Live Global E-Waste Counter (2026)
Source: UN Global E-Waste Monitor 2024 · 62 Mt in 2022 baseline · 3.5%/yr growth · Counter resets every January 1 UTC.
How fast does this number tick?
The world generates approximately 2.25 tonnes of e-waste every second — that's 135 tonnes per minute, 8,116 tonnes per hour, and an estimated 71,146,426 tonnes for the full year 2026.
Of that, the UN GESP estimates only 22.3% is formally collected and recycled — the remainder is landfilled, exported informally, or stockpiled. Per-capita averages mask huge regional disparities (17.6 kg/person in Europe vs 2.5 kg/person in Africa).
Breakdown by region (2026)
Asia generates the largest absolute volume, but Europe and the Americas have the highest per-capita rates.
Breakdown by device category (2026)
Small kitchen appliances (kettles, toasters, irons) are the largest single category by weight, followed by large appliances (washing machines, ovens) and temperature-exchange equipment (fridges, AC, heat pumps).
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Methodology
The counter projects from the UN Global E-Waste Monitor 2024 baseline (62 Mt generated globally in 2022) using a 3.5%/year compound growth rate (the 2014-2022 measured average). The counter starts at 0 every January 1 UTC and ticks up at the steady rate 2.25 tonnes per second for 2026. Regional and device-category splits use the GEM 2024 published shares applied to the projected 2026 total.
The UN GEM 2024 figure is itself a model output combining national producer-responsibility data, customs data, household survey data, and informal-sector estimates across 193 countries. It is the most cited figure in academic and policy work on global e-waste.
Why we publish this
Two reasons. First, the scale of the problem is hard to grasp without a continuously-incrementing visual — 62 million tonnes is an abstraction; 2.22 tonnes per second is felt. Second, embeddable counters compound: every embed creates a citation back to the source, which strengthens the public record on this topic.
This counter is published independently by Defining Style Limited (eCycling Central). We accept no industry funding for the methodology or display.
Sources
- UN Global E-Waste Monitor 2024 — UN University, ITU, ISWA, UNITAR
- Per-capita and regional shares from GEM 2024 country sheets
- Device-category shares from EU Eurostat WEEE reporting + GEM 2024 cross-validation
- Recycling rate (22.3% formal collection) from GEM 2024 documented-collected metric