As electronic equipment production accelerates, so does its byproduct—e-waste. The mass of e-waste now facing our planet has put us in a desperate situation; one might even say we have our backs to the wall.
Measuring 13,171 miles, the Great Wall of China is estimated to be the heaviest man-made object on Earth. Yet even the colossal weight of this structure has now been surpassed by the amount of global e-waste produced annually. Per the Waste Electronics and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) Forum, over 57.4 million metric tons of e-waste was produced in 2021. Further, the Forum predicts e-waste production totaling 74 million metric tons by 2030, growing 3-4% annually.
The Impact of E-Waste
A mere 17.4% of global e-waste was properly recycled in 2019, per the WEEE Forum’s most recent statistics. The vast majority, then, was either thrown into landfills or (illegally) exported to countries with lenient or nonexistent e-waste laws.
Improper e-waste disposal initiates a series of environmental damages:
- Extracting rare materials — Not only can electronics manufacturing strip the land of finite minerals and precious metals, but the mining process itself is heavily pollutant and consumes resources.
- Decomposing electronics — Electronic equipment that’s reached end-of-life is often carelessly discarded, destined for landfills where e-waste decomposition leads to toxic chemicals seeping into soil and water supplies.
- Do-it-yourself component retrieval — Makeshift operations to extract components from e-waste, including open-air burning and acid baths, can be dreadful for the environment and the health of those who attempt it.
Avoiding Data Insecurity
As if putting Earth’s ecosystem at risk weren’t enough, improper e-waste disposal also puts data security at risk. Banking information, sensitive client information, and trade secrets can be mined from discarded electronics; secure data destruction is much more involved than simply clicking “delete.” Per IBM, the average data breach costs companies $4.24 million, motivating thieves to expand their capabilities of extracting information from e-waste.
Proper E-Waste Disposal
While the Great Wall of China was built as a solution to keep enemies at bay, there is no separating ourselves from the colossal impact of e-waste.
Fortunately, these problems are not insurmountable. E-recycling is our greatest method to protect ecosystems from these toxic materials, while properly recovering electronics components allows resources to be reused in new production, lessening the extraction of new materials, and maintaining data security.
Whole components (such as circuit boards) can be completely cleared of past data, refurbished, and resold to be reused. Other times, certified professionals can extract the valuable materials from e-waste. Just how valuable? $55 billion worth of precious metals is thrown away in the United States each year!
E-Recycling Awareness
While legislation lags, spreading awareness of the e-waste emergency is the most important initial step to solving it. Comparing the mass of e-waste to one of the Seven Wonders of the World will hopefully gain the necessary attention this monumental crisis deserves.
Contact us and learn how we can securely help you manage your electronic asset disposal.
Chad Hayes is the chief technology officer and director of e-recycling at Sadoff E-Recycling & Data Destruction. He joined Sadoff Iron and Metal in 2015, and oversees the strategic planning and implementation of IT. With his extensive 20-plus years of IT and business leadership experience and a passion for data security, he was the perfect choice to establish, build and lead the Sadoff E-Recycling & Data Destruction Company, a company of Sadoff Iron and Metal. He can be reached at hayesc@sadoff.com.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Insight Publications, LLC.
