BAN Projects 395-617 Million Tons of AI E-Waste by 2050 as Data Center Gear Widens Count
Updated
Updated · The Verge · Sep 16
BAN Projects 395-617 Million Tons of AI E-Waste by 2050 as Data Center Gear Widens Count
1 articles · Updated · The Verge · Sep 16
Summary
395 million to 617 million metric tons of AI-related e-waste could be generated between 2025 and 2050, Basel Action Network said, far above earlier estimates and equal to about 23 million 40-foot shipping containers.
BAN says prior studies counted mainly servers and GPUs, while its estimate adds power systems, cooling, backup power, networking gear and "AI Waste Contagion" from telecom equipment and devices replaced sooner by AI.
70,000 metric tons of e-waste per gigawatt of data-center capacity underpins the forecast; citing McKinsey, BAN notes global capacity could reach as much as 219GW by 2030.
211 million metric tons of e-waste a year could be generated globally by 2050, with AI responsible for 15% to 20%, while less than a quarter of today's 68.3 million tons is formally collected and recycled.
The report warns much of the waste will flow into informal recycling streams that expose workers and nearby children to toxic materials, a risk BAN says is heightened by the US remaining outside the Basel Convention.