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For each new product that comes along, one or more becomes outdated or obsolete.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
monitors—an estimated 304 million electronics—were 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continue  to replace  old  or  outdated  electronic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
   14
          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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