E-Waste: The Flip Side of Digital Mobility

About 53.6 million tons (Mt) of e-waste was generated worldwide in 2019, up 21% in just five years, according to the UN’s Global E-waste Monitor 2020. The volume is likely to touch 74.7 million tons (Mt) by 2030 – almost doubling in only 16 years.

The growing amount of e-waste is attributed to higher consumption rates of Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE), short life cycles, and fewer repair options. Asia generated the highest quantity of e-waste in 2019 at 24.9 Mt, followed by the Americas (13.1 Mt) and Europe (12 Mt). 

When we look at the recycling scenario, only 17.4% of the 53.6Mt of E-waste was officially documented as properly collected and recycled in 2019. The corresponding recycling rate in the US is even lower at 9%. 

There is a lot of room for improvement in the e-waste recycling space. We, at Phinix, are doing some significant work with Virginia Tech in the e-waste recycling space in collaboration with Remade Institute. I will soon talk about the current status of the E-waste recycling industry and the recovery of valuable materials from the global and the US perspective. 

(1ton = 1000kg)