Electronic waste growing five times faster than recycling
We use more and more electronic devices. Global electronic waste is rising five times faster than the recycling of e-waste, according to a UN report on Global E-waste Monitor 2024. If countries could bring recycling rates to 60% by 2030, the benefits – including through minimizing human health risks – would exceed costs by more than US $38 billion.
The report says challenges contributing to the widening gap include technological progress, higher consumption, limited repair options, shorter product life cycles, society’s growing electronification, design shortcomings, and inadequate e-waste management infrastructure.
A record 62 million tonnes (Mt) of e-waste was produced in 2022, up 82% from 2010. It is on track to rise another 32%, to 82 million tonnes, in 2030. Just 1% of rare earth element demand is met by e-waste recycling
The report says the 62 million tonnes of e-waste would fill 1.55 million 40-tonne trucks, roughly enough trucks to form a bumper-to-bumper line encircling the equator, according to the report from ITU (International Telecommunications Union) and UNITAR (UN Institute for Training and Research).
Meanwhile, less than one quarter (22.3%) of the year’s e-waste mass was documented as having been properly collected and recycled in 2022, leaving US$ 62 billion worth of recoverable natural resources unaccounted for and increasing pollution risks to communities worldwide.
Worldwide, the annual generation of e-waste is rising by 2.6 million tonnes annually, on track to reach 82 million tonnes by 2030, a further 33% increase from the 2022 figure.
The report foresees a drop in the recycling rate from 22.3% in 2022 to 20% by 2030 due to the widening difference in recycling efforts relative to the growth of e-waste generation worldwide.
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