Facts and figures - Griffith University

Site Degrees

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.