ERI’s John Shegerian Calls the Recycling of Electronics “the Most Urgently Needed Environmental Solution of Our Generation”

Shegerian Points to UN’s Assessments in Latest 2024 Global E-Waste Monitor Report and PIRG Article’s Six Highlights to Help ‘Wake the Nation to Action’

Citing a recent article by Lucas Gutterman, Director of PIRG’s Designed to Last Campaign, John Shegerian, co-founder, Chairman and CEO of ERI, the nation’s leading fully integrated IT and electronics asset disposition provider and cybersecurity-focused hardware destruction company, calls the responsible recycling of electronics as the key to solving many of the planet’s most pressing environmental crises.

The article, which in turn underscores the United Nations’ latest data on global e-waste, which is now growing more than five times faster than it is being recycled, shines a light on six surprising and little-known facts included in the UN’s 2024 Global E-Waste Monitor.

“E-waste continues to be the fastest growing waste stream in the world today,” said Shegerian. “The good news is that by engaging on the circular economy, there is a relatively simple and sustainable solution right in the palm of everyone’s hands. With consumer-friendly processes, innovation and leading recycling search tools such as RecycleNation, it’s easy for any government agency, retailer, manufacturer, consumer or business to actively become part of the solution.”

Shegerian points to Gutterman’s article and it’s six revelations as examples of “how much most people don’t know” about the devices we use every day.”

The article includes in its list:

• Vape waste is a ‘major e-waste contributor’ and it’s getting worse.
• One-third of global e-waste comes from small equipment and only 12% is recycled.
• Small IT equipment, mostly laptops and phones, produce 11 billion pounds of global e-waste.
• The average American disposes of 47 pounds of e-waste each year (the second most e-waste of any country)
• Rare earth elements are critical for future green technologies but less than 1% of our supplies come from recycling
• Manufacturing is growing five times faster than recycling.

“Clearly, there is much room for improvement,” added Shegerian. “It is urgent that we educate everyone – from decision makers and legislators to the next generation of consumers coming up – to responsibly recycling all electronic devices if we are to preserve our planet’s limited natural resources. We can all do better.”

ERI is the largest fully integrated IT and electronics asset disposition provider and cybersecurity-focused hardware destruction company in the United States. ERI is certified at the highest level by all leading environmental and data security oversight organizations to de-manufacture, recycle, and refurbish every type of electronic device in an environmentally responsible manner. ERI has the capacity to process more than a billion pounds of electronic waste annually at its eight certified locations, serving every zip code in the United States. ERI’s mission is to protect people, the planet and privacy. For more information about e-waste recycling and ERI, call 1-800-ERI-DIRECT or visit https://eridirect.com.

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