Electronic Waste
The world generated ~62 million tonnes of electronic waste in 2024 — up from 53 Mt in 2019. Per-capita e-waste reached 7.8 kg per person. Only ~22% is formally collected and recycled. The rest is sent to landfill, illegally dumped, or processed informally — often in low-income countries with high human and environmental costs. E-waste is growing 5× faster than formal recycling capacity.
Key insights
E-waste is the fastest-growing waste stream
Annual e-waste generation grew ~80% from 2014 to 2024. Drivers: more devices per person (phones, tablets, laptops, smart watches, IoT devices), shorter device replacement cycles, planned obsolescence, falling prices that put electronics in more hands. Per-capita e-waste in advanced economies is ~20 kg/year; sub-Saharan Africa under 3 kg. The trend is accelerating.
Informal recycling has high human and environmental costs
Roughly half of all e-waste flows into informal recycling systems — primarily in Ghana, Nigeria, India, Pakistan, China (historically), parts of Latin America. Workers extract valuable materials (gold, copper, rare earths) using open burning, acid leaching, manual disassembly without protective equipment. Lead, mercury, brominated flame retardants contaminate workers and surrounding communities. Children make up a substantial share of informal workers in some sites.
E-waste contains significant valuable materials
1 tonne of mobile phones contains ~350g of gold, 130kg of copper, plus silver, palladium, neodymium, lithium. Concentrations are higher than virgin ore for many metals. Estimated $57B of materials are in annual e-waste flows. Recovery rates: ~10-30% for valuable metals globally — far below technical potential. The economic case for formal recycling is real but blocked by collection logistics and processing capacity.
Global e-waste generation 2014–2024
Million tonnes per year
Key Finding: ~80% increase over 10 years; only ~22% formally collected and recycled.
E-waste per capita — selected regions (2024)
kg per person per year
Key Finding: Europe and Oceania generate ~20 kg/person; Africa under 3 kg. Generation per capita is highly correlated with income.
Methodology & caveats
WEEE categories
E-waste / WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) covers: temperature exchange equipment (refrigerators, ACs), screens, lamps, large equipment (washing machines, dryers), small equipment (kettles, hairdryers), small IT (laptops, phones), photovoltaic panels. The composition is shifting toward more small IT and screen e-waste as device counts rise.
Formal vs informal collection
Formal collection: dedicated e-waste programs (US state programs, EU WEEE Directive, Australia NTCRS, Japan Home Appliance Recycling Law). Informal collection: scrap dealers, informal repair shops, household disposal in regular waste. EU has the highest formal collection rate (~45%); Africa under 1%. National frameworks matter — extended producer responsibility (EPR) generally produces higher formal rates than landfill bans alone.
Where e-waste goes
Trans-boundary movement: Basel Convention restricts cross-border e-waste shipments. In practice, much e-waste is shipped to low-income countries as 'second-hand goods' (legal) but ends up in informal recycling. Major destinations historically: Ghana (Agbogbloshie), Nigeria (Alaba), India, Pakistan. China was the largest destination until 2018; National Sword policy stopped most imports. Global flows have redistributed.