America's E-Waste Problem - 10 Staggering Facts
Electronic waste the fastest growing municipal solid waste stream. Most of the recoverable resources we use on electronics are wasted in landfills due to a lack of proper recycling infrastructure. Here are 10 Staggering Facts about our current electronic waste crisis.
- We generate over three million tons of electronic waste annually.
- For every one million cell phones that are recycled, 35,274 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered.
- Only 15% of electronic waste is recycled today
- Every day, over 416,000 mobile devices and 142,000 computers end up in landfills and incinerators.
- Over 40% of electronic waste is exported overseas
- There is more gold in a ton of electronic waste than a ton of gold ore.
- The amount of global e-waste is expected to grow by 8 percent per year.
- The average U.S. household spent $1,312 on consumer electronics products and owns twenty four electronic products.
- 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 processed.
- E-waste comprises 70% of our overall toxic waste
Resources:
http://i.unu.edu/media/ias.unu.edu-en/news/7916/Global-E-waste-Monitor-2014-small.pdf
https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-04-22/the-rising-cost-of-recycling-not-exporting-electronic-waste
http://www.zerowaste.sa.gov.au/e-waste/what-can-be-recycled-from-e-waste
https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/advancing-sustainable-materials-management-0
https://www.ricarecycling.com/blog/