Mounting e-waste is harming the planet. Here’s how we solve the problem

Jan 18, 2021

Electronic waste or e-waste from computers is pictured in a junk shop in Makati City, Philippines.

Most of the world’s electronics are not recycled, posing health and environmental risks. Image: REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez

Callie Babbitt

Associate Professor of Sustainability, Rochester Institute of Technology

Shahana Althaf

Sustainability Scientist, Yale School of the Environment

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Sending electronics to junkyards or landfills wastes an opportunity to recycle valuable materials inside them. Image: Joe Sohm/Visions of America /Getty Images

a researcher takes apart a smartphone to recycle the contents

A researcher takes apart a smartphone to find out what materials are inside. Image: Shahana Althaf

a dissected tablet, demonstrating the utility of recycled electronics

This dissected tablet shows the components inside, each of which were logged, weighed and measured by researchers. Image: Callie Babbitt

Apple's robot which can recycle nine different iPhone models

Apple’s new robot, Daisy, can disassemble nine different iPhone models to recover valuable materials that traditional recyclers cannot. Image: Apple

two charts showing the concentration of different materials like lead and cobalt within the U.S. e-waste stream

Concentration of hazardous (left) and valuable (right) materials within the U.S. e-waste stream. Image: Althaf et al. 2020

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