Why E-waste Management Must Include Restoration What Is E-waste, or “Electronic Waste”? Electronic waste is a broad term that includes discarded, broken, and obsolete electronic devices. From cell phones to home appliances and a business’s outdated computers, e-waste poses immediate and long-term environmental and human health risks. How Are Electronics Recycled? The e-waste recycling process […]
Electronic waste is a broad term that includes discarded, broken, and obsolete electronic devices. From cell phones to home appliances and a business’s outdated computers, e-waste poses immediate and long-term environmental and human health risks.
The e-waste recycling process includes careful device disassembly and sorting to recover valuable materials. The recovered materials are then reused in new electronic devices after being melted down or otherwise processed. E-waste recovery systems promise to reduce the environmental and societal impact of rare earth metal mining, refinement, and electronics manufacturing by keeping more materials in the manufacturing ecosystem. Sustainable electronics recycling offers key advantages to disposal, but the economic realities remain daunting.
The promise – and challenge – of recycling programs is sizeable when we consider how much e-waste is produced each year. Researchers at the World Health Organization estimate that global e-waste in 2019 exceeded 53 million tons annually, with less than 20% of it being recycled. A year later, that total ballooned to more than 59 million tons. E-waste is a fast-growing problem.
The economic impact of e-waste includes the costs of exploration, extraction, and manufacturing to source new materials, particularly rare earth metals. The 80 percent of electronic devices that are landfilled forever bury gold, silver, lithium, and other metals. That represents $57 billion of wasted precious metals per year, roughly the gross domestic product (GDP) of nations like Sudan, Jordan, and Tunisia.
Wasting these precious resources has a real impact on consumers. As rare earth metals become harder and more expensive to mine, the devices and machines they’re used in will get increasingly expensive. The aggregate average cost of rare earth metals is expected to increase at a 4.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2032.
Managing e-waste is critical to mitigating the potential contamination caused by electronics and
reducing its impact on landfills worldwide.
Electronic waste is the fastest-growing solid waste stream in the world. The volume of e-waste worldwide is growing three times faster than the world’s population and is expected to accelerate further in the future. In time, this will put incredible strain on landfills and other collection points, and it should be noted that most electronics end up in landfills. Only about 17.4% of electronics are recycled, leaving the rest to pile up in landfills, warehouses, or unregistered dumping sites.
While risk varies by device, electronics often contain toxic substances known to cause harm to humans. Devices that become e-waste contain over 1,000 chemicals, many of which contaminate soil, water supplies, and food sources. These chemicals include potentially devastating neurotoxins like lead, one of many which can negatively affect human health.
The risk is especially high in developing countries with fewer regulations or lack of enforcement. Foraging, dumping near bodies of water, incineration, and manual assembly lead to contamination and direct human exposure. This is especially dangerous for pregnant women and children and often causes:
Hazardous substances in e-waste, the increasing volume of electronics, and the low rate of electronics recycling reinforce the need to include electronics restoration as a cost-effective solution to solving the e-waste problem.
While the most devastating health effects of e-waste are felt in developing communities, the root of the issue comes directly from the consumers of developed economies.
E-waste is particularly difficult to address because of its scale, the complex and often expensive
process needed to reclaim precious materials, and a more central issue – things break. For individuals and businesses, functioning electronics capable of running the latest software isn’t a luxury but a crucial part of modern life.
After damage from a loss event, owners often face an immediate need to upgrade devices. Many replace their damaged devices, even when restoration is the more economical option.
Homeowners and businesses should consider restoration after a storm, fire, cyberattack, or other loss event. In many situations, restoration is not only the fastest solution but the least expensive and most sustainable as well.
Another exciting development is the growing market within e-waste’s circular economy, which includes substantial investment in rare earth metal recycling and the refurbished electronics market.
Mining for rare earth metals is labor- and energy-intensive and extremely expensive. As input costs for mining have increased and consumers have emphasized sustainable and ethical material sourcing, companies reoriented capital investments. As a result, the rare earth metals recycling market is expected to grow at 11.2% through 2025 to over $422 million. There are geopolitical factors as well, including China’s outsized control of rare earth mining. Other nations are looking to reduce dependency on China for such important materials.
Another bright spot is the growing market for refurbished electronics. Consumers and businesses can
trade in older or unwanted but functioning devices to dedicated marketplaces that sell directly to consumers or wholesale. The refurbished electronics market size is growing even faster than rare earth
recycling, with a forecast CAGR of 13% through 2032.
There is considerable consumer and regulatory pressure to mandate manufacturer take-back programs. This would incentivize electronics manufacturers to offer discounts to customers who trade in or responsibly dispose of old electronics. The products would then be resold on the refurbished electronics market or recycled.
Addressing electronic waste will require all these methods and many more. Prism Specialties is committed to meeting our client’s needs to provide a sustainable, cost-effective alternative to unsafe electronics disposal. For expert electronics restoration for your clients, find a Prism Specialties location near you or call (888) 826-9429 today to get started.
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