Environmental Protection Agency 2008 E-Waste Statistics

The 2008 US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Stats on Electronics Recycling and E-waste are now out. Find a summary of them and the full factsheet (PDF) to learn more about how electronics and computer equipment are handled and recycled.

Discarded electronics still make up around 2% of the municipal solid waste stream, and remain among the fastest growing solid waste streams.

• In 2007, 157 million computer products were discarded (CPUs, monitors, notebooks, keyboards, mice, printers, faxes, and copiers).
• 20 million TVs were discarded
• 126 million cell phones were discarded
• 18% of discarded TVs and computers are being recycled
• 10% of cell phones are being recycled
• About 80-85 percent of discarded electronics were disposed of (largely to landfills)

With all this e-waste being poured into our landfills, it makes sense to think about ways your office can be greener in getting rid of old computer and electronic equipment. How can your organization improve its e-cycling?