The E-Waste Column no. 200

Jun 3
3 min read

In this 200th column, we are exploring a few less well-known facts about electronics and e-waste.

🌱 How can longer electronics use save energy?

The resource extraction and manufacturing phases of electronics require a lot of energy. Up to 50% of the total greenhouse gas emissions for many electronics occur during the manufacturing phase alone. In line with this, around “70% of the total energy used during the lifespan of a laptop” occurs before you even buy it. In practice, this means that repairing and keeping an older, energy-efficient device in use longer is often more sustainable than upgrading to a new (perhaps even slightly more efficient) device. Case studies of smartphones, televisions, vacuum cleaners, and washing machines have shown that the average times these product types are used for are “at least 2.3 years shorter than either their designed or desired lifetimes” – meaning that there is a real opportunity to increase the lifetime.

🌱 How much toxic waste comes from e-waste?

While e-waste only makes up around 2% to 3% of the waste in U.S. landfills, it accounts for 70% of all toxic waste in the U.S. One of the most hazardous types of toxins found in e-waste are brominated flame retardants, which are commonly used in plastic casings and circuit boards. Long-term exposure to brominated flame retardants from e-waste found in landfills can notably “lead to impaired learning and memory functions”. Another key toxin in e-waste is lead, which can impair cognitive and verbal activity and even cause paralysis or coma.

🌱 How can recycling e-waste save energy?

Recycling e-waste can save energy, as recycling metals requires “far less energy than mining for virgin ore to make new metals”. When aluminum from e-waste is recycled, it requires “95% less energy than production from raw materials”. The energy saving through the recycling of other metals is comparable. As an example of the larger effect this can have, it is worth pointing out that “recycling one million laptops saves enough energy to power over 3,500 [average U.S. households] for a year”.

🌱 What can be recovered from e-waste?

E-waste contains nearly half of the periodic table’s elements. E-waste globally is estimated to contain 31 million tons of metal, 17 million tons of plastic, and 14 million tons of other materials (such as glass, minerals, and composite materials). If you had a ton of e-waste, it would contain at least 10 times more gold than you would find in a ton of the ore from which gold is extracted. If your ton of e-waste consisted predominantly of old circuit boards and old smartphones, it could even contain 100 times more gold than what you would find in a ton of gold ore. In line with this, it is estimated that scaling the collection and recycling rates for e-waste could make it possible to recover natural resources worth USD 62 billion.

As we have reached the 200th column, I would like to say a special thanks to two people, who have been a big source of inspiration to me while writing the column and exploring how tech can be used for good. To my grandfather who worked on e-mobility at SITRA in its founding year of 1967 and to my mother who became one of the very first women to study environmental protection technology in Germany in 1985, thank you for being in my life and for teaching me to think critically and creatively about how we use electronics!