Facts About Electronic Waste

• The nation now dumps between 300 million and 400 million electronic items per year, and less than 20% of that e-waste is recycled. (source)

• E-waste represents 2% of America’s trash in landfills, but it equals 70% of overall toxic waste. The extreme amount of lead in electronics alone causes damage in the central and peripheral nervous systems, the blood and the kidneys. (source)

• According to the UN Environment Program, the worldwide total for e-waste could be 50 million tons per year. (source)

• In 2009, approximately 25 percent of TVs, computer products, and cell phones that were ready for end-of-life management were collected for recycling. (source)

• Recycling one million laptops saves the energy equivalent to the electricity used by 3,657 US homes in a year. (source)

• In 2005, used or unwanted electronics amounted to approximately 1.9 to 2.2 million tons. Of that, about 1.5 to 1.8 million tons were primarily disposed in landfills, and only 345,000 to 379,000 tons were recycled. (source)

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