What Is Electronic Waste?

What Is Electronic Waste?

The average American household has 11 connected devices, and even more if we count electric appliances and the old devices collecting dust in drawers. As amazing as modern technology is, all these devices will stop working one day — if they haven't already. What happens to them once they no longer serve their purpose? The answer is complicated.

Some devices are in good condition. Others are too far past their prime. Some are bulky and require a trip to a specialized disposal facility. Others are small and may spend years sitting forgotten in a junk drawer. Instead, they could be brought to a recycling facility, traded in, or sold, refurbished and resold. Many people aren't sure what can and cannot be thrown away, and all too many devices end up in landfills or otherwise improperly discarded.

Electronic devices that their owners no longer want or have stopped working are typically considered e-waste. The proper reduction and disposal of e-waste is a hot topic among sustainably minded consumers and experts alike. A lack of awareness is a significant obstacle to these devices finding second homes or being recycled instead of ending up in landfills. Let's talk more about electronic waste recycling and what you can do to lessen your unwanted electronics' impacts on the planet.

What Is E-Waste?

E-waste is any electronic device or electronical component nearing the end of their useful life. The term is loosely defined, taking on different meanings to different people. For example, some people may include microwaves and other appliances in the definition, while other people use it mainly to discuss devices like cell phones and tablets. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines e-waste as the subset of electronic waste with inherent value. They're specifically concerned with diverting electronic devices that contain recyclable, reusable or refurbish-able materials from landfills.

E-waste can encompass any electronic product nearing the end of its useful life, including:

Items that have stopped working or have become damaged are just one contributor to e-waste. Rapid innovation also makes many products in good condition obsolete. For example, when the DVD player came to market, many people soon got rid of VCRs that still worked.

These days, top phone manufacturers come out with newer, more exciting models every year. It tempts many people to upgrade, even when they could squeeze a few more years out of their current device. The average iPhone stays active for about 18 months, while the average Samsung phone is active for 16.5 months.

Meanwhile, the rapid pace of new models coming to market also affects devices that become damaged or lose functionality. Because new computer models and phones come out every year, it's often easier and cheaper to buy a new device than to have an old one repaired. Plus, repairing it yourself or through a third-party repair service could void the warranty.

Technology and innovation are great things. They contribute to society, helping us do more and be more energy efficient with each new product that comes out. Upgrading to a phone with better battery life, for example, can help you save a bit of electricity, which is good for the environment. However, the products that become obsolete in the meantime could contribute to the growing problem of e-waste.

Much of what we consider electronic waste has value; even if e-waste has no value, it should be kept out of landfills. . Even long-outdated technologies like VCRs and cassette players have value in the hands of collectors. Phones that still work can be refurbished and given a second life for budget- and eco-conscious consumers. Devices that no longer work often contain precious materials that can be used to make new devices or recycled in other ways.

What Does E-Waste Look Like Around the World?

New electronic devices come to market faster and faster each year, and our population grows alongside it. Electronic waste has therefore increased steadily for years. In 2010, the world generated 33.8 million metric tons of e-waste, and that number has risen steadily ever since. By 2019, that number had grown to 53.6 million metric tons. Experts expect that trend to continue. By 2030, the world will generate roughly 30% more e-waste than it did in 2019, reaching an annual 74.7 million metric tons.

According to the most recent available data from 2019, worldwide e-waste breaks down like so:

Worldwide, an estimated 82.6% of all e-waste is not formally collected or managed with the environment in mind. One contributing factor is that it's easy for small electronic devices to end up in the regular trash. A household has to find a place to dispose of bulky electronic waste like desktop computers, TVs and microwaves. That means most of these items will be safely recycled, reused or disposed of. However, that same household could slip an old cell phone into the trash without realizing the environmental consequences or the cash they could earn from selling it.

How Is the World Tackling E-Waste?

Many countries are beginning to understand the scope of the world's e-waste management needs. They're developing standards and best practices to address these needs in their own countries and the countries where the world's e-waste ends up for disposal. One such initiative is the International E-Waste Management Network (IEMN), spearheaded by the U.S. EPA and the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration. The initiative unites global leaders in its goal to expand the global capacity for environmentally sound e-waste disposal solutions.

What Is E-Waste Management?

E-waste management involves the processes, resources and oversight required to dispose of electronic waste in an environmentally responsible way. It can entail refurbishing and reusing electronic devices. When reuse is not possible, it involves breaking down the devices and recycling the components.

To safely manage e-waste, the world needs to raise awareness for how to dispose of electronics safely. Once people know where to bring their unwanted electronics, there must be a network to assess the devices and execute a waste management procedure. Refurbishing companies can restore and resell salvageable devices, and recyclers can handle the rest. They'll break down devices into their raw materials and have them incorporated into new products.

How Does Electronic Waste Hurt the Environment?

Why is e-waste a problem in the first place? In general, reducing waste is a central tenet of environmental stewardship. Minimizing e-waste is a particularly crucial piece of this puzzle because electronic devices pose unique ecological concerns. They often contain hazardous chemicals, and their manufacturing processes may also harm the environment. When we reuse more electronic devices, fewer end up in landfills. Also, fewer new devices need to be produced. Meanwhile, recycling devices means manufacturers will mine or extract fewer raw materials.

Here are some ways electronic waste can hurt the environment and how better e-waste management can help.

It Leaches Toxic Materials

When in good condition, your electronics are completely safe to use. However, most devices contain toxic materials, such as beryllium, mercury, cadmium and lead. While they stay safely contained during your device's useful life, they can eventually break down. When e-waste devices enter a landfill, they slowly dissolve into sludge along with everything else at the landfill.

The trace amounts of toxic materials eventually leach into the ground below, posing risks to our soil. They can also cause harm to the surrounding water, air and wildlife. When these chemicals make their way into nearby water sources, people who use natural wells and the local wildlife can suffer health consequences related to toxic chemical exposure.

The good news is that we can stop these toxic chemicals from entering landfills at all. Any time you donate or resell an old device, someone else gets to use it for a while longer, and it stays out of the landfill. Those devices that aren't refurbishable usually contain recyclable materials. A legitimate recycler can isolate the toxic materials, dispose of them safely, and incorporate the other materials into new devices.

It Fills Landfills

Besides containing toxic chemicals, electronic devices also take up physical space — and a lot of it. Considering we measure e-waste in millions of metric tons, even pocket-sized discarded phones contribute to a giant problem. They add plastic, metal and precious materials to landfills unnecessarily.

According to recent estimates, the U.S. has an estimated 10-15 years of capacity left in its current dedicated landfills. Anything that doesn't need to go to a landfill and ends up there anyway only enlarges the problem. By recycling and reusing devices instead, we can save phones from ever entering a landfill and slow the rate at which landfills fill up.

It Increases the Need to Mine New Materials

Phones and other electronic devices contain small amounts of valuable metals. The average iPhone contains 0.034 grams (g) of gold, 0.34 g of silver, 0.015 g of palladium and even a trace amount of platinum. It also holds 15 g of copper and 25 g of aluminum. Meanwhile, rechargeable batteries contain lithium, and circuits contain cobalt. Highly dense and durable, tungsten adds weight to cell phone vibrators.

The more phones, tablets and other devices that arrive in landfills, the more new phones manufacturers must put out. When we produce new phones from scratch, we need to mine more rare and precious metals from the earth. With electronic devices becoming more in demand each year, we're running out of places to mine. Meanwhile, many toxic chemicals can also leach into the soil near a mining site.

While the metals in electronics can be extracted as raw materials, most are infinitely recyclable. That means recyclers can separate the components of a used device, melt them down and create new devices from them without adding more of a burden to the planet's mining sites. Since these metals are finite resources that are becoming harder to mine out, recycling may one day be the only way to obtain these precious metals.

By now, you might be looking at that old phone in your drawer as an untapped treasure trove. While the amount of precious metal in a single cell phone might seem small, the amount can add up quickly. One metric ton of iPhones has 300 times more gold and 6.5 times more silver than one metric ton of the respective raw ores. So, even a phone that doesn't turn on and has a cracked screen holds a lot of value to device recyclers. You can even make some cash on the spot when you sell it to a service like ecoATM.

Recycling unwanted electronics is a crucial step towards a circular economy. In an ideal circular economy, all products and their components can remain in circulation at their highest possible value for as long as possible. In the electronic device market, it means more precious metals get reused and fewer end up in landfills. Since recycling the metals from used electronics is cheaper than sourcing new material from mines, it can even bring down the cost of purchasing a new device as recycling e-waste becomes more popular.

It Uses More Energy and Other Resources

Just as manufacturing new phones from scratch requires more precious metal, it also requires more energy and other resources.

It might surprise you to learn that your smartphone on average used 3,190 gallons of water in its manufacturing process. For an electronic device that can't get wet itself, that's a lot of water. Water is required to mine most precious metals and to create synthetics like glue and plastic. A manufacturing plant will also produce wastewater during production, which a water treatment plant must then dilute and clean with freshwater. All that water adds up.

Next up, manufacturing new phones uses a lot of electricity. Before you even power a new device on, it has already consumed an amount of energy on its journey from raw material to finished product that would surprise most people. The mining process in particular is a huge energy draw. Some estimates say that manufacturing a new phone uses as much energy as using and recharging it for a decade.

Every time you donate a used phone or sell it for refurbishment, someone gets a new phone without having to buy a brand new one. That's more than 3,000 gallons of water saved and enough electricity to power their new gently used device for the next 10 years.

How to Recycle E-Waste

The good news is that everyone can do their part to stop e-waste. By choosing to resell or recycle an old device instead of tossing it in the trash, you can reduce its impact on the planet. Depending on its condition, it may be reusable, saving someone else from buying a brand new phone that costs precious metals, water and electricity to produce.

If it gets properly recycled, the raw materials will be safely repurposed. The plastics in phones can often be recycled . Spent batteries can become brand new batteries. The precious metals can be made into new devices, automotive parts and even jewelry. Here's how you can do your part by recycling your old electronics:

1. Decide If You Can Donate or Repair It

There's a reason why "reduce" and "reuse" come before "recycle" in the three R's. If your phone, tablet or other device is in decent shape, it's more eco-friendly to keep it intact than to strip it for parts. A gently used phone or computer could be a welcome donation for many charities. If you take this route, your device will get a second life in the hands of someone who might not be able to afford it otherwise.

What if you're looking at a phone that's damaged or doesn't work? Maybe it's taking too long to charge, is overheating or has a cracked screen. You can still find a way to reuse it by having it repaired. If the cause of the phone's damage is covered under warranty, contact your manufacturer. You may be able to have it fixed for free or at a low cost.

If you're out of warranty, you might be able to bring it to a repair shop. Depending on the situation, you could get another year or two out of your device with a simple repair. An ecoATM kiosk will also take broken phones — even those that won't turn on. It can then be refurbished and resold or recycled.

2. Give Your Device a Factory Reset

If you know your old device is going to someone else, or you plan on recycling it, make sure you prepare it properly. First, get rid of your personal data and turn off the "Find My iPhone" feature. Back up anything you want to keep and then erase all your personal information off of the device. You can move all your photos and files to an external storage device like a hard drive, USB drive or SD card, or upload them to the cloud. Many devices even have a built-in data backup that'll let you save this information and transfer it to your new device.

When it comes to the data wipe, remember that simply deleting all your contacts and photos and logging out of your online accounts aren't enough. First, there may be a site or two that you forget to log out of. Second, a tech-savvy individual may be able to find your data from deep within the depths of your hard drive. A factory reset wipes all your data and restores your device to its factory settings. It's a lot faster than deleting everything by hand and much more thorough.

This is a step you do not want to miss. Following proper protocols before selling or recycling your device keeps your passwords secure and all your personal data safe from prying eyes.

3. Remove the Accessories 

If you're going to recycle your phone through a recycling center, it's best to separate the device into its components. Most e-waste recycling facilities will also accept lithium-ion batteries, so you can recycle the battery and device in the same place. Some electronics also have metal components that you can submit for metal reclaim, such as an antenna or copper wiring. Besides batteries, some of the components to remove include:

4. Choose a Place to Sell or Recycle It

When you're ready to sell or recycle your electronic device, you have three options. They include:

Finding the right option for your device can depend on many factors. If you have a bulky device like a flat-screen TV, your best option is probably an electronics recycling facility. For a small item like a phone, you can choose any of these options. We recommend trading in or selling a phone in decent shape since it's a good candidate for refurbishment or reuse. You can learn more about whether you should trade in your device or sell it to ecoATM from our recent comparison guide on the topic.

Give your device a chance at second life with ecoATM

The benefits of selling or recycling your old device abound, and there's no better feeling than making a little cash while helping the planet at the same time.

Give Your Device an Opportunity for a Second Life With ecoATM

ecoATM makes getting rid of your device convenient and rewarding for both you and the planet. All you need to do is find an ecoATM kiosk near you, sell your device and get paid instantly. Take all the work out of finding a new owner for your gently used phone, and know that if it can’t be sold for reuse it will be properly recycled.

The benefits of selling or recycling your old device abound, and there's no better feeling than making a little cash while helping the planet at the same time. If you're ready to sell or recycle your electronics, find a conveniently located kiosk today.