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Description

"Global e-waste is rising five times faster than documented e-waste recycling."

UNITAR, 2024

Introduction

In today's society, everyday life is increasingly shaped by digital technologies. People rely on computers and smartphones, along with a rapidly growing range of devices such as smart appliances, monitors, sensors, e-bikes, and e-scooters. Additionally, both urban and remote regions are increasingly going towards a digital shift, which necessarily leads to a greater reliance on electronic devices (Kuher R., UNITAR 2024). While the worldwide expansion of access to technological devices is often praised, it also comes with significant environmental costs: the generation of electronic waste is currently increasing at a rate five times higher than that of documented recycling efforts, as reported by the Global E-Waste Monitor 2024 (UNITAR, 2024). More than 62 million tonnes of electronic waste (e-waste) are generated each year as a result of improper collection and recycling practices (UNITAR, 2024; earth.org, 2021). Additionally, up to 82 million tonnes/year of e-waste are expected to be generated by 2030.

Amount of E-waste Generated and Collected

Embedded within this vast volume of e-waste, an estimated 31 million tonnes of metals are discarded annually, representing a substantial loss of valuable resources (UNITAR, 2024). The total value of precious metals contained in e-waste amounts to 91 billion USD (UNITAR, 2024). These metals are incorporated into essential electronic components, including chips, batteries, LEDs, permanent magnets, and other modular parts, all of which are critical for the correct functioning of our everyday electronic devices.

Overall Economic Impact of E-waste Management in 2022

As of today, less than 20% of metals present in e-waste is effectively recovered for incorporation into the production of new electronic devices. Moreover, the extraction and isolation of these metals depend on chemical processes that are laborious and inefficient (Chemical and engineering news, 2024).

Among the metals found in e-waste, a group of 17 lanthanides, collectively known as Rare Earth Elements (REE), are particularly under-recycled due to challenges associated with their isolation. This problem , combined with inefficient collection, technological limitations, and a lack of economic incentives, results in less than 1% of REE being successfully recovered and reintegrated into the material cycle (Mudali et al., 2021). Current REE recovery methods, such as pyrometallurgy and acid-based hydrometallurgical processes, are expensive and fail to achieve efficient selective separation of lanthanides, even though they are highly effective for recovering precious metals like Au, Cu, Ni, and Ag (Ashiq et al., 2019).

The primary REE present in e-waste include La, Ce, Dy, Gd, Pr, Nd, Sm, and Eu (Da Rocha Pereira et al., 2025). The designation "rare" reflects the fact that these elements are not present in high concentrations in the earth's crust. Consequently, REE are predominantly obtained from ores, which are usually extracted through environmentally disruptive mining operations (Panda et al.; 2021). Moreover, REE recovery from ores remain to this day inefficient (He et al., 2022).

Lanthanides
global distribution
Figure 1 - global distribution of REE uses for industrial purposes. Glass, ceramics, batteries and magnets are some fundamental components of most electronic devices. Their manufacturing requires the use of small quantities of REE which, accounted together, represent a considerable amount. Data from Roskill (2016b).

In addition to REE, tellurium (Te) is another element of great importance for certain electronic components, particularly in the solar and photovoltaics industry (Philip Nuss, 2019). Natural reserves of tellurium are limited, and the available supply is insufficient to meet the growing demand or to sustain the heavy reliance on photovoltaic cells for energy production (Chung et al., 2024). Unfortunately, only a minimal amount of Te is recovered through solar cell recycling, creating sourcing challenges similar to those of REE , (Chung et al., 2024).

Global E-waste Generated from Photovoltaic Panels
Figure 5

Like the lanthanides, Te is scarce in the Earth’s crust, on the order of parts per billion (USGS, 2024). Te also poses environmental risks: its oxidized form, tellurite (TeO₃²⁻), is water-soluble and highly toxic, and has been detected in effluents near mining and metallurgical sites (Pérez et al., 2007; Missen et al., 2020). Demand is rising rapidly, with some scenarios projecting up to ~800% growth by 2030 under aggressive CdTe scale-up (First Tellurium, 2023; Hanna, 2024). Because most Te is produced as a by-product of copper refining, supply is relatively inelastic and market visibility limited (Copley, 2021). If demand accelerates while primary output remains flat (Jaganmohan, 2024), a supply bottleneck is likely (Hanna, 2024). This is the gap our project targets: bioremediation that reduces soluble tellurite [Te(IV)] to recoverable elemental Te⁰, creating a circular recovery stream from waste and contaminated matrices (Bravo et al., 2020).

As global demand for REE and tellurium continues to rise alongside rapid technological growth, it is essential to identify alternative sources. These sources must be able to meet the growing demand while minimizing environmental impact. It is because of this reason that we decided to tackle the problem by engineering a system that could efficiently and in an environmental-friendly way recycle REE and recover tellurium, hoping to bring about sustainable change and circularity in the e-waste recycling industry.

References