E-waste Facts and Statistics

• Examples of e-waste
• What causes e-waste?
• WEEE statistics
• E-waste statistics in the UK

A growing consumer demand for more and the latest electronic products is a big cause of e-waste. More electronic products are being manufactured than ever before and many people upgrade to the latest mobile phone, laptop, or games console when they’re released. This means the old ones quickly become waste.

There’s also a throwaway culture around many electronics that means plenty are simply disposed of once they become outdated or broken. Often it’s cheaper to replace rather than repair some electrical items, which creates more e-waste. The same is true for many products with batteries – once the battery life reduces the whole item is replaced rather than just the battery.

There are various causes of e-waste for businesses. Upgrading to the latest computer equipment for an office so things run more efficiently is common. Damage and electrical items breaking down are other big reasons for commercial e-waste. This could be accidental or due to misuse by employees or customers (such as overfilling a dishwasher or knocking a TV off a wall in a hotel room).

According to the UN, the UK is the second-largest producer of e-waste per person in the world (behind Norway). The WEEE Regulations 2013 were introduced to ensure no electronic waste makes its way to landfill and encourage the reuse and recycling of e-waste by consumers and businesses across the country.

However, as these facts and figures about e-waste in the UK show, there’s still work to do:

• In total, the UK generates around 6 million tonnes of e-waste every year
• Households produce more than 400,000 tonnes of e-waste each year
• Around 9kg of e-waste per capita is created in the UK annually
• The UK only recycles 31.2% of e-waste
• Every year Brits buy around 10 million tonnes of electronic and electrical products
• The average UK home has 25 electronic devices – around 20% of which are unused
• It’s estimated that 25 million mobile phones are discarded across the UK each year
• About a quarter of all electronics purchased are IT equipment and consumer digital devices – that contain £1.5 billion worth of precious metals
• IT and telecoms e-waste doubled in the UK over the last 15 years to almost 38,000 tonnes annually

There’s a lot of value in old electronics as these stats and facts about e-waste show. Recycling WEEE is possible and important to help preserve resources, save energy, and reduce pollution levels across the planet. The importance is clear to see with these e-waste recycling facts and figures:

• Estonia, Norway, and Iceland have the highest e-waste recycling rates in the world
• Currently, the amount of e-waste recycled globally prevents 15 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from being released into the environment
• Recycling one million laptops saves enough energy to power 3,600 homes annually
• Recycling one million mobile phones can recover:
  • 16,000kg of copper
  • 350kg of silver
  • 34kg of gold,
  • 15kg of palladium
• Irresponsible e-waste recycling causes around 25% of data breaches
• Recycling one tonne of circuit boards can contain 40 to 800 times more gold – and 30 to 40 times more copper than can be mined from one tonne of ore

If you’ve got any kind of electronic item that still works but you no longer need then the best thing to do is give it to someone who can use it. This could be donating to a charity shop, passing it on to a friend, or selling it online.

For any broken consumer electricals, you can return them to many electronic stores for free through the retailer take-back scheme. When buying some new items (like a mobile phone or fridge) the company may offer an exchange option. Alternatively, take them to a local electrical recycling bank or household waste recycling centre, depending on their size.