Your phone, your laptop, that drawer full of “someday I’ll fix it” gadgets—they’re all part of the fastest-growing trash problem on Earth: e-waste. In 2022, we dumped 62 million tons of it, and less than a quarter was properly recycled. In this episode, we spill the toxic tea on what’s inside our discarded tech, where it really ends up, who’s paying the price, and how we can flip the script before the planet drowns in dead electronics.
Works Cited:
Alabi, O. A. “Environmental Contamination and Public Health Effects of Electronic Waste.” PMC, 2021. PubMed Central, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8172693.
“Boeing 747.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, last edited [date not listed]
International Telecommunication Union, United Nations Institute for Training and Research, et al. The Global E-Waste Monitor 2024: Quantities, Flows and Resources. Geneva: ITU & UNITAR, 2024.
Kuehr, Ruediger, et al. “Global E-Waste Monitor 2024: Electronic Waste Rising Five Times Faster Than Documented E-Waste Recycling.” UNITAR, 20 Mar. 2024,
“Electronic Waste (E-Waste).” World Health Organization, WHO,
Saha, Ankit, Kumar Tiwari, Sweta Rawat Singh, and Bauddh Singh. “Electronic Waste and Their Leachates’ Impact on Human Health and Environment: Global Ecological Threat and Management.” ResearchGate / BibBase, 19 Oct. 2021
“America’s E-Waste: GPS Tracker Tells All | Earthfix.” PBS NewsHour, PBS,
“Environmental Impact of E-Waste.” Earth.org, Earth.org,
“Thailand Illegal Import of Electronic Waste at Bangkok Port.” AP News, Associated Press,
“Electronics, Public Health, Waste — Ghana Phones, Computers.” NPR: Goats & Soda, NPR, 5 Oct. 2024,
Fair Trade Recycling. FairTradeRecycling
Solar Scorecard. SolarScorecard
BAN (Basel Action Network). BAN
United States Environmental Protection Agency. “Recycling Economic Information (REI) Report.” EPA
“Electronic Waste: Gold Mine Waiting.” Chemical & Engineering News, American Chemical Society