E-Waste

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Statistics

John Thackara:

"E-Waste FAQs How much toxic e-waste is being created and what are some of its environmental and social impacts? According to market analyst firm ABI Research, approximately 53 million tons of electronic waste were generated worldwide in 2009, and only about 13% of it was recycled. The Electronics Take Back Coalition (ETBC) estimates that 14 to 20 million PCs are thrown out every year in the U.S. alone. There has been a recent surge in e-waste created by aggressive marketing encouraging consumers to "upgrade" basic voice-only mobile devices to 3G and 4G smartphones and mobile game consoles. There has also been an enormous surge in CRT monitors and TV sets set into motion by the switch to large flat screen displays and DVRs. The EPA estimates that over 99 million TV sets, each containing four to eight pounds of lead, cadmium, beryllium and other toxic metals, were stockpiled or stored in the U.S. in 2007, and 26.9 million TVs were disposed of in 2007 -- either by trashing or recycling them. While it's not a large part of the waste stream, e-waste shows a higher growth rate than any other category of municipal waste....etc etc"

Source: http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/08/smartphone-hdtv-boom-begets-gargantuan-e-wasteproblem235.html