Think about the largest cruise ship. Imagine its weight again - it's actually over 100,000 tons. Think about 500 such cruises and their total weight. This amazing number is the amount of new e-waste that we generate each year.
According to the Global Electronic Waste Monitoring report, 53 million tons of electronic waste were generated globally in 2020 alone. And it is increasing every year, reaching 74 million tons by 2030. However, only about 10 million tons of electronic waste are actually recycled, that is, we recycle metals and other valuable materials, including nickel. The remaining 43 million tons of electronic waste are not recycled but landfilled, with an estimated total value of recycled materials of about 55 billion. Mobile phones, computers, televisions, household appliances, and other electronic components that we use every day end up in unsatisfactory conditions.
Electronic waste contains nickel, but the amount depends on the electronic components being recycled. Recycling is a complex process because nickel is an "affinity metal" that can be mixed with most metals. The content of nickel generally accounts for 0.5 to 2 percent of the total weight of components, which is much lower than that of copper and iron. Key properties of nickel are used in electronic products, for example, in MLCC. Precious metals such as gold, palladium, and silver are used less, but they have a greater monetary value. However, in the circular economy, we need to recycle as much as possible.
