Disposition and End-of-Life Options for Personal Computers

TLDR

A 1991 study projected that nearly 150 million personal computers would be landfilled by 2005. The study reexamines that projection in light of newer end‑of‑life options now available. The updated model shows that nearly 150 million PCs will be recycled, only 55 million landfilled, and an additional 15 million landfilled from unused recycled parts, indicating that PCs once destined for landfill now largely enter recycled markets. Report: Carnegie Mellon University Green Design Initiative Technical Report #97‑10.

Abstract

A widely cited 1991 study predicted that nearly 150 million personal computers (PCs) would be sent to landfills by 2005. Taking into consideration newer end-of-life disposition options now available, the general premise of the original study is reconsidered. Many fewer computers are being sent to landfills, as many more are being recycled as markets for used computers and electronic equipment develop. Many are still being stored, despite the unprofitable nature of storage. The updated model suggests that nearly 150 million computers will be recycled in 2005– the same number initially predicted to be landfilled. Instead, we predict that only 55 million will be landfilled. In addition, the equivalent of 15 million PCs will be landfilled from the unused portions of the 150 million recycled computers. In essence, the computers sentenced to death in landfills in 1991 have been given a second life in newly established recycled electronic goods markets. Carnegie Mellon University Green Design Initiative Technical Report #97-10