Electronic waste is discarded electrical and electronic equipment with a plug or battery. The latest Global E-waste Monitor estimate puts worldwide generation at 62 million tonnes in 2022, while documented collection and recycling covered 22.3% of that mass.
Key Electronic Waste Statistics
The following highlights summarize distinct measures across global, regional, product, United States and European datasets:
- In 2022, the world generated 62 million tonnes of e-waste.
- Between 2010 and 2022, global e-waste generation increased 82%.
- In the 2022 trend estimate, annual global e-waste generation was rising by about 2.6 million tonnes per year.
- The Global E-waste Monitor forecasts 82 million tonnes of global e-waste in 2030.
- In 2022, documented global collection and recycling covered 22.3% of generated e-waste mass.
- The Monitor forecasts a 20% documented global collection and recycling rate in 2030.
- In 2022, about 14 million tonnes of global e-waste were estimated to be trashed, mostly landfilled.
- In 2022, Asia generated about 30 million tonnes of e-waste.
- In 2022, Europe generated 17.6 kilograms of e-waste per person.
- In 2022, the world average e-waste generation was 7.8 kilograms per person.
- In 2022, Europe formally collected and recycled 42.8% of generated e-waste.
- In 2022, small devices represented 33% of global e-waste, or 20.4 million tonnes.
- In 2022, only 12% of small-device e-waste was documented as collected and recycled.
- In 2022, e-waste contained an estimated 31 million tonnes of metals.
- In 2018, U.S. selected consumer electronics generation was 2.7 million short tons.
- In 2018, the U.S. selected-consumer-electronics recycling rate was 38.5%.
- In 2022, the EU placed 14.4 million tonnes of electrical and electronic equipment on the market.
- In 2022, the EU collected 5.0 million tonnes of e-waste, equal to 11.2 kilograms per person.
Contents
- Global electronic waste generation and 2030 trends
- Regional electronic waste statistics and per-capita generation
- Electronic waste recycling, collection and informal management
- Electronic waste by product category and material value
- United States consumer electronics waste data
- European electronic waste collection and treatment statistics
Global Electronic Waste Generation and 2030 Trends
The Global E-waste Monitor defines e-waste as discarded products with a plug or battery. Its figures are estimates built from national electrical and electronic equipment market, waste-generation and management data, rather than a direct weighing of every discarded device.
- The world generated 62 million tonnes in 2022, according to the Global E-waste Monitor 2024.
- Global e-waste generation was 82% higher in 2022 than in 2010, using the Monitor’s modeled global totals.
- The reported 2022 trend was an increase of about 2.6 million tonnes per year; this is a modeled trend, not an annual weighing of every discarded product.
- The Monitor forecasts 82 million tonnes in 2030, which is 33% above the 2022 total. This forecast depends on assumptions about consumption, product life and waste management.
| Global measure | Value | Period or status |
|---|---|---|
| E-waste generated | 62 million tonnes | 2022 estimate |
| Increase from 2010 | 82% | 2010–2022 estimate |
| Annual growth trend | 2.6 million tonnes per year | 2022 trend estimate |
| Projected generation | 82 million tonnes | 2030 forecast |
Documented collection and recycling covered 22.3% of global e-waste mass in 2022. The Monitor projects that documented rate to fall to 20% by 2030 if generation grows faster than documented recycling.
About 14 million tonnes of 2022 e-waste were estimated to be trashed, mostly landfilled. These residual-management figures are estimates, not direct landfill weigh-ins for every country.
The Monitor estimates that raising global collection and recycling to 60% by 2030 could produce benefits exceeding costs by more than US$38 billion. This is a scenario estimate, not an observed economic outcome.
Regional Electronic Waste Statistics and Per-Capita Generation
Regional totals and per-person measures describe different dimensions of the issue. Asia had the largest estimated total in 2022, while Europe had the highest per-capita generation among the regions listed here.
| Region | 2022 generation measure | 2022 documented or per-capita measure |
|---|---|---|
| Asia | About 30 million tonnes | Roughly half of world total |
| Europe | 17.6 kg per person | Generation measure |
| Oceania | 16.1 kg per person | Generation measure |
| Americas | 14.1 kg per person | Generation measure |
| World | 7.8 kg per person | Average generation |
Asia generated about 30 million tonnes in 2022, roughly half the global total. Europe generated 17.6 kilograms per person, Oceania 16.1 kilograms, and the Americas 14.1 kilograms; these are modeled regional population-denominator estimates from the Global E-waste Monitor 2024.
The official Global E-waste Monitor 2024 report gives Europe’s 2022 regional total as 13.076 million tonnes. Its subregional estimates show Eastern Europe at 3.678 million tonnes in 2022, up from 2.177 million tonnes in 2010; Northern Europe at 2.456 million tonnes, up from 1.824 million tonnes; and Western Europe at 4.243 million tonnes, up from 3.389 million tonnes.
Electronic Waste Recycling, Collection and Informal Management
Collection and recycling statistics are not interchangeable with all recovery activity. The Global E-waste Monitor’s documented flows exclude some informal and unreported activity, while “outside formal systems” does not automatically mean illegal disposal.
- Europe formally collected and recycled 42.8% of generated e-waste in 2022.
- Africa formally collected and recycled less than 1% in 2022; the less-than value is a documented formal-flow floor, not proof of zero recycling.
- Europe documented 7.5 kilograms per person as collected and recycled in 2022, compared with 6.7 kilograms in Oceania and 4.2 kilograms in the Americas.
- About 16 million tonnes were managed outside formal systems in high- and upper-middle-income countries with e-waste infrastructure in 2022.
- About 18 million tonnes were mostly managed by informal sectors in low- and lower-middle-income countries without e-waste infrastructure in 2022.
Cross-border e-waste shipments totaled 5.1 million tonnes in 2022, or 8.2% of the global total. Approximately 3.3 million tonnes, or 65% of those shipments, moved from high-income to middle- and low-income countries; the shipment estimate includes documented and uncontrolled or undocumented movements.
The WHO publication Children and digital dumpsites: e-waste exposure and child health discusses populations potentially exposed through informal recycling. Its risk figures describe populations potentially at risk, not diagnosed illness counts or confirmed causation.
Electronic Waste by Product Category and Material Value
Product categories show why collection performance can vary inside the global total. Small devices form the largest category in the supplied data, but their documented collection rate is especially low.
| Product or material category | 2022 amount or share | Documented or forecast measure |
|---|---|---|
| Small devices | 20.4 million tonnes; 33% | 12% collected and recycled |
| Small IT and telecommunications | 4.6 million tonnes | 22% collected and recycled |
| Photovoltaic panels | 600,000 tonnes | 2.4 million tonnes forecast for 2030 |
| Metals in e-waste | 31 million tonnes | Embedded material estimate |
| Plastics in e-waste | 17 million tonnes | Embedded material estimate |
| Other materials | 14 million tonnes | Minerals, glass and composites |
Small devices—including toys, microwaves, vacuum cleaners and e-cigarettes—represented 33% of global e-waste in 2022, equal to 20.4 million tonnes, but only 12% was documented as collected and recycled. Small IT and telecommunications equipment, including laptops, mobile phones, GPS devices and routers, generated 4.6 million tonnes, with a documented collection and recycling rate of 22%.
Retired photovoltaic-panel waste is forecast to reach 2.4 million tonnes in 2030, compared with 600,000 tonnes in 2022. The Monitor presents the 2030 figure as four times the 2022 amount; it is a category forecast.
The 2022 e-waste stream contained an estimated 31 million tonnes of metals and 17 million tonnes of plastics. The remaining 14 million tonnes were other materials such as minerals, glass and composites; these are embedded-material estimates, not quantities recovered.
United States Consumer Electronics Waste Data
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency series covers selected consumer electronics rather than all electrical and electronic equipment. The category includes televisions, VCR/DVD players, video cameras, stereos, telephones and computer equipment.
| U.S. selected consumer electronics | Generation | Recycling |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.9 million short tons | Not supplied here |
| 2005 | 2.63 million short tons | Not supplied here |
| 2010 | 3.12 million short tons | 650,000 tons |
| 2015 | Not supplied here | 1.23 million tons |
| 2018 | 2.7 million short tons | 1.04 million tons; 38.5% |
In the EPA Durable Goods: Product-Specific Data, selected consumer electronics generation was 2.7 million short tons in 2018, less than 1% of total U.S. municipal solid waste generation. The selected-category recycling rate was 38.5%.
The historical EPA series reports generation of 1.9 million short tons in 2000, 2.63 million in 2005 and 3.12 million in 2010. Recycling was 650,000 tons in 2010, 1.23 million tons in 2015 and 1.04 million tons in 2018.
EPA notes that unavailable dash values mean data were unavailable, not zero. For this subcategory, combustion and landfill amounts were unavailable in the 2018 series, so the figures should not be treated as a complete disposal breakdown.
European Electronic Waste Collection and Treatment Statistics
EU equipment placed on the market, collected waste and treated waste use different denominators and stages. The European Commission reported that the EU placed 14.4 million tonnes of electrical and electronic equipment on the market in 2022, collected 5.0 million tonnes of e-waste and collected 11.2 kilograms per person.
Those 2022 figures come from the European Commission WEEE page. Equipment placed on the market is not the same measure as e-waste generated in that year, and collection is not identical to final recycling.
| EU WEEE measure | Earlier period | Later period |
|---|---|---|
| Collected WEEE | 3.0 million tonnes in 2012 | 5.2 million tonnes in 2023 |
| Treated WEEE | 3.1 million tonnes in 2012 | 5.2 million tonnes in 2023 |
| Recovered WEEE | 2.6 million tonnes in 2012 | 4.8 million tonnes in 2023 |
| Recycled or prepared for reuse | 2.4 million tonnes in 2012 | 4.3 million tonnes in 2023 |
The Eurostat waste statistics report records EU WEEE collection at 3.0 million tonnes in 2012 and 5.2 million tonnes in 2023, a reported 75% increase. Eurostat notes that some missing country values are estimated in EU totals.
Over the same 2012–2023 series, treated WEEE rose from 3.1 million tonnes to 5.2 million tonnes, recovered WEEE from 2.6 million tonnes to 4.8 million tonnes, and WEEE recycled or prepared for reuse from 2.4 million tonnes to 4.3 million tonnes. Recovery includes operations beyond material recycling, while the recycled-and-prepared measure includes preparation for reuse.
During 2023, EU WEEE collection was 37.5% of average equipment placed on the market in 2020–2022. This rate uses a preceding-three-year average denominator, not same-year e-waste generation, and Eurostat notes that the collection-rate denominator changed with its six-category methodology.