The global volume of e-waste is escalating at a rapid rate. 

Key Issues:

• Growing Volume: E-waste is the world's fastest-growing waste stream, with its volume doubling since 2010. In 2022, 62 million metric tonnes of e-waste were generated, a figure projected to rise to 82 million by 2030.

• Low Recycling Rates: The increase in e-waste generation is nearly five times faster than our recycling efforts. For devices like smartphones, laptops, and tablets, the recycling rates are particularly low—less than 10% of smartphones are properly recycled.

• Manual & Inefficient Processes: A primary bottleneck is the manual nature of disassembling devices, which is time-consuming, expensive, and often hazardous. This manual de-manufacturing process is a major reason why so few devices are recycled.

• Environmental & Health Risks: The lack of proper recycling contributes to significant environmental harm. In 2022 alone, non-compliant e-waste processing released 58,000 kg of mercury and 45 million kg of toxic plastics into the environment. Electronic devices account for 70% of the toxins found in landfills.

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COMPLEX AND DANGEROUS: Manually identifying, sorting and de-manufacturing electronic waste is a complex, labor-intensive, and dangerous process. E-waste often contains hazardous materials, damaged components, and toxic substances, creating risks for workers.

These inefficiencies make processing less financially attractive, leading many operators to divert e-waste to landfills or to informal, unregulated recycling operations in poorer regions. In these locations, recovery often happens under unsafe conditions and for low wages, creating significant environmental and human health risks.

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E-waste represents a massive untapped economic opportunity. The materials within it are worth an estimated $91 billion, yet in 2022, only $28 billion in secondary raw materials were recovered. This means $63 billion in potential value is lost each year.

A significant portion of this lost value comes from precious metals. For example, there are 1.6 million kilograms of precious metals in the global e-waste stream, but only about 300,000 kilograms are recovered, resulting in billions of dollars in lost value. 

In total, e-waste contains 31 billion kilograms of recoverable metals, highlighting the scale of the missed opportunity.

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Innovation in e-waste recycling has not kept pace with the rapid advances in technology more broadly. The result is a growing gap between the volume of e-waste we generate and our capacity to process it.

To address this challenge, we need to embrace new technologies. These solutions are crucial for:

• Assistive Automation: Moving beyond inefficient manual sorting and processing to safer, automated systems.

• Data-Driven Decisions: Providing real-time insights to optimize recycling operations.

• Profit Maximization: Improving the recovery of valuable materials to make recycling a more financially attractive and scalable business.

By adopting proven, reliable technologies, we can transform a manual, dangerous process into a streamlined and profitable solution for a critical environmental problem.

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