Global e-Waste Monitor 2024: Electronic Waste Rising Five Times Faster than Documented E-waste Recycling
- A record 62 million tonnes (Mt) of e-waste was produced in 2022, Up 82% from 2010;
- On track to rise another 32%, to 82 million tonnes, in 2030;
- Billions of dollars worth of strategically-valuable resources squandered, dumped;
- Just 1% of rare earth element demand is met by e-waste recycling.
The world’s generation of electronic waste is rising five times faster than documented e-waste recycling, the UN’s fourth Global E-waste Monitor (GEM) reveals today. The 62 million tonnes of e-waste generated in 2022 would fill 1.55 million 40-tonne trucks, roughly enough trucks to form a bumper-tobumper line encircling the equator, according to the report from ITU and UNITAR.
Meanwhile, less than one quarter (22.3%) of the year’s e-waste mass was documented as having been properly collected and recycled in 2022, leaving US $62 billion worth of recoverable natural resources unaccounted for and increasing pollution risks to communities worldwide. Worldwide, the annual generation of e-waste is rising by 2.6 million tonnes annually, on track to reach 82 million tonnes by 2030, a further 33% increase from the 2022 figure. E-waste, any discarded product with a plug or battery, is a health and environmental hazard, containing toxic additives or hazardous substances such as mercury, which can damage the human brain and coordination system.
The report foresees a drop in the documented collection and recycling rate from 22.3% in 2022 to 20% by 2030 due to the widening difference in recycling efforts relative to the staggering growth of e-waste generation worldwide. Challenges contributing to the widening gap include technological progress, higher consumption, limited repair options, shorter product life cycles, society’s growing electronification, design shortcomings, and inadequate e-waste management infrastructure.
The report underlines that if countries could bring the e-waste collection and recycling rates to 60% by 2030, the benefits - including through minimizing human health risks - would exceed costs by more than US $38 billion. It also notes that the world “remains stunningly dependent” on a few countries for rare earth elements, despite their unique properties crucial for future technologies, including renewable energy generation and e-mobility.
https://unitar.org/sites/default/files/styles/free/public/media/image/GEM%202024%20-%20Executive%20Summary%202.png 
https://unitar.org/sites/default/files/media/image/GEM%202024%20-%20Figure%203.%20Headline%20Figures%20%282010-2030%29.png 
https://unitar.org/sites/default/files/media/image/GEM%202024%20-%20Amount%20of%20E-waste%20Generated%20and%20Collected.png ▻https://unitar.org/about/news-stories/press/global-e-waste-monitor-2024-electronic-waste-rising-five-times-faster-docume
▻https://ewastemonitor.info/the-global-e-waste-monitor-2024
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