Electronics are everywhere—not just phones and computers, but also smartwatches, toothbrushes, e-bikes, toys, power tools, furniture with built-in USB ports, and even smart toilets with Wi-Fi connectivity. When these items are tossed, they become e-waste, a toxic type of trash that has been surging in recent years—and which the world is ill-equipped to recycle.
In 2022, the world generated a record 62 million tonnes of e-waste—an amount that would fill 1.55 million 40-tonne trucks, enough to wrap around the equator—according to the Global E-Waste Monitor 2024, a new report from the United Nations. (That’s up from 53.6 million tonnes in 2019, per the last UN report.) And that waste is expected to keep growing: It’s rising globally by 2.6 million tonnes a year.
But recycling isn’t keeping up. In 2022, just 22.3% of all global e-waste was properly collected and recycled; overall, the amount of e-waste is rising five times faster than the rate of documented e-waste recycling. “This is something that really worries me,” says Kees Balde, lead author of the report and senior scientific specialist at the UN Institute for Training and Research. “There is a lot of talk about [e-waste], but we need more action.” And as e-waste grows, its recycling rate is expected to drop: the report expects global e-waste collection and recycling to drop to 20% by 2030.
Recycling at large is broken, but e-waste is an issue that needs particular attention, experts say, in part because of its unique challenges. “Each device contains hazardous materials and valuable materials,” Balde says. “We must be sure that the hazardous materials are safely dismantled and disposed of, and that the valuable materials are being recycled, so that we can reclaim the available precious materials . . . which is also not easy to do. If it were easy, the markets would be already doing it.”
The image shows sound systems piled up. The various colors indicate the various elements that compose the load. [Image: © Bénédicte Kurzen/Fondation Carmignac/NOOR]
Those hazardous materials include mercury; when electronics aren’t properly recycled, the toxic chemicals can leach into the soil, water, and air, damaging the environment and threatening human health. Meanwhile, every metal not collected from recycled e-waste means more new metals that need to be mined for electronics, which come with their own disastrous environmental and social impacts. The UN report found that e-waste in 2022 contained $92 billion worth of metals like copper, gold, and iron.
When it comes to taking action on e-waste, Balde says legislation will be key. “We need to have the sufficient [funding] and legislative push from governments and producers that are responsible for the waste that they are generating.” As of 2023, 81 countries had some form of e-waste legislation, up from 78 in 2019. And that has made a difference. Countries with legislation have, on average, a 25% collection and recycling rate, “whereas the majority of those that don’t have legislation are close to 0%,” says Garam Bel, circular economy coordinator at the International Telecommunication Union, a specialized UN agency involved with the report. “For me, that tells a strong story.”
In the U.S., there’s no federal legislation on e-waste, but 25 states plus D.C. have electronics recycling laws, and 27 states have “right to repair” laws. The European Union, on the other hand, has both an electronics recycling and recovery law and a right to repair directive. Both regions have recycling rates over 40%, but the report authors note that the EU’s legislation is stronger, as it bans exporting e-waste to non-OECD countries, which lack the infrastructure to manage this waste.
But legislation can’t be the sole solution. In some cases, it’s poorly enforced or includes no financial investment in recycling systems. Balde adds that many electronic devices simply aren’t designed to be repaired or recycled. In those cases, legislation and improved recycling technology still wouldn’t be able to reclaim the metals.
In this way, the companies and producers behind electronics also have a role to play. Big tech, Balde notes, makes big profits, “and they should also take a responsibility, in my view, to set up repair schemes to prevent e-waste.” Companies could also make their products easier to recycle, like by designing modular electronics, as well as setting up financial mechanisms with cities to better separate e-waste and send it to the right recyclers. “Producers are playing a pivotal role in all of this.”
Though the facts about e-waste in this latest report are stark, Balde hopes it spurs people to take action. “By having the facts on the table, we set a level playing field,” he says,” and as a basis of that, the ones who are responsible for making the change can start making the change.”