Refurbished-computer statistics span several related but distinct categories: remanufactured IT products, reused devices, stored computers, second-hand sales and recycling. The strongest available figures range from historical U.S. market estimates to Eurostat’s 2022 household survey, so each result below keeps its period, geography and definition visible.
Key Refurbished Computer Statistics
The most broadly useful figures are:
- $5.178046 billion was the estimated U.S. apparent consumption of remanufactured IT products in 2011.
- U.S. apparent consumption of remanufactured IT products increased 17.1% from 2009 to 2011.
- $2.756475 billion was the estimated value of U.S. remanufactured IT imports in 2011.
- U.S. remanufactured IT imports increased 42.7% from 2009 to 2011.
- $260.032 million was the estimated value of U.S. remanufactured IT exports in 2011.
- U.S. used-electronics enterprises reported $19.2 billion in domestic used-electronic-product sales in 2011.
- 82.7% of U.S. household computers were estimated to be stored or reused after replacement or no longer being used.
- 57.6% was EPA’s modeled U.S. workplace-computer storage/reuse rate.
- 19% of people in the EU kept their old desktop computer at home in the 2022 ICT survey.
- 13% of people in the EU recycled their old desktop computer in 2022.
- 33% of people in the EU kept an old laptop or tablet in the household in 2022.
- 10% of people in the EU recycled an old laptop or tablet in 2022.
- One in every 12 PCs in use worldwide was estimated to be a secondary PC in the JRC study.
- More than 25% of PCs replaced in mature supply countries continued to be used in the JRC estimate.
- 170 million PCs was the JRC’s estimated EU-25 PC stock in 2004.
- 38 million PCs were estimated to have been sold in the EU-25 in 2004.
- Seven surveyed U.S. recyclers reused about 30% of electronic products they received.
- Less than 1% of products collected for recycling were ultimately disposed of by those seven surveyed recyclers.
Contents
- Refurbished computer market statistics in the United States
- Refurbished computer production, imports and exports
- How households and businesses handle replaced computers
- Desktop and laptop reuse statistics in Europe
- Computer lifespans, secondary-PC flows and replacement trends
- Refurbished computer recycling and disposition outcomes
Refurbished Computer Market Statistics in the United States
The USITC series measures apparent consumption of remanufactured IT products, a broader category than refurbished computers. It includes computer equipment, printers, toner and network equipment, so these values are useful market context rather than computer-only totals.
| Year | U.S. apparent consumption of remanufactured IT products |
|---|---|
| 2009 | $4.421204 billion |
| 2010 | $4.623832 billion |
| 2011 | $5.178046 billion |
The USITC reported a 17.1% increase from 2009 to 2011. These are estimates for the U.S. remanufactured IT market, not a current refurbished-computer forecast. USITC, Remanufactured Goods: An Overview of the U.S. and Global Industries, Markets, and Trade
A separate USITC survey shows the scale of the wider used-electronics economy: U.S. used-electronics enterprises reported $19.2 billion in domestic used-electronic-product sales in 2011. The category covers used electronics broadly, not computers alone. USITC, Used Electronic Products
Refurbished Computer Production, Imports and Exports
The same USITC remanufactured-IT table separates production and cross-border trade. The values below are historical estimates in the broader remanufactured IT category.
| Measure | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Production | $2.709170bn | $2.592831bn | $2.681603bn |
| Imports | $1.931994bn | $2.281198bn | $2.756475bn |
| Exports | $219.961m | $250.197m | $260.032m |
U.S. remanufactured IT imports increased 42.7% from 2009 to 2011, while exports increased 18.2% over the same period. The production series was $2.709170 billion in 2009, $2.592831 billion in 2010 and $2.681603 billion in 2011. USITC, Remanufactured Goods
For the wider used-electronics sector, exports totaled $1.45 billion in 2011, representing 7% of total sales reported by U.S. used-electronics enterprises. That 7% share is not a computer-only export rate. USITC, Used Electronic Products
How Households and Businesses Handle Replaced Computers
EPA evidence shows why the pool of potential refurbished computers is difficult to measure: many replaced devices remain stored, while “reuse” and storage are sometimes combined. EPA estimated that 82.7% of household computers were stored or reused after replacement or no longer being used, based on study-era survey evidence from 1999–2004-era surveys.
The underlying MetaFacts sources surveyed 7,527 households and 2,500 workplaces in 2004. These sample sizes describe the evidence base, not the share of all U.S. households or workplaces that refurbished computers.
EPA used a 57.6% workplace-computer storage/reuse rate in its model. The agency described this as a rough approximation based on an IBM survey of 176 senior IT executives at U.S. companies with more than 5,000 computers; the survey did not measure the method’s extent or prior storage.
EPA also modeled business replacement timing rather than reporting a direct national measurement:
- EPA assumed 40% of businesses removed and managed computers after a midpoint replacement cycle of 3 years, based on a 2–4 year range.
- EPA assumed 60% of businesses followed a midpoint replacement cycle of 5 years, based on a 3–7 year range.
These assumptions help explain why replacement flows cannot be read as certified-refurbishment volumes. EPA, Management of Electronic Waste in the United States: Approach Two, Draft Final Report
Desktop and Laptop Reuse Statistics in Europe
Eurostat’s 2022 ICT household survey asked what people did with the most recent desktop computer, laptop or tablet they replaced or no longer used. Keeping a device, recycling it, selling it or giving it away are different outcomes, and sale or giveaway does not prove certified refurbishment.
| EU outcome in 2022 | Old desktop computer | Old laptop or tablet |
|---|---|---|
| Kept at home/in household | 19% | 33% |
| Recycled | 13% | 10% |
| Gave away or sold | 8% | 11% |
| Threw away | 2% | 1% |
For desktop computers, Sweden had the highest EU recycling share at 29%, while the Netherlands reported 27%. The Netherlands also had a 15% give-away-or-sale share, compared with 13% in Romania. Eurostat, What do people do with their old ICT equipment?
Laptop and tablet outcomes varied across countries. Sweden, Finland and Denmark each had recycling shares close to 18%, Greece had 17%, and Croatia had 15%; Croatia also reported a 35% give-away-or-sale share, while France reported 15%.
Computer Lifespans, Secondary-PC Flows and Replacement Trends
The JRC evidence is historical and describes worldwide and European computer flows rather than a current refurbished-computer market size. It estimated CPU obsolescence at 2 years, but that is an obsolescence estimate, not a measured physical failure lifespan.
The study estimated that one in every 12 PCs in use worldwide was a secondary PC. It also estimated that more than 25% of PCs replaced in mature supply countries—Western Europe, the United States, Japan and Australia—continued to be used.
| EU-25 measure | Historical estimate |
|---|---|
| PC stock in 2004 | 170 million units |
| PC sales in 2004 | 38 million units |
| Residential share of sales and stock | Approximately half |
| Accessible PCs per household trend | More than 7% annual growth |
| Inferred replacement sales | Approximately 25 million units |
The JRC estimated EU-25 PC stock at 170 million units and 2004 sales at 38 million units. Approximately half of sales and in-use stock corresponded to residential use, while accessible PCs per EU-25 household were growing by more than 7% annually in the cited historical Eurostat series.
From stock, sales and access-growth data, the JRC inferred approximately 25 million replacement sales in the EU-25. The study noted that disposal volume remained uncertain, so replacement sales should not be treated as a direct count of discarded or refurbished computers. JRC, The Future of Economic and Social Life Cycle Assessment of Products, Annexes
Refurbished Computer Recycling and Disposition Outcomes
EPA’s recycler evidence distinguishes recycling from reuse and disposal. In a non-probability survey of seven U.S. electronics recyclers, the companies recycled close to 70% of electronic products they received and reused about 30%.
Less than 1% of products collected for recycling were ultimately disposed of by those surveyed recyclers. This is a surveyed-company result, not a national rate, and reuse included products entering reuse or refurbishment.
EPA’s 2007 recycling-economic-information methodology supplied another weight-based measure: computers were assigned 9.1% to the recyclable-material proportion associated with refurbished or remanufactured resale. Computer displays received an analogous 9.2% ratio, but that is a display measure rather than a computer unit-based refurbishment rate.
The distinction matters when comparing market and end-of-life statistics. Remanufactured IT, refurbished computers, reused devices, stored equipment, sold devices and recycled material describe overlapping but non-interchangeable flows. EPA, Electronics Waste Management in the United States: Approach One
EPA, Management of Electronic Waste in the United States: Approach Two, Draft Final Report