Nature Positive Role of the Technology Sector 2025

7-8% annual growth in manufacturing to 2030 – US alone disposes of 300-400 million electronic items each year – e-waste accounts for 70% of US toxic waste for only ~2% of landfill waste – Volumes expected to grow 5x faster than concurrent growth in recycling – High-income countries send 3.3 billion kg of e-waste to middle- and low-income countries Only 22% of global e-waste is recycled22%>62 billion kg e-waste produced in 2022Hardware/electronics Manufacturing of hardware and electronics, such as personal computers (PCs), mobile phones and televisions, is expected to grow by ~8% per year to 2030 (see Figure 7). The industry not only consumes considerable resources during manufacture, but also generates over 62 billion kg of waste every year, much of it toxic. Only about one-fifth of this e-waste is recycled, with around 3.3 billion tonnes sent via uncontrolled transboundary movements to middle- and low-income countries, where it is often processed in unsafe conditions. Companies have a clear role to play in reducing the impact on nature from this industry. Hardware and e-waste industry in numbers FIGURE 7 Sources: see endnote.37 Nature Positive: Role of the Technology Sector 16