fit? I FACT SHEET:
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MANAGEMENT or ELECTRONIC WASTE IN THE UNITED STATES
Electronic equipment has become a mainstay of our American way of life. In one way or
another, it is an integral part of everything we do and own: TVs in our homes, GPS's in
our cars, cell phones and MP3 players in our ears, blackberries and video games in our
hands, and computers in our laps and on our desks. The electronic industry generates
nearly $2 billion a year, and it's no small wonder. Americans own nearly 3 billion
electronic products.
For each new product that comes along, one or more becomes outdated or obsolete.
Consequently, we're storing or discarding older electronic products faster than ever. In
1998, studies estimate about 20 million computers became obsolete in one year. In 2005,
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) estimates that between 26-37
million computers became obsolete. Along with computers, TVs, VCRs, cell phones, and
monitorsan estimated 304 million electronicswere removed from US households in
2005, with about two-thirds of those still in working order, according to Consumer
Electronics Association (CEA) estimates.
Although used electronics represent less than two
percent of the municipal solid waste stream, if we
continue to replace old or outdated electronic
equipment at our current rate that percentage will
likely grow. In 2005, used or unwanted
electronics amounted to approximately 1.9 to 2.2
million tons. Of that, about 1.5 to 1.8 million tons
were primarily disposed in landfills, and only
345,000 to 379,000 tons were recycled.
In 2005 ...
1.9 - 2.2 million tons obsolete
1.5 - 1.8 million tons disposed
345,000 - 379,000 tons recycled
Figures for 2007 are available at
www.epa.gov/ecvcliiig/maiiage.htm
Recognizing the need to find better end-of-life (EOL) management for these products,
EPA has been working with stakeholders to help improve awareness of the need for
recovery of electronics and access to safe reuse and recycling options. State and local
governments, manufacturers, and retailers, who are already aware of the pressing need to
better manage these materials, are providing more opportunities to recycle and reuse this
equipment. At least seven states ban some electronics from landfills, and four have
instituted recovery programs. Many other states are considering some sort of legislation
to manage used electronics. Over 800 communities have instituted electronics collection
events to help manage obsolete electronics from households. Many computer
manufacturers, TV manufacturers, and electronics retailers offer some kind of take back
program or sponsor recycling events.
In an effort to get a better understanding of the scope of the issue, the Agency is
providing a snapshot of electronics management and waste generation in the United
States in recent years. As products, usage patterns, and management options change,
purchase, storage, and EOL disposition patterns also are likely to change. Details on the
data sources, assumptions, and calculations underlying the information are available in
two complementary reports:
April 2007 (revised July 2008)
EPA530-F-08-014
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Electronics Waste Management in the United States: Approach One, and
Management of Electronic Waste in the United States: Approach Two.
For more information and copies of the reports, please visit our website at
www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/recvcle/ecvcling/nianage.htm.
Analyses of Electronics in the U.S.
In describing the amount of electronic products sold, stored, recycled, disposed of, and
exported in the United States, we made a series of assumptions and estimates because
information was not always complete or current, and it was sometimes developed for
purposes other than deriving national estimates. The products covered in this analysis
are:
Televisions
Personal computers (desktops, laptops, portables, and computer monitors)
Hard copy computer peripherals (including printers, scanners, and fax machines)
Computer mice
Keyboards
Cell phones
In response to stakeholder requests for detailed examination of the sales and management
of the electronics most commonly addressed by community collection programs and state
recycling legislation, EPA looked at this issue from two different points of view. EPA
assembled two different data sets and used two different methodologies to estimate the
amounts of commonly handled electronics that are stored, reused, recycled and disposed.
The analyses:
Estimate the number and weight of products that become obsolete and need EOL
management annually.
Estimate the amount of electronic products that are recycled or disposed of.
Estimate the amount of EOL electronic equipment that is stock-piled.
Examine the collection rates of current electronics recycling programs to indicate
the amount of material that is available for recycling.
Examine the export of EOL electronic material that is collected for recycling.
Looking at both of the detailed reports together, it is evident that the results are quite
similar. We believe that the dual approaches lend credibility to the range of results
obtained and enable readers to view the results from several different and helpful angles.
We used different data sets to estimate primary outcomes, including recycling, and
disposal rates, which we present as ranges. The two approaches used in arriving at these
estimates are:
Approach One relied primarily on market research data for sales, and then
used data from electronics collection programs to estimate EOL quantities.
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From the EOL estimates, we subtracted the quantity recycled/exported to
yield the quantity disposed of.
Approach Two relied primarily on government statistics for sales, and then
used the same lifespan data (with some modifications) to estimate EOL
quantities. From these end-of-life estimates, we subtracted the quantity
disposed of to yield the amount recycled/exported.
As a general matter, both approaches quantified the number and weight of products that
correspond to each phase of the products lifecycle, as illustrated below.
Product
Purchase
^-
Reuse
(give / sell to
family / others)
and/or
Putin
Storage
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
First use
Second use / storage Reach EOL
management
Phase 4
Recycling processing/
Resale for reuse
Framework for Modeling the Product Lifecycle
Key Findings as of 2005
Electronic Products Lifecycle
Almost half, or 976 million units, of all the products sold between 1980-2004
are still in use or reuse.
About 42 percent, or 842 million units, of the products sold between 1980-
2004 have been recycled or disposed of.
Storage
Between 1980-2005, 180 million electronic products had accumulated in
storage.
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In 2005 alone, approximately 460 million products were put into storage
and/or reuse.
TVs account for approximately 34-52 percent (by weight) of the units in
storage.
Desktop PCs account for approximately 24 percent (by weight) of stored
units.
Recycling vs Disposal
Between 2003-2005, electronic products available for EOL management were
recycled or disposed of in the following approximate percentages (for more
specific numbers, please see Table 3):
o About 15-20 percent were collected for recycling. The
recycled/disposed split remained fairly constant between 1999-2005.
Although recycling continues to increase, the percentage recycled
remains constant because of the ever-increasing number of electronics
available for EOL management.
o About 80-85 percent were disposed of (largely to landfills).
Between 2003 - 2005, when we include products put into storage or reuse,
o Approximately 44 percent of products were disposed of, and 11
percent recycled.
End Markets
In 2005, approximately 61 percent, or 107,500 tons, of CRT monitors and
TVs collected for recycling were exported for remanufacture or
refurbishment.
The next largest portion (about 14 percent or 24,000 tons) was CRT glass sold
to markets abroad for glass-to-glass processing, while lead recovery in North
America accounts for about 6 percent (10,000 tons) of the material.
Sales Data
We collected sales data for each type of product. Approach One relied primarily on
industry-generated sales data to measure the sales of electronic products. Approach Two
relied solely on publicly available data, such as the U.S. Census Bureau's Current
Industrial Reports and press releases from market research firms. The sales numbers for
desktops and TVs are presented in Figures 1 and 2. Sales numbers for additional
products are included in the full reports.
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Figure 1: Desktop Sales 1980 - 2004
Approach Two
Approach One
Year
Figure 2: TV Sales 1980 - 2004
Approach Two
Approach One
Year
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Product Lifespans
A key part of the analysis involves determining the lifespan of the various products from
point-of- sale to EOL management (such as recycling, export, or disposal). Since the
lifespans of different types of products vary, product-specific lifespan assumptions had to
be derived. By combining sales and weight data, and applying the lifespan assumptions
for each particular product, we were able to predict the number and corresponding weight
of products that were ready for EOL management each year. Both approaches looked at
product sales from 1980-2004, and predicted the annual quantity ready for EOL
management through 2006. The results from 2003 - 2005 are presented in the tables
below.
Two options were used to track the flow of products from their purchase, through use,
storage and/or reuse to disposition for EOL management. Approach One relied on the age
distribution of the products collected by electronic collection programs and used that as a
proxy for the lifespan of the products before they reached the EOL stage. Approach Two
also used the same collection program information, but aimed to account for variations in
product flow that may be due to fluctuations in yearly product sales. It also estimated, by
year, the number of products being stored and/or reused.
The estimates of the annual number and weight of products ready for EOL management
should not be equated with the amount of waste electronics that might actually be
collected if there were a collection infrastructure in place. The EOL estimates represent
what is theoretically available for collection. In practice, however, only a portion of the
units available are brought to a collection point.
Approach One examined this potential difference between what is theoretically available
for EOL management and what might actually be collected for recycling from the
residential population. To do this, collection rates per capita exhibited in a handful of
existing collection programs in the U.S. were compared with the amount predicted to be
ready for EOL management. The recovery rate of 2 pounds per capita was derived as a
good indicator of the average quantity of material available from a residential population
when there is a well-established, well-publicized collection program. Using this recovery
rate as a basis and extrapolating to the entire U.S. population, it was estimated that if all
residents had access to electronics recycling programs, about 14 percent of all the
material ready for EOL management would actually be collected. Since this analysis was
completed, there has been much more collection activity in many more states. More
recent collection rates are likely to be higher than the 2 pounds per capita averaged used
in this analysis.
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Table 1.
Estimated Products Ready for EOL Management
(Million Units)
Year
2003
2004
2005
Desktops
18.5-24.7
19.4-26.6
19.8-28.4
Laptops
4.0-6.9
4.8-7.8
6.1-9.0
CRT Monitors
24.5-27.7
22.5-27.8
22.8-28.5
LCD
0.
0.
0.
Monitors
1 -2.8
3-3.7
8-5.0
Mice/Keyboards
64.3-92.8
72.8- 103.2
76.4- 107.9
Total
23.5-
23.5-
24.0-
TVs
24.4
25.2
26.3
Cell Phones
49.0-75.8
57.0-96.8
70.6-116.5
Hard Copy
Peripherals
19.6
21.3
22.9
Total
207.1 -273.8
227.8-310.7
251.0-342.1
*Hard copy peripherals (HCP) include printers, multifunction printers, digital copiers, and fax machines. The total category includes printers (not shown) for
Approach Two and HCPs for Approach One.
Table 2.
Estimated Products Ready for EOL Management
(Thousand Tons)
Year
2003
2004
2005
Desktops
242.1 -275.0
253.6-293.6
259.5-322.6
Laptops
23.3-25.4
26.4-28.2
30.8-31.8
CRT
Monitors
418.6-597.8
383.9-627.8
389.8-673.1
LCD
Monitors
0.6-34.3
1.8-45.3
4.9-61.5
Mice/
Keyboards
51.6-97.0
58.9-96.3
61.1 -80.6
Total TVs
734.1-795.4
753.6-837.8
786.0-891.9
Cell
Phones
8.6- 14.5
9.8- 17.0
11.7- 18.6
Hard Copy
Peripherals
166.7
181.7
198.3
Total
1,747.9 - 1,944.7
1,813.2-2,084.9
1,918.5-2,172.6
*Hard copy peripherals (HCP) include printers, multifunction printers, digital copiers, and fax machines. The total category includes printers (not shown) for Approach Two
and HCPs for Approach One.
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Recycling and Disposal Estimates
Having estimated the annual quantities of products ready for EOL management, we
estimated how much material had been recycled and disposed of in recent years.
Approach One determined the amount recycled based on industry sources, and estimated
the disposal amounts by calculating the difference between what is generated for EOL
management and what is collected for recycling on an annual basis: disposal amount
equals quantity generated for EOL management minus the amount recycled. Approach
Two calculated the amount disposed of based on five states' waste sorting studies
extrapolated to the national rate, and estimated the amount recycled by calculating the
difference between what is generated for EOL management and what is disposed of:
recycled amount equals quantity generated for EOL management minus amount
disposed.
Together, these approaches suggest that about 15 to 20 percent of the products (by
weight) were recycled1, while between 80 to 85 percent of the products (by weight) were
disposed of (which includes landfilling and incineration)2. Although we have seen a
substantial increase in the tonnage recycled each year, the percentage of recycled
products has stayed about the same because of the ever-increasing quantity of electronics
becoming available for EOL management. Estimates of the amount of electronics
recycled are presented in Table 3 below and Figures 3 through 5 provide data for three of
the products included in the analysis: Desktops, TVs, and cell phones. The unit recycling
rate developed for Approach One results from multiplying an overall 15% weight
recycling rate, across all device types, to the individual device types shown in each figure
(percent recycled by weight multiplied by the number of units reaching EOL equals the
number of units recycled).
Table 3.
Estimated Devices Collected for Recycling 2003 - 2005
Year Units (million) Tons (thousand)
2003
2004
2005
40.8-47.2
48.6-52.0
54.3 - 57.0
290.0-347.8
320.0-359.9
345.0-379.0
*These ranges are derived from both Approach One and Approach Two.
1 Approach Two also determined the recycling rate based on number of devices rather than based on
weight, which is 23% recycled and 77% disposed.
2 According to the 2005 MSW Characterization Report, approximately 12.5 percent of selected consumer
electronics were recycled. This recycling rate is lower than the range presented here for two reasons: 1) it
includes a broader scope of electronic products, including VCRs, stereos, and video cameras, which are
recycled at lower rates than the narrower scope of products studied in the two reports and 2) a different
methodology was used to derive estimates in Approach One. These estimates include all products from
both approaches. Approach One includes all hard-copy peripherals while Approach Two only includes
printers.
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Figure 3: Number of Desktops Recycled 2000-2005
6.0
5.0
in
3
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Year
Figure 4: Number of TVs Recycled 2000 - 2005
-Approach One
-Approach Two
- Approach One
-Approach Two
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Year
16.0
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Figure 5: Number of Cell Phones Recycled 2000 - 2005
2000
- Approach One
-Approach Two
2001
2002 2003
Year
2004
2005
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Storage and Reuse
Quite a bit of unwanted or obsolete electronic equipment remains in storage for varying
reasons. We used two approaches to estimate the quantity of electronics in storage (but
does not include reuse). Approach One estimated the number of units cumulatively stored
as of 2005 to be 180 million products
Approach Two estimated the annual number of products going into storage and/or reuse.
Figure 6 presents the average amount of electronics recycled, disposed of, or put into
storage or reuse between 2003 - 2005. In 2005 alone, approximately 460 million units
were put into storage and/or reuse. Once we accounted for storage/reuse, the percentages
of products disposed of or recycled decreases due to the increase in the amount of total
products. However, the numbers of products disposed of and recycled remains the same.
Figure 6: Electronic Products Recycled, Disposed, or Going into
Storage/Reuse 2003 - 2005
(% by weight)
Disposed of*, 44%
Put Into
Storage/Reuse, 45%
Recycled, 11%
*Includes landfilling and incineration.
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End Markets for TVs and CRT Monitors
The purpose of this section is to examine the end markets, both domestic and abroad, of
EOL electronic products that are collected for recycling in the U.S. by electronics
recyclers or donation organizations. This is a difficult task since data on the end markets
of these materials is not publicly available. In order to arrive at a rough estimate, we
relied on an industry expert to develop a best estimate for CRT-containing devices,3 as
well as EPA data on glass sent to glass-to-glass markets.
Estimates regarding where and how CRTs from computer monitors and TVs were
handled after collection by electronics recyclers in the U.S are presented in Table 4.
Differences in handling of desktops, laptops, hard copy peripherals, and cell phones in
the U.S. and abroad were not examined in this analysis. These products at EOL have
different technical and economic characteristics and therefore, the resale and recycling
end markets are not at all similar. Non-CRT-containing products may be addressed in a
subsequent analysis. Data indicates that a large majority of CRT monitors and TVs (61
percent) that were collected for recycling are exported for the purpose of producing
remanufactured or refurbished TVs and CRT monitors.
Table 4:
End Markets for EOL TVs and CRT Monitors Collected for Recycling in the U.S. in 2005
End Market
Resale "as is" or after some repair/upgrade in the U.S.
Resale "as is" or after some repair/upgrade abroad
Refurbishing or remanufacturing into specialty monitors in the U.S.
Refurbishing or remanufacturing into new TVs or specialty monitors
abroad*
CRT glass-to-glass factories in the U.S.
CRT glass-to-glass factories abroad
CRT glass to smelters in North America for lead recovery **
Plastic, metal, and other material recovery from demanufacturing***
Total
Tons/Year
3,000
3,500
2,500
107,500
4,000
24,000
10,000
20,500
175,000
% of
Total
2%
2%
1%
61%
2%
14%
6%
12%
100%
Source: World Reuse, Repair and Recycling Association, 2005. Figures for CRT glass-to-glass factories are based on EPA research.
*Industry experts interviewed by Robin Ingenthron report that about 30% of material destined for remanufacturing abroad is not
technically suitable for remanufacturing and has to be recycled or disposed. The recycling or disposal of unsuitable units occurs
abroad.
"Includes units shipped to one smelter in each of the U.S. and Canada.
***End markets for these materials are both domestic and abroad.
3 Robin Ingenthron of the World Reuse, Repair and Recycling Association developed these estimates after
gathering knowledge from Association members, industry contacts, and published data sources.
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Glossary of Terms
Age Distribution: A distribution describing the various ages at which a particular
product is made available for end-of -life management and the frequency at which
products are made available for such management at a given age. The age of a device is
based on the number of years between its original sale and the end of its life.
Disposal: Management of a product at the end of its useful life through landfilling or
incineration.
End-of-life (EOL) Management: When a product is no longer used, stored, or reused, it
has reached its end-of-life. The management options for a product at end-of-life include
recycling or disposal.
Lifespan: The period of time between when a product is initially purchased and when it
reaches the end of its life. See definition of age distribution above.
Recycling: Electronic devices may be recovered for the purpose of dismantling, parts
and/or materials recovery, and/or resale (resale that occurs by a recycler and not by the
user of the product).
Reuse: Occurs when the first user gives up a product by informal sale or donation (other
than making it available for end of life management) and a subsequent user uses the
product for its intended purpose.
Storage: Holding or storing a product for a temporary period by the first owner of the
product or any other owner, at the end of which it is reused, resold, recycled, or disposed.
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