"I’m sure my family in Mumbai is a lot like yours: three old smartphones sit unused in a hidden ziplock bag. My mom is scouring the study. “There was another flip phone, where did that go?” she says as she unearths two iPod Touches and, eventually, an outdated iPad. Soon, thanks to AI, there will be more waste we’re responsible for that will be invisible to the naked eye.India is the third-largest e-waste generator globally, producing almost 2 million tons of e-waste in 2024 — a 73% increase over five years. While people like me are part of the problem, the major culprits are actually halfway across the world. Almost 70% of the e-waste generated in India comes from abroad. The U.S. is the number one origin country for e-waste shipments going to developing countries, including India. Some of these enter the country legally, but others arrive as “used goods” or “donations” that turn out to be end-of-life. Europe and the U.S. produce two to three times more e-waste per capita than Asia and Africa. And this is in a world of dumped phones, TVs, and laptops. Things are only going to get worse: The rapid adoption of AI could add between 1.2 million to 5 million metric tons of e-waste in total by 2030, according to a 2024 study published in Nature Computational Science."https://restofworld.org/2026/global-ewaste-crisis/#eWaste #Recycling #AI #India
