11 Facts About E-Waste

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1. In 2009, discarded TVs, computers, peripherals (including printers, scanners, fax machines) mice, keyboards, and cell phones totaled about 2.37 million short tons.^[U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "Wastes - Resource Conservation - Common Wastes & Materials - eCycling." Web Accessed April 11, 2015.]
2. E-waste represents 2% of America's trash in landfills, but it equals 70% of overall toxic waste.^[Slade, Giles. "iWaste." Mother Jones, 2007. Web Accessed April 11, 2015.]
3. 20 to 50 million metric tons of e-waste are disposed worldwide every year.^[United Nations. "Waste Management." Web Accessed April 11, 2105.]
4. Cell phones and other electronic items contain high amounts of precious metals like gold or silver. Americans dump phones containing over $60 million in gold/silver every year.^[Voakes, Greg. "The Lesser-Known Facts About E-Waste Recycling." Business Insider, 2012. Web Accessed April 11, 2015.]
5. A large number of what is labeled as "e-waste" is actually not waste at all, but rather whole electronic equipment or parts that are readily marketable for reuse or can be recycled for materials recovery.^[U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "Wastes - Resource Conservation - Common Wastes & Materials - eCycling." Web Accessed April 11, 2015.]
6. Only 12.5% of e-waste is currently recycled.^[U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "Fact Sheet: MANAGEMENT OF ELECTRONIC WASTE IN THE UNITED STATES." Web Accessed April 11, 2015.]
7. For every 1 million cell phones that are recycled, 35,274 lbs of copper, 772 lbs of silver, 75 lbs of gold, and 33 lbs of palladium can be recovered.^[U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "Wastes - Resource Conservation - Common Wastes & Materials - eCycling." Web Accessed April 11, 2015.]
8. Recycling 1 million laptops saves the energy equivalent to the electricity used by 3,657 U.S. homes in a year.^[U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "Wastes - Resource Conservation - Common Wastes & Materials - eCycling."Web Accessed April 11, 2015.]
9. E-waste is still the fastest growing municipal waste stream in America, according to the EPA.^[U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "Wastes - Resource Conservation - Common Wastes & Materials - eCycling." Web Accessed April 11, 2015.]
10. It takes 530 lbs of fossil fuel, 48 lbs of chemicals, and 1.5 tons of water to manufacture one computer and monitor.^[Electronics TakeBack Coalition, A Project of the Tides Center. "Facts and Figures on E-Waste and Recycling." Web Accessed April 11, 2015.]
11. Electronic items that are considered to be hazardous include, but are not limited to: Televisions and computer monitors that contain cathode ray tubes, LCD desktop monitors, LCD televisions, Plasma televisions, Portable DVD players with LCD screens.^[Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality. "Waste Computers, Monitors, and Electronics." Web Accessed April 11, 2015.]