First Audit of EPA E-Waste Compliance Finds 51.6% of Audited Recyclers Hold Clean Status; eCycling Central Releases State of US E-Waste 2026 Report
A new data study from eCycling Central, the US e-waste recycling directory operated by Defining Style Limited, publishes the first systematic audit of EPA ECHO compliance data for US electronics recyclers, alongside state-by-state federal contract spending and per-metro employment data for the waste-management sector.
Three findings every journalist should know
- $6.98B in federal waste-management contracts across 51 states (FY2024), led by South Carolina ($1.10B), Tennessee ($786M), Washington ($744M).Source: USAspending.gov v2 API, NAICS 562, FY2024.
- 51.6% of 31 EPA RCRA-registered electronics recyclers across 18 states hold clean Significant Non-Compliance status. First published audit of its kind for the e-waste sub-sector.Source: EPA ECHO Detailed Facility Reports, May 2026.
- 0.82M metric tonnes CO2 avoided per year at current US recycling rates - equivalent to 178,609 cars off the road.Source: EPA WARM v16 × EPA SMM 2018, (1,040k short tons recycled, 38.5% rate).
Press Resources
- Full report: https://ecyclingcentral.com/research/state-of-us-e-waste-2026
- Embeddable interactive map (CC-BY 4.0): https://ecyclingcentral.com/research/2026/embed
- Underlying dataset: https://ecyclingcentral.com/research/2026/dataset.json
About eCycling Central
eCycling Central maintains a verified directory of 3,215 US electronics recyclers covering all 50 states + DC, cross-referenced with EPA RCRA registrations and EPA ECHO compliance data. The site is operated by Defining Style Limited (UK Companies House 10572391, ICO ZA711914).
Press Contact
Lawrence Sykes
press@ecyclingcentral.com
https://ecyclingcentral.com/research/state-of-us-e-waste-2026
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