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Home > Engineering and Information Technology > E-waste research group > Facts and figures

Facts and figures

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E-waste

  • Every year 20 to 50 million tonnes of e-waste are generated worldwide (Schwarzer et al., 2005)
  • In 2005 US generated 2.6 million tons of e-waste out of which only 12.6% was recycled (US EPA, 2006)
  • E-waste is currently growing at around 4% per year(Deng et al., 2006)
  • 400 million units of e-waste per year will be scrapped during the rest of this decade (International Association of Electronics Recyclers, 2006)
  • E-waste accounts for 8% of all municipal waste in Europe (Streicher-Porte, 2006)
  • Electronic waste constitutes from 2 to 5% of US municipal solid waste stream and is growing rapidly (Kang and Schoenung, 2005)
  • E-waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the EU with estimates of between 1kg per person per annum and 20 kg per person per annum and increasing at about 3 times greater than normal municipal solid waste (Darby and Obara, 2005)
  • In China about 20 million electronic household appliances including TV, washing machines, PCs etc) and 70 million cell phones reach end-of-life every year (Yongguang, Qingdong et al., 2006)
  • E-waste contains more than 1000 different substances, many of which are toxic , such as lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, selenium, hexavalent chromium, and flame retardants (Widmer et al., 2005)
  • About 70% of the heavy metals (mercury and cadmium) in US landfills come from electronic waste and 40% lead in landfills come from electrical and electronic equipment (Widmer et al., 2005)
  • 22% of the yearly world consumption of mercury is used in electronics manufacture (Realff, Raymond et al., 2004)

Computers

  • 500 million computers became obsolete in the US between 1997 and 2007 (Yu et al., 2006)
  • In 2007, it is estimated that 271 millions computers were sold worldwide (Source: Gartner)
  • One billion PCs will be in use by the end of 2008 - two billion by 2015 with most growth in emerging Brazil, Russia, India, and China (Source: Forrest Research)
  • Life span of a computer changed from 4-6 years in 1997 to 2 years in 2005 and further decreasing (Hai Yong and Schoenung, 2006)
  • UN study has found that manufacturing a computer and its screen takes at least 240kg of fossil fuels, 22 kg of chemicals and 1.5 tonnes of water – more than the weight of a car (Schwarzer, et al., 2005)
  • An average PC weighs 29.6 kg and consists of metal (43.7%), plastics (23.3%), electronic components (17.3%) and glass (15%)(Berkhout and Hertin, 2004)

Mobile Phones

  • Australians upgrade or exchange their mobile phones every 18 months, meaning there are approximately 16 million unused mobile phones stashed away at home or in the office (Source: AMTA)
  • Average working life of a mobile phone is 7 years but worldwide the average consumer changes their mobile every 11 months (Sharpe, 2005)
  • Australians purchased 40 million mobile phones in past 5 years including 9.28 million in 2007 (Source: AMTA)
  • Over 90% of materials in mobile phones can be recovered such as nickel, cadmium, cobalt, gold, silver, copper, plastics and other metals (Source: AMTA)
  • Over one billion mobile phone handsets were currently in use around the world in 2006 (Canning, 2006)
  • In 2006, it was estimated that each year 130 million mobile phones in the US and 105 million mobile phones in Europe will be thrown away (Canning, 2006)
  • 700 million obsolete phones discarded in 2005 contained an estimated 560,000 kg of lead in the form of solder (Lincoln et al., 2005)

References

  • Berkhout, F. and J. Hertin (2004). "De-materialising and re-materialising: digital technologies and the environment." Futures 36(8): 903-920.
  • Canning, L. (2006). "Rethinking market connections: mobile phone recovery, reuse and recycling in the UK. "Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing 21(4-5): 320-329.
  • Darby, L. and L. Obara (2005). "Household recycling behaviour and attitudes towards the disposal of small electrical and electronic equipment." Resources Conservation and Recycling 44(1): 17-35.
  • Deng, W. J., P. K. K. Louie, et al. (2006). "Atmospheric levels and cytotoxicity of PAHs and heavy metals in TSP and PM2.5 at an electronic waste recycling site in southeast China." Atmospheric Environment 40(36): 6945-6955.
  • Hai-Yong, K. and J. M. Schoenung (2006). End-of-life personal computer systems in California: analysis of emissions and infrastructure needed to recycle in the future. Proceedings of the 2006 IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment, IEEE.
  • IDC (2006). Slow PC sales in the United States constraint global outlook while international growth remains strong.
  • International Association of Electronics Recyclers (2006). Electronics Recycling Industry Report 2006: 260.
  • Kang, H. Y. and J. M. Schoenung (2005). "Electronic waste recycling: A review of US infrastructure and technology options." Resources Conservation and Recycling 45(4): 368-400.
  • Lincoln, J. D., O. A. Ogunseitan, et al. (2005). Environmentally benign materials for electronics: a review of current developments and emerging technologies. Proceedings International Symposium on. Advanced Packaging Materials: Processes, Properties and Interfaces, 2005.
  • Realff, M. J., M. Raymond, et al. (2004). "E-waste: An opportunity." Materials Today 7(1): 40-45.
  • Schwarzer, S., A. D. Bono, et al. (2005). E-waste, the hidden side of IT equipment's manufacturing and use. UNEP Early Warning on Emerging Environmental Threats No. 5.
  • Sharpe, M. (2005). "Climbing the e-waste mountain." Journal of Environmental Monitoring 7(10): 933-936.
  • Streicher-Porte, M. (2006). SWICO/S.EN.S, the Swiss WEEE recycling systems, and best practices from other European systems. Proceedings of the 2006 IEEE International Symposium on Electronics and the Environment, IEEE.
  • United States Environmental Protection Agency (2006). Municipal Solid Waste in the United States: 2005 Facts and Figures: 164.
  • Widmer, R., H. Oswald-Krapf, et al. (2005). "Global perspectives on e-waste." Environmental Impact Assessment Review 25(5): 436-458.
  • Yongguang, Z., Y. Qingdong, et al. (2006). "A research into the recycling system of waste electrical and electronic equipment in China." 2006 IEEE International Conference on Service Operations and Logistics, and Informatics (IEEE Cat. No. 06EX1352C): 6 pp.-6 pp.
  • Yu, J., R. Welford, et al. (2006). "Industry responses to EU WEEE and ROHS Directives: perspectives from China." Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 13(5): 286-299.

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