Electronics recycling statistics show a widening gap between the amount of equipment discarded and the amount formally collected and recycled. In 2022, the world generated 62 billion kg of e-waste, while documented formal collection and recycling reached 13.8 billion kg. The Global E-waste Monitor 2024 reported a 22.3% global documented collection and recycling rate for that year.
Contents
- Global e-waste generation and recycling
- Regional electronics recycling rates
- What enters the market and crosses borders
- Policies, producer responsibility, and targets
- United States consumer electronics statistics
- How U.S. recycling changed over time
Global e-waste generation and recycling
The Global E-waste Monitor 2024 recorded 62 billion kg of global e-waste generation in 2022. Documented formal collection and recycling reached 13.8 billion kg, equivalent to 22.3% of generated e-waste. These figures describe documented formal flows; they do not represent every device that may have been reused, stored, informally handled, or otherwise managed outside the documented system.
The long-term trend is also clear. Global e-waste generation rose from 34 billion kg in 2010 to 62 billion kg in 2022. Over the same period, documented formal collection and recycling increased from 8 billion kg to 13.8 billion kg. The report says e-waste generation has outpaced formal collection and recycling by almost a factor of 5 since 2010.
The Global E-waste Monitor 2024 projects that global e-waste generation will reach 82 million tonnes in 2030. It also projects that the documented collection and recycling rate will fall to 20% by 2030. The 2030 number is a forecast, not a measurement of a completed year, so it should be read separately from the 2022 observations.
The financial estimates underline the scale of the management challenge. The Global E-waste Monitor 2024 estimates USD 37 billion in net economic loss from e-waste management in 2022 and USD 78 billion in externalized costs from e-waste in the same year. Both figures are estimates for 2022 rather than direct counts of collected material.
Regional electronics recycling rates
The regional figures from the Global E-waste Monitor 2024 show substantial differences in both per-person generation and documented recycling. Europe and Oceania recorded the highest recycling rates among the regions listed, while Africa recorded the lowest.
| Region | E-waste generated per capita, 2022 | Documented collected and recycled per capita, 2022 | Recycled rate, 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | 17.6 kg | 7.5 kg | 42.8% |
| Oceania | 16.1 kg | 6.7 kg | 41.4% |
| Americas | 14.1 kg | 4.2 kg | 30% |
| Asia | 6.6 kg | 0.76 kg | 11.9% |
| Africa | 2.5 kg | 0.018 kg | 0.7% |
Europe generated 17.6 kg of e-waste per capita in 2022 and documented 7.5 kg per capita collected and recycled. Its documented recycling rate was 42.8%. Europe also generated 14 billion kg of e-waste in total during 2022.
Oceania generated 16.1 kg per capita and documented 6.7 kg per capita collected and recycled in 2022. Its recycling rate was 41.4%. The Americas generated 14.1 kg per capita, documented 4.2 kg per capita collected and recycled, and recorded a 30% recycling rate.
Asia generated 6.6 kg per capita in 2022. The region documented 0.76 kg per capita collected and recycled, for a recycling rate of 11.9%. Africa generated 2.5 kg per capita and documented 0.018 kg per capita collected and recycled. Its recycling rate was 0.7%.
These measures should be considered together. A lower per-capita generation figure does not automatically mean a stronger recycling system: Africa had the lowest generation and also the lowest documented recycling rate in the regional figures. The rates describe the share of generated e-waste documented as collected and recycled in 2022.
What enters the market and crosses borders
The Global E-waste Monitor 2024 also reported the amount of electrical and electronic equipment put on the market in 2022. Asia recorded 56 billion kg, the Americas 19 billion kg, Europe 13 billion kg, Africa 5.5 billion kg, and Oceania 750 million kg.
Europe’s 2022 e-waste generation was 14 billion kg, while 13 billion kg of electrical and electronic equipment was put on the market that year. The two measures describe different things and should not be treated as a direct one-year conversion: equipment placed on the market can remain in use for years before becoming waste.
Transboundary e-waste figures in the Global E-waste Monitor 2024 refer to 2019. Europe imported 1.2 billion kg and exported 1.9 billion kg of transboundary e-waste. The Americas imported 393 million kg and exported 547 million kg. Africa imported 546 million kg and exported 132 million kg.
Asia imported 2.9 billion kg and exported 2.5 billion kg of transboundary e-waste in 2019. Oceania imported 0 million kg and exported 22 million kg. Because these measurements concern cross-border flows in 2019, they are not the same as the regional generation and recycling measurements for 2022.
The United Kingdom reportedly exported about 40% of its WEEE for treatment, according to the OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: United Kingdom 2022. That figure is reported as an approximate share and concerns the UK’s WEEE treatment flows; it is not a global recycling rate.
Policies, producer responsibility, and targets
Policy coverage varies across regions. The Global E-waste Monitor 2024 counted 39 European countries with an e-waste policy, legislation, or regulation. Europe had 37 countries using the extended producer responsibility, or EPR, principle, 34 countries with collection targets, and 31 countries with recycling targets.
The Americas had 12 countries with an e-waste policy, legislation, or regulation and 9 countries using the EPR principle. Four countries had collection targets in place, while 0 countries had recycling targets in place in the reported regional count.
Africa had 11 countries with an e-waste policy, legislation, or regulation and 9 countries using the EPR principle. The regional data provided do not report a separate count of African countries with collection or recycling targets.
Asia had 18 countries with an e-waste policy, legislation, or regulation and 11 countries using the EPR principle. The regional data provided do not report separate counts of Asian countries with collection or recycling targets.
Oceania had 1 country with an e-waste policy, legislation, or regulation and 1 country using the EPR principle. These country counts indicate the reported presence of policy tools; they do not by themselves measure how effectively each policy operates.
United States consumer electronics statistics
U.S. figures from the EPA use narrower categories and different units from the global e-waste estimates. The US EPA Durable Goods Product-Specific Data estimated that 2.7 million tons of selected consumer electronics goods were generated in 2018. EPA reported selected consumer electronics recycling at 38.5% in 2018 and estimated that 1.04 million tons of selected consumer electronics were collected for recycling.
The category is important when comparing sources. The 2018 EPA figures concern selected consumer electronics, while the Global E-waste Monitor 2024 covers e-waste globally. The numbers should not be combined into a single rate or total.
Earlier EPA reporting provides additional U.S. context. The US EPA Electronics Waste Management in the United States Through 2009 estimated that 2.37 million short tons of electronics were discarded in 2009 and that 25% were collected for recycling. The same EPA source said 5 million short tons of electronic products were in storage in 2009.
The US EPA Cleaning Up Electronic Waste also reported that U.S. households and businesses discarded 2.37 million tons of televisions, computers, cell phones, and hard copy peripherals in 2009. This overlaps in subject and year with the 2009 EPA estimate, so the figures are best read as source-specific reporting rather than added together.
How U.S. recycling changed over time
EPA’s selected consumer electronics series shows both generation and recycling increasing over the reported period. Selected consumer electronics generation rose from 1.9 million tons in 2000 to 2.7 million tons in 2018, according to the US EPA Durable Goods Product-Specific Data.
Selected consumer electronics recycling increased from 190 thousand tons in 2000 to 1.04 million tons in 2018. The same EPA series recorded 360 thousand tons recycled in 2005, 650 thousand tons in 2010, 1.23 million tons in 2015, and 1.02 million tons in 2017.
| Year | Selected consumer electronics recycled | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 190 thousand tons | US EPA Durable Goods Product-Specific Data |
| 2005 | 360 thousand tons | US EPA Durable Goods Product-Specific Data |
| 2010 | 650 thousand tons | US EPA Durable Goods Product-Specific Data |
| 2015 | 1.23 million tons | US EPA Durable Goods Product-Specific Data |
| 2017 | 1.02 million tons | US EPA Durable Goods Product-Specific Data |
| 2018 | 1.04 million tons | US EPA Durable Goods Product-Specific Data |
The 2018 EPA estimate of 2.7 million tons generated and 1.04 million tons collected for recycling sits alongside the reported 38.5% selected consumer electronics recycling figure. Since EPA identifies these as selected consumer electronics measures, readers should retain the category label when using the statistic.
Taken together, the available statistics describe growth in electronics use and waste, uneven regional collection, and different levels of policy coverage. They also show why a year, geography, unit, and source category matter whenever an electronics recycling rate is compared.