Globally around 53 million tons of electronic waste was generated last year and just 13% of it was recycled.
E-waste generation has surged recently because of intense marketing of new smartphone upgrades. There has also been a marked increase in CRT televisions going to waste due to the rapid spread of flat screen displays.
E-waste is not a large part of the overall waste stream but its rate of growth outstrips every other category.
Most concerning is the huge growth of hazardous waste from electronic goods in the developing world. It is projected that over the next few years e-waste from old mobile phones will grow sevenfold in China and eighteenfold in India. China is already second to the US in e-waste production.
E-waste contains over 1,000 toxic substances that can harm humans and the environment. These include plastics and gases used to make electronic products, persistent organic pollutants, brominated flame retardants, chlorinated solvents,
heavy metals, PVC, plasticisers, gold, tungsten, tantalum and tin.
Some US e-waste is sent to recycling plants in federal prison recycling plants, where prisoners are paid just 23 cents per hour. This substantially undercuts commercial recyclers and could stifle the development of a viable commercial recycling infrastructure that is needed to cope with the growing mountain of e-waste.