The AI Data Center E-Waste Problem Is Huge - And Getting Bigger
The Verge, Wednesday, September 16th, 2026
A new report finds AI's e-waste has been vastly underestimated and could triple by 2050.
E-waste from the AI boom has been vastly underestimated, according to a new Basel Action Network report, which projects that by 2050 it could fill 23 million shipping containers, enough to circle the world six times.
The estimate is far higher than prior studies because it accounts for all supporting data center infrastructure, not just servers. Less than a quarter of the 68.3 million tons of e-waste produced annually is formally recycled, with most entering informal channels where burning and burying expose workers to lead and chromium.
The US, home to the most data centers, has still not ratified the Basel Convention. BAN predicts global e-waste will triple to 211 million metric tons a year by 2050.