Datacenter rush will create ‘tsunami’ of discarded electronics, report says
Summary
The construction of many large datacenters for artificial intelligence (AI) will cause a big increase in electronic waste in the next 25 years. A report by the Basel Action Network warns that this waste, which contains toxic materials, will triple and there is currently no plan to manage it properly.Key Facts
- Thousands of new datacenters are being built, mostly for AI use, especially in the US.
- The expected electronic waste from AI datacenters could triple by 2030, reaching about 13 million metric tons per year.
- Electronic waste contains harmful substances like lead, mercury, and chemicals that can pollute soil and water.
- Only about one-fifth of electronic waste is properly recycled or managed today.
- Datacenter equipment is heavy and includes computer servers, cables, and cooling systems, which need to be replaced every 2 to 5 years.
- Consumer devices like phones and computers will also need to be replaced more often due to new AI demands.
- Building and running datacenters requires large amounts of energy, which can cause air pollution and related health issues like asthma and premature deaths.
- There is no federal plan yet to address the environmental and health impacts of this growing AI datacenter infrastructure.
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