The numbers behind IT disposal — how much e-waste the world produces, how often old drives still hold data, and what getting disposal wrong costs. Every figure below is sourced and dated.
Updated 5 October 2026 · compiled from the UN Global E-waste Monitor, Blancco, the ICO, and TFix’s own market research.
Headline number
tonnes of e-waste generated worldwide in 2022
Source: UN Global E-waste Monitor 2024
tonnes of e-waste, 2022
of used drives still held data
maximum UK GDPR fine
tonnes projected by 2030
tonnes of e-waste generated worldwide in 2022
Up 82% from 2010, and enough to fill 1.55 million 40-tonne trucks.
tonnes of e-waste projected by 2030
A further 33% rise on the 2022 figure — e-waste is growing five times faster than documented recycling.
of e-waste documented as collected and recycled in 2022
Less than one quarter of the year's e-waste was verifiably recycled, leaving valuable resources in landfill.
of recoverable resources lost to undocumented e-waste
Gold, copper and rare earth elements that recycling would otherwise have recovered. The UN reports this as US$62 billion (converted at ~1.27 USD/GBP).
of second-hand hard drives still contained residual data
A study of drives sold on online marketplaces found recoverable data on 42% of them.
of those drives held personally identifiable information
Emails, photos and documents that should have been wiped before the device changed hands.
or 4% of global turnover — the maximum UK GDPR fine
The ICO can fine up to £17.5 million or 4% of annual worldwide turnover, whichever is higher, for serious breaches.
UK public ITAD & WEEE contracts tracked
Named-supplier public award data, with £7.3 million in single-award value.
TFix Market Report Q3 2026 · 2026
named suppliers in the market
Only one — TFix — publishes its unit rates, so buyers can compare like-for-like.
TFix Market Report Q3 2026 · 2026
Certified erasure turns the first into the second — the data is provably gone, and the hardware can be resold or recycled instead of shredded or landfilled.
Certified Data Destruction →Figures are reproduced from the published sources above and reflect the year stated. Statistics change year to year — we update this page as new reports land.
Globally, 62 million tonnes of e-waste were generated in 2022, and the UK is one of Europe’s largest per-capita producers of electrical waste. Worldwide, the figure is on track to reach 82 million tonnes by 2030.
Blancco’s “The Leftovers” study found 42% of second-hand hard drives sold online still contained residual data, and 15% of those held personally identifiable information. This is why certified erasure or physical destruction matters before any device is reused or resold.
The ICO can fine up to £17.5 million or 4% of annual worldwide turnover — whichever is higher — for serious data-protection breaches. Evidenced, certified data destruction is the proof that protects you.
Each figure is sourced and dated on the page. Global volumes come from the UN Global E-waste Monitor 2024; data-security figures from Blancco’s second-hand drive studies and the ICO; and market figures from TFix’s own UK ITAD & WEEE Market Report.
Erase or shred every data-bearing device to NIST 800-88, with a serialised certificate per drive — from £10 per drive.
