchpressrelease,July28,2010,3DTVShipmentsExpectedtoReach3.4Min2010and42.9Min2014, http://www.displaysearch.com/cps/rde/xchg/displaysearch/hs.xsl/100728_3d_tv_shipments_expected_to_reach_3_4_m_in_2010_ and_42_9_m_in_2014.asp

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GartnerSaysWorldwideMobilePhoneSalestoEndUsersGrew8PerCentinFourthQuarter2009,Gartner,Inc.,Feb23,2010, http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1306513 24 MeasuringtheInformationSociety.AreportfromtheInternationalTelecommunicationUnion,2009,Page3. http://www.itu.int/ITUD/ict/publications/idi/2009/material/IDI2009_w5.pdf

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E-Waste Facts and Figures

SmartPhones174million soldworldwidein2009

AccordingtoIDC,174.2millionsmartphonesweresoldin2009 worldwide,up15.1%fromthe151.4millionunitsin2008. Smartphonesaccountedfor15.4%ofallmobilephonesshippedin 2009,upslightlyfrom12.7%in2008. 25

DigitalTVConversionStatistics
AreweexperiencinganEWasteTsunami? WebelievealargenumbersofTVsarebeingdisposedofinconjunctionwiththedigitalconversion(now andinthefuture).ConsumershavealotofTVsinstorage(notused,readyfordisposal).Nowthatwe havepassedthedigitalconversiondeadline,anyexpectationsofsomedayreusingordonatingthese analogTVswilldisappear,sincefewpeoplewillwantanalogTVs.Herearesomestatistics. 26.9milliontelevisions disposedin2007 99millionTVsstockpiled Over35%ofUShouseholdsare affectedbydigitaltransition TheEPAestimatesthatin2007,wegotridof26.9millionTVs eitherbytrashingorrecyclingthem. 26 Thatsequivalentto 910,600tons. TheEPAestimatesthatbytheendof2007,therewereover99 millionTVsstockpiledorstoredintheUS. 27 AccordingtothefederalGovernmentAccountabilityOffice,15%of householdsrelysolelyonovertheairTVsignalthesignalthat willbeunavailableifyoudonthaveadigitalTVorconverterbox. Another21%ofhouseholdshaveatleastoneTVthatreceivesover theairsignal. 28 Withabout110millionhouseholdsintheUS,that meansthatapproximately40millionTVsmaybeaffected. Thereisnogooddataavailableforthisquestion.Weestimatetens ofmillions,buthavenoexactnumber.

HowmanyTVswillbe discarded?

ResourceRecoveryfromRecyclingElectronics
Goldrecoveryfromewaste recycling One metric ton (t) of electronic scrap from personal computers (PCs) contains more gold than that recovered from 17 t of gold ore. In1998,theamountofgoldrecoveredfromelectronicscrap

WorldwideConvergedMobileDeviceMarketGrows39.0%YearOverYearinFourthQuarter,SaysIDC,Feb4,2010; http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?sessionId=&containerId=prUS22196610&sessionId=BB21CD29B9FB122C65B341DA0E4D9B96
26

25

ElectronicWasteManagementintheUnitedStates,Approach1Table3.1EPA530R08009USEnvironmental ProtectionAgency,July2008.http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/ecycling/docs/app1.pdf 27 IBID.Page25. 28 DigitalTelevisionTransition.TestimonybeforetheHouseSubcommitteeonTelecommunicationsandtheInternet, June10,2008.MarkGoldstein,GovernmentAccountabilityOffice(GAO).P11 http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08881t.pdf

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E-Waste Facts and Figures

intheUnitedStateswasequivalenttothatrecoveredfrommore than2millionmetrictons(Mt)ofgoldoreandwaste. 29

ResourcesUsedinElectronicsManufacturing
Tomanufactureonecomputer andmonitor,ittakes530 poundsoffossilfuels,48 poundsofchemicals,and1.5 tonsofwater. Finally,theproductionofelectricandelectronicdevicesisavery resourceintensiveactivity.Theenvironmentalburdenduetothe productionofelectricalandelectronicproducts("ecological baggage")exceedsbyfartheoneduetotheproductionofother householdmaterials.AUNstudyfoundthatthemanufacturingof acomputeranditsscreentakesatleast240kg(530pounds)of fossilfuels,22kg(48pounds)ofchemicalsand1.5tonnesofwater morethantheweightofarhinocerosoracar(Kuehrand Williams,2003). 30 EnergyUse Whenyouadduptheenergyusageduringthewholelifecycleofa computerwitha17inchmonitor,youfindmostisusedduring manufacturing,notusingthecomputer: Incontrastwithmanyhomeappliances,lifecycleenergyuseofa computerisdominatedbyproduction(81%)asopposedto operation(19%). 31 Atonofusedcellphones(6000 phones)yields$15,000in preciousmetals. Preciousmetalsincellphones Atonofusedmobilephones,forexampleorapproximately 6,000handsets(atinyfractionoftoday's1billionannual production)containsabout3.5kilogramsofsilver,340gramsof gold,140gramsofpalladium,and130kgofcopper,accordingto StEP.Theaveragemobilephonebatterycontainsanother3.5 gramsofcopper.Combinedvalue:overUS$15,000attoday's prices. 32 Recyclingaluminumusessaves90%ofenergyofminingnew aluminum Recovering10kilogramsofaluminumviarecycling,forexample, usesnomorethan10%oftheenergyrequiredforprimary production,preventingthecreationof13kilogramsofbauxite residue,20kilogramsofCO2,and0.11kilogramsofsulphur

81%ofadesktopcomputers energyuseisinMAKINGthe computer,notusingit

Recyclingmetalsfromewaste usesafractionoftheenergy neededtominenewmetals

USGSFactSheetFS06001July2001.http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs06001/ Ewaste,thehiddensideofITequipment'smanufacturinganduse,EnvironmentAlertBulletin,UnitedNationsEnvironment Programme,January2005.Availableat:http://www.grid.unep.ch/product/publication/download/ew_ewaste.en.pdf

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Quotereferencesacompilationcalled,ComputersandtheEnvironment.Understandingandmanagingtheirimpact. EricWilliamsandRuedigerKuehr,Editors,UnitedNationsUniversity,October2003. 31 Energyintensityofcomputermanufacturing:hybridassessmentcombiningprocessandeconomicinputoutput methods,EricWilliamsUnitedNationsUniversity,EnvironmentalScience&Technology38(22),61666174(2004). 32 UnitedNationsUniversity(2009,September17).SetWorldStandardsForElectronicsRecycling,ReuseToCurbE wasteExportsToDevelopingCountries,ExpertsUrge.ScienceDaily.RetrievedSeptember21,2009,from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090915140919.htm 33 IBID

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dioxideemissions,andcausesmanyotheremissionsand impacts. 33 JobsandReuse ReuseCreatesMoreJobs Comparedtodisposal,computerreusecreates296morejobsper forevery10,000tonsofmaterialdisposedeachyear. 34

Sourcesforinformationandstatisticsontheelectronicsindustry Gartner AmarketresearchfirmspecializingintheITindustry. IDCAmarketresearchfirmspecializinginITandconsumerelectronics. DisplaysearchAmarketresearchfirmspecializinginTVsandotherdisplaytechnology.

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InstituteForLocalSelfReliance,RecyclingMeansBusiness,1997. http://www.ilsr.org/recycling/recyclingmeansbusiness.html

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