Contents
- Electronic waste recycling statistics: global e-waste generation and documented recycling
- Electronic waste recycling statistics by device category
- Electronic waste recycling statistics across regions
- electronic waste recycling: E-waste collection and recycling in Ireland
- electronic waste recycling: Electronic waste in U.S. municipal solid waste
- electronic waste recycling: Electronics in England’s household recyclate
- Sources
Electronic waste recycling statistics: global e-waste generation and documented recycling
The global figures show the scale of electronic waste and the narrower amount that can be documented as formally collected and recycled. The Global E-waste Monitor reports that the world generated 62 billion kg of e-waste in 2022. Its reported documented formal collection and recycling total for that year was 13.8 billion kg, equivalent to a stated global rate of 22.3%. The latter is a formal, documented measure; it does not capture all informal collection, so it should not be read as a complete count of every item handled outside formal systems. (Global E-waste Monitor 2024, pp. 10, 28)
The report’s reconstructed historical series gives 34 billion kg generated in 2010 and 8 billion kg documented as formally collected and recycled. For 2022, it reports 62 billion kg generated and 13.8 billion kg documented formally collected and recycled. These are the specific years and measures reported in the source; the Monitor cautions that its reconstructed series should not be compared directly with earlier editions of the Monitor. (Global E-waste Monitor 2024, p. 10)
A separate estimate in the report’s 2022 global composition graphic concerns low- and lower-middle-income countries without developed e-waste management infrastructure. It estimates that 18 billion kg was handled in those settings, mostly by the informal sector. That estimate describes a particular income-group and infrastructure context; it is not an additional formal recycling total and should not be added to the documented collection figure as if the measures were interchangeable. (Global E-waste Monitor 2024, Executive Summary)
| Global measure | 2010 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| E-waste generated | 34 billion kg | 62 billion kg |
| Documented formal collection and recycling | 8 billion kg | 13.8 billion kg |
| Documented formal collection and recycling rate | — | 22.3% |
The rate is stated for 2022; the checked evidence does not provide a corresponding 2010 rate in this series. (Global E-waste Monitor 2024, pp. 10, 28)
Electronic waste recycling statistics by device category
In 2022, small equipment was the largest of the listed device categories by generated mass, at 20.4 billion kg. Large equipment excluding photovoltaic panels accounted for 15.1 billion kg, while temperature exchange equipment accounted for 13.3 billion kg. Screens and monitors generated 5.9 billion kg, and small IT and telecommunication equipment generated 4.6 billion kg. The remaining listed categories were lamps at 1.9 billion kg and photovoltaic panels at 0.6 billion kg. (Global E-waste Monitor 2024, p. 28)
The same category graphic reports documented formal collection and recycling in both mass and percentage terms. Large equipment had the highest stated category rate among these rows, at 34%; its 5.1 billion kg documented total compares with 15.1 billion kg generated. Temperature exchange equipment had 3.6 billion kg documented, or 27%. Screens and monitors had 1.5 billion kg, or 25%, and small IT and telecommunication equipment had 1 billion kg, or 22%.
The smaller documented shares in the graphic were for photovoltaic panels, with 0.1 billion kg and 17%; small equipment, with 2.4 billion kg and 12%; and lamps, with 0.1 billion kg and 5%. These are the Monitor’s documented formal collection and recycling values, not measures of every informal route or final treatment outcome. (Global E-waste Monitor 2024, p. 28)
| Global device category, 2022 | Generated | Documented formally collected and recycled | Stated rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large equipment, excluding photovoltaic panels | 15.1 billion kg | 5.1 billion kg | 34% |
| Temperature exchange equipment | 13.3 billion kg | 3.6 billion kg | 27% |
| Screens and monitors | 5.9 billion kg | 1.5 billion kg | 25% |
| Small equipment | 20.4 billion kg | 2.4 billion kg | 12% |
| Small IT and telecommunication equipment | 4.6 billion kg | 1 billion kg | 22% |
| Lamps | 1.9 billion kg | 0.1 billion kg | 5% |
| Photovoltaic panels | 0.6 billion kg | 0.1 billion kg | 17% |
The large-equipment category explicitly excludes photovoltaic panels, which the graphic presents separately. (Global E-waste Monitor 2024, p. 28)
Electronic waste recycling statistics across regions
Per-capita measures put regional totals in context, while retaining the distinction between waste generated and waste documented as formally collected and recycled. In 2022, Europe generated 17.6 kg per capita and had 7.53 kg per capita documented as collected and recycled. Oceania generated 16.1 kg per capita, with 6.66 kg per capita documented as collected and recycled. The Americas generated 14.1 kg per capita, and the documented collected-and-recycled figure was 4.2 kg per capita. (Global E-waste Monitor 2024, pp. 12, 30)
For the world overall, the report gives generated e-waste at 7.8 kg per capita in 2022. Among the listed regional figures, Europe had the highest documented formal collection and recycling rate, at 42.8%. The checked figures do not provide the comparable rate for every region listed here, so the per-capita collected masses should not be mistaken for a complete rate comparison. (Global E-waste Monitor 2024, pp. 10, 30)
| Region, 2022 | Generated per capita | Documented collected and recycled per capita |
|---|---|---|
| Europe | 17.6 kg | 7.53 kg |
| Oceania | 16.1 kg | 6.66 kg |
| Americas | 14.1 kg | 4.2 kg |
| World | 7.8 kg | Not stated in the checked regional figures |
The world value shown is the global per-capita generation figure. Europe’s reported documented formal collection and recycling rate was 42.8%. (Global E-waste Monitor 2024, pp. 10, 30)
electronic waste recycling: E-waste collection and recycling in Ireland
Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency reports that 65,523 tonnes of WEEE were separately collected for treatment in 2024. Of that collected total, 54,027 tonnes came from private households, classified as B2C WEEE, and 11,496 tonnes came from other sources such as businesses, classified as B2B WEEE. The figures describe separate collection for treatment, not a single recycling-only measure. (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Statistics for Ireland)
Ireland’s reported WEEE collection rate was 41.5% in 2024, down from 43.6% in 2023 and 51.2% in 2022. The EU target collection rate referenced by the EPA is 65%, in place since 2018. For Ireland’s target calculation, WEEE collected in the reporting year is divided by the average weight of electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market over the previous 3 years. That denominator matters: this rate is not simply the collected tonnage divided by waste generated in the same year. (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Statistics for Ireland)
The EPA also reports 54,108 tonnes of WEEE recycled or prepared for reuse in 2024, and 60,296 tonnes recovered. These are distinct reported measures. Recovery combines recycled, prepared-for-reuse, and recovered WEEE in the EPA’s explanation, so the recovery tonnage should not be described as recycling alone. (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Statistics for Ireland)
| Ireland WEEE measure | 2024 value |
|---|---|
| Separately collected for treatment | 65,523 tonnes |
| Collected from private households (B2C) | 54,027 tonnes |
| Collected from other sources, including businesses (B2B) | 11,496 tonnes |
| Recycled or prepared for reuse | 54,108 tonnes |
| Recovered | 60,296 tonnes |
The EPA page reports 2024 data and notes that the data are subject to further validation. (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Statistics for Ireland)
The 2024 collection table breaks out several categories that also appear in the global device reporting. Ireland collected 35,032 tonnes of large equipment, defined in the table as equipment with any external dimension greater than 50 cm. Small equipment, with no external dimension greater than 50 cm, amounted to 11,495 tonnes. Temperature exchange equipment accounted for 9,972 tonnes, and small IT and telecommunications equipment, with no external dimension greater than 50 cm, accounted for 5,265 tonnes. The specified screens, monitors, and equipment containing screens with a surface greater than 100 cm² amounted to 3,455 tonnes; lamps amounted to 305 tonnes. (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Statistics for Ireland)
electronic waste recycling: Electronic waste in U.S. municipal solid waste
The U.S. EPA’s selected consumer electronics series covers electronics in municipal solid waste and is explicitly not a complete estimate of all U.S. e-waste. In the table’s units of thousands of U.S. tons, generation was 3,120 in 2010, 3,100 in 2015, 2,840 in 2017, and 2,700 in 2018. These are selected consumer electronics amounts in the EPA series, not totals for every discarded electrical or electronic product in the country. (Durable Goods: Product-Specific Data)
For 2018, the same table records 1,040 thousand U.S. tons of selected consumer electronics recycled, and the EPA reports a recycling rate of 38.5%. The amount and rate refer to the selected consumer electronics scope in municipal solid waste. The EPA also states it lacks 2018 figures for the selected electronics amount combusted with energy recovery or sent to landfills, which limits interpretation of the remaining disposition. (Durable Goods: Product-Specific Data)
| Selected consumer electronics in U.S. municipal solid waste | Generation, thousand U.S. tons |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 3,120 |
| 2015 | 3,100 |
| 2017 | 2,840 |
| 2018 | 2,700 |
For 2018, the EPA separately reports 1,040 thousand U.S. tons recycled and a 38.5% recycling rate. (Durable Goods: Product-Specific Data)
electronic waste recycling: Electronics in England’s household recyclate
England’s waste-from-households recyclate tables group WEEE together with other scrap metals. In calendar year 2024, this combined stream totaled 522 thousand tonnes; the corresponding reported totals were 491 thousand tonnes in 2023 and 482 thousand tonnes in 2022. Because the category includes other scrap metals, these tonnages are not standalone WEEE totals. (Local authority collected waste management – annual results 2024/25)
The percentage-composition table gives the same combined category as 9.5% of England’s waste-from-households recyclate in 2024, 9.1% in 2023, and 8.7% in 2022. The denominator is total recyclate composition. These shares therefore do not represent WEEE’s share of all household waste, nor a standalone WEEE recycling rate. (Local authority collected waste management – annual results 2024/25)
| England waste-from-households recyclate: WEEE and other scrap metals | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weight (thousand tonnes) | 482 | 491 | 522 |
| Share of recyclate composition | 8.7% | 9.1% | 9.5% |
These figures describe England’s household recyclate stream and preserve the source category’s combined WEEE-and-other-scrap-metals definition. (Local authority collected waste management – annual results 2024/25)