Many consumers have old laptops, iPhones and other electronics tucked away, but a practical path forward increasingly depends on getting rid of devices the right way—especially because e-waste is both growing and difficult to process. The Associated Press guide, reported by Alexa St. John, notes that the world generates millions of tons of electronic waste each year and points to global and U.S. figures that show relatively low recycling rates.
The United Nations estimated that people worldwide produced 137 billion pounds (62 million metric tons) of e-waste in 2022, and that only about 22% of that waste was properly recycled. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that less than a quarter of e-waste is recycled each year, leaving most of the material to be stored, discarded improperly or handled through channels that do not recover enough of what’s valuable in the devices.
Keeping discarded electronics out of landfills is also framed as a safety issue because devices can contain materials that can harm the environment. Rick Neitzel, an environmental health sciences professor at the University of Michigan, said, “The way that we’re creating and using and disposing of these devices has generated this completely unsustainable waste stream,” adding, “And there’s no signs of that abating at all. In fact, the trend continues to accelerate.”
As the guide describes, recycling is challenging partly because electronic devices are not uniform—components vary from a small earbud to a large refrigerator, and recycling operations have to extract materials efficiently. Neitzel compared common packaging recycling with the different task facing e-waste processors, saying, “Cardboard comes in many shapes and sizes, but at the end of the day, it’s still cardboard.” He said electronics can range across categories and contain different materials, which makes recycling more complex, energy-intensive and expensive than recycling many other consumer products.
Still, experts say recycling can recover and reuse multiple materials. John Shegerian, founder of Electronic Recyclers International, said that “Components such as steel, aluminum, copper, gold, silver, plastics and even glass, can be recovered and reused.” He also warned about landfill leakage, saying, “These electronics — which could and have historically ended up in our landfills or in other inappropriate places — can leak all the stuff that’s contained there within: Mercury, lead, cadmium, beryllium, arsenic. All these things are horrible if they get into our environmental ecosystem.”
The guide’s first step for consumers is preparing devices for recycling with data protection in mind. Experts recommend starting with a factory reset, rather than simply deleting files, and they note that the steps differ by device type. It also points readers to guidance from the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Agency on data protection and where to find manufacturer instructions, and it cautions that even factory resets may leave traces, with some recyclers going so far as to shred hard drives and verify destruction before processing what remains.
For devices that are newer and still working, the guide says consumers can look at options like refurbishment and reuse. It notes that manufacturers may refurbish and resell equipment, that some charities and recyclers refresh devices for people in need, and that consumers can check major electronics and computer manufacturers’ buy-back or trade-in programs. Apple, the guide says, offers trade-in credit toward a future purchase if the device is eligible, and it provides free recycling for older models.
When equipment is at the end of its life, the guide says manufacturers remain a good first place to check because they can handle recycling efficiently for their own products. Neitzel said, “The manufacturers are where we want this stuff to end up because they know their products, they know best and most efficiently how to recycle them.” Retailers also provide routes, including recycling programs at stores such as Best Buy and Staples; it adds that Best Buy can haul away televisions and larger appliances for a fee when customers buy new models, then work with electronics recyclers afterward.
Local governments typically do not accept electronics in curbside recycling, but many offer drop-off locations, the guide says, and it recommends researching those options through local websites. It also describes tools such as Recycle Nation, which lets consumers look specific items up and find take-back sites by zip code, and it lists mail-in options such as programs offered by Amazon and Waste Management that let consumers order boxes, fill them with items and ship them back.
Finally, the guide notes that some return programs charge small fees and that processing charges may vary by item type or method of drop-off, such as a few-dollar fee per monitor or other price structures. It also emphasizes that even if a device can’t be refurbished, recycling can help the broader domestic supply chain for minerals and rare earths, quoting Terence Musho, an associate professor of engineering at West Virginia University, as saying improving mineral recovery and boosting recycling rates “can also potentially bring down the price of your future electronics.”