62 Million Tonnes of E-Waste: A Smarter Way to Buy Gadgets

The world generated a record 62 million tonnes of electronic waste in 2022, according to the United Nations' Global E-waste Monitor 2024. Only 22.3% of it was documented as properly collected and recycled. Most of the rest is unaccounted for, and about 14 million tonnes of it was simply trashed, mostly landfilled.

The greenest gadget is often the one that is already made, so use it longer, check it first, and send it on when you are done.

That figure sounds like a problem for governments and giant manufacturers. But the answer starts in a very ordinary place: the drawer of old phones, the laptop you replaced "because it was slow", the tablet the kids stopped using. This article walks through what the numbers say, what the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advises you to do with old devices, and a practical checklist for buying used electronics without getting burned.

What the numbers actually say

The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) published the Global E-waste Monitor in March 2024. All figures below are from the data year 2022 unless noted.

Two details stand out. First, the amount of e-waste is growing about 2.6 million tonnes a year, faster than recycling is keeping up. Second, small devices, the phones, headphones, tablets and gadgets we replace most often, have one of the lowest recycling rates of any category, at 12%.

The report also gives a per-person view. In the Americas, each person generated 14.1 kg of e-waste in 2022, and only 4.2 kg per person was documented as collected and recycled. That gap is the reason keeping things in use matters.

Why using a device longer beats the alternatives

Recycling matters, but it only happens at the end of a product's life. Anything that keeps a working device in use longer simply delays that end. The EPA's electronics guidance points the same way: its first tip is to consider upgrading the hardware or software of a computer or laptop you already own before buying a new one.

When a device does have more life in it, passing it on to someone else is a practical option. A working laptop, camera or console that goes to a second owner is not part of the waste stream yet. That is the simple logic behind buying and selling secondhand.

None of this means every used gadget is a bargain. A tired battery, a hidden fault or a missing charger can turn a cheap price into an expensive lesson. So the rest of this article is about doing it well.

A 7-point checklist for buying used or returned electronics

Use this whether you are at a pickup counter, a garage sale or looking at listing photos.

1. Power it on and use every feature. It is not enough that the screen lights up. Test the speakers, camera, ports, buttons, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
2. Look at the battery first. Check for any swelling, a lifted trackpad, gaps along the case, or a warm spot. A swollen lithium-ion battery is a reason to walk away.
3. Check battery health in software. On a Mac, hold Option and click the Apple menu, then open System Information and choose Power to see the cycle count and condition. On Windows, open a command prompt and run powercfg /batteryreport to compare design capacity with full-charge capacity. Treat cycle counts as a rough guide, because the rating differs from model to model.
4. Run it unplugged for ten minutes. Watch how fast the percentage drops, then plug in and make sure it charges steadily.
5. Confirm it is not locked. Ask that any account lock or password has been removed, and that the device has been reset to factory settings before you hand over money.
6. Count the accessories. The right charger, cable and any original box add real value. A missing charger is a cost to add to the price.
7. Know the return and warranty terms before paying. Return windows and warranties vary a lot by seller. Get them in writing, and check how long you have to find a problem.

For shopping in the DC, Maryland and Virginia area, it also helps to do the testing in person where you can. A quick check at pickup beats a long email chain afterwards. To see how DealsDMV handles pickup, payment and returns, read the help page rather than guessing.

Check for recalls first

A used product can carry a safety recall that its new owner never hears about. It takes about five minutes to check, and we walked through exactly how in Check This Before Buying Secondhand: A 5-Minute Recall Test. Do it before you commit to anything with a battery or a heating element.

When you are done with a device: pass it on safely

If you are the one letting go of a gadget, the EPA's advice is short and sensible:

• Delete all personal information from the device first. The EPA's own wording is to delete all personal information from your electronics.
• Remove the batteries before donating or recycling when you can, since they may need separate handling. Lithium-ion batteries and devices that contain them should not go in household trash or recycling bins.
• Use the options manufacturers and retailers offer for donation and recycling, or a collection search tool, which the EPA lists on its page.

Doing this properly protects your privacy and gives the next owner a clean start.

Why this is more than a feel-good story

The same UNITAR report puts a price tag on the waste. The metals embedded in the 2022 e-waste were worth US$91 billion, including about US$19 billion of copper and US$15 billion of gold. The report estimated that US$62 billion of recoverable resources went unaccounted for. In plain terms, the world is throwing away valuable material, and the cheapest thing any of us can do about it is to make products last.

For shoppers, that lines up with a plain household reason: a good used or returned device usually costs less than new. If you want to see what is available right now, browse Buy Now or try your luck in the auctions. If you plan to bid, set a limit before you start, as we explain in How to Win an Auction Without Overpaying.

The bottom line

The world's e-waste pile is growing by millions of tonnes a year, and less than a quarter of it is documented as recycled. You cannot fix that alone, but you can change three habits. Use devices longer. Test used ones carefully before you pay. Wipe and pass on what you no longer need.

If this checklist saved you a bad purchase, send it to a friend who is about to buy a used laptop or phone.