International E-waste Day is celebrated on 14 October, this awareness-raising initiative created by the WEEE Forum aims to highlight the importance of responsible and formal management of e-waste and the possible solutions available to companies and individuals.

Today I want to share with you data that are alarming and I invite you again to join the initiatives that Xchange has been promoting so that we are an industry committed to sustainability:

According to the The global E-waste Monitor 2024

1. In 2022 we generated 62 billion tons of electronic waste.
2. This represents almost 8 kg. E-waste  per person.
3. To give us an idea, it would be like 1.5 million trucks loaded with e-waste that go around the earth's equator.
4. The amount of e-waste is expected to increase to 82 billion tons by 2030.
5. The amount of e-waste currently grows 5 times more than the rate of waste collected and recycled formally.
6. Only 22.3% of the waste currently generated is properly collected, treated and recycled.
7. The remaining 48.2 million tons end up in landfills, are burned or will be illegally traded and treated poorly, causing terrible damage to the environment.
8. Europe leads electronic recycling with 42.8%.
9. In America, only 30% is formally harvested.
10. The countries that generate the most e-waste in America are:
    • The United States 7200 million.
    • Brazil 2400 million.
    • Mexico 1500 million.
    • Canada 770 million
    • Argentina 520 million.
11. In Latin America, only 3.3% of e-waste is formally collected and recycled

The numbers speak for themselves, and today is a good day to reflect and for us as an industry to come together and set an example. There are many ways to get involved and get to work as an AV community. Here are some links that can help you start or strengthen your sustainability strategy.

Avixa Sustainability Advisory Group

SAVe AV

Sustainability in AV

Bringing the 2030 SDG´s Goals to AV Industry