E-Waste to Peak at 73M Tons a Year

Wheh. That's a relief. Pike Research issued a report today that electronic waste will likely plateau by 2015. This will likely come in part because of greater efforts to recycle raw materials, the introduction of less hazardous materials and re-use. Some companies are making good money by refurbishing corporate notebooks for schools, consumers and sometimes emerging nations. Legislation offering bonuses for recyclers will also help.

The bad news? The plateau will be at 73 million tons. That's one big pile of trash still.

"Consumers have few incentives to reuse or recycle used electronics equipment. In most countries, it is still too easy and relatively inexpensive to throw e-waste in the trash. An optimistic estimate of average recycle rates is about 15 percent," Pike stated.