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AIQuiet 5d · day 12

Basel Action Network warns AI datacenter boom will triple e-waste in 25 years

Report projects AI infrastructure will generate 13 million metric tonnes of toxic electronic waste annually by 2030, with no management plan in place.

newest coverage 4d agosummary written 11d ago22 pieces273 likes & upvotes2 comments NewswiresMastodonReddit

What to know

  • A new report projects AI datacenter expansion will triple toxic e-waste generation within 25 years, reaching 13 million metric tonnes annually by 2030.
  • Equipment in datacenters is not designed for repair and must be completely replaced every 2-5 years; currently only one-fifth of global e-waste is properly managed.
  • The waste will contain hazardous materials including lead, mercury, cadmium, and forever chemicals, yet there is no plan to manage it.
  • AI datacenter construction already faces bipartisan opposition for energy and space requirements; the report adds long-term pollution concerns to the debate.

“The electronic trash AI generates in the next 25 years could fill enough shipping containers to encircle the globe six times.”

Basel Action Network, Environmental non-profit · The Guardian ↗

Basel Action Network (BAN) Environmental non-profitJim Puckett Co-founder, Basel Action NetworkVince Beiser Author, Power Metal

Basel Action Network warns AI datacenter boom will triple e-waste in 25 years
theguardian.com

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlespostscomments

Peak 5 pieces in 3h at Sep 16, 6 AM; 22 pieces over 12 days (8 articles · 13 posts · 1 comment) Sep 16, 6 AM — 5 pieces · 4 articles · 1 post — Newswires 3, Mastodon 2Sep 16, 9 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Reddit 1Sep 16, 12 PM — 1 piece · 1 comment — Reddit 1Sep 16, 3 PM — 5 pieces · 2 articles · 3 posts — Mastodon 4, Newswires 1Sep 16, 6 PM — quietSep 16, 9 PM — quietSep 17, 12 AM — quietSep 17, 3 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 17, 6 AM — 3 pieces · 3 posts — Mastodon 3Sep 17, 9 AM — quietSep 17, 12 PM — quietSep 17, 3 PM — quietSep 17, 6 PM — quietSep 17, 9 PM — quietSep 18, 12 AM — quietSep 18, 3 AM — quietSep 18, 6 AM — quietSep 18, 9 AM — quietSep 18, 12 PM — quietSep 18, 3 PM — quietSep 18, 6 PM — quietSep 18, 9 PM — quietSep 19, 12 AM — quietSep 19, 3 AM — quietSep 19, 6 AM — quietSep 19, 9 AM — 3 pieces · 2 articles · 1 post — Mastodon 2, Newswires 1Sep 19, 12 PM — quietSep 19, 3 PM — quietSep 19, 6 PM — quietSep 19, 9 PM — quietSep 20, 12 AM — quietSep 20, 3 AM — quietSep 20, 6 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 20, 9 AM — quietSep 20, 12 PM — quietSep 20, 3 PM — quietSep 20, 6 PM — quietSep 20, 9 PM — quietSep 21, 12 AM — quietSep 21, 3 AM — quietSep 21, 6 AM — quietSep 21, 9 AM — quietSep 21, 12 PM — quietSep 21, 3 PM — quietSep 21, 6 PM — quietSep 21, 9 PM — quietSep 22, 12 AM — quietSep 22, 3 AM — quietSep 22, 6 AM — quietSep 22, 9 AM — quietSep 22, 12 PM — quietSep 22, 3 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 22, 6 PM — quietSep 22, 9 PM — quietSep 23, 12 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 23, 3 AM — quietSep 23, 6 AM — quietSep 23, 9 AM — quietSep 23, 12 PM — quietSep 23, 3 PM — quietSep 23, 6 PM — quietSep 23, 9 PM — quietSep 24, 12 AM — quietSep 24, 3 AM — quietSep 24, 6 AM — quietSep 24, 9 AM — quietSep 24, 12 PM — quietSep 24, 3 PM — quietSep 24, 6 PM — quietSep 24, 9 PM — quietSep 25, 12 AM — quietSep 25, 3 AM — quietSep 25, 6 AM — quietSep 25, 9 AM — quietSep 25, 12 PM — quietSep 25, 3 PM — quietSep 25, 6 PM — quietSep 25, 9 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 3 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 9 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 3 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 9 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 3 AM — quietToday, 6 AM — quietToday, 9 AM — quietToday, 12 PM — quietToday, 3 PM — quietToday, 6 PM — quiet 1
Sep 17Sep 18Sep 19Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22Sep 23Sep 24Sep 25yesterdaynow · 8:27 PM ET
  1. 1

    Report warns AI waste will contain hazardous materials with no management plan

    The report states that e-waste from AI infrastructure will contain toxins like lead, mercury, cadmium, and forever chemicals, plus valuable metals challenging to reclaim. It emphasizes there is currently no plan to handle this waste, which typically gets dumped in landfills or overseas rather than properly recycled.

    “We're doing a terrible job of handling e-waste in the US. Some of it gets dumped overseas. Most of it just gets dumped in landfills, which is a problem because it can leach all kinds of nasty things into the water, into the soil.”
    — Vince Beiser
    • gerrymcgovern@mastodon.green

      "AI infrastructure will generate between 395 million and 617 million tonnes of e-waste from 2025 to 2050. The report says that would fill between 15 million and 23 million shipping containers. Placing 20 million of them end to end would create a line about 244,000 km long, or roughly six times Earth's circumference." https://www…

      gerrymcgovern@mastodon.greenMastodon7d ago9▲view on Mastodon ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 7 posts in this stretch

    • Check out level 1 techs on YouTube or they have a forum. Wendall does a good job of explaining how you can make use of data center tech in the homelab.

      That-Interaction-45r/technology11d agoview on r/technology ↗
    • remixtures@tldr.nettime.org

      Umm, I'm always afraid of falling into anti-AI/neoluddite rage-baiting zealotry. In this case, I think we should really have some more direct comparisons with other industries and even with other times, in the dotcom era, when kilometers of fiber were deployed around the western countries. This conversation should be really WAY more nuanced. "The…

      remixtures@tldr.nettime.orgMastodon10d ago7▲view on Mastodon ↗
    all of them →
  2. background

    Report details scope: 4,871 US datacenters in pipeline, equipment replaced every 2-5 years — The BAN report identifies 4,871 new datacenters in the US construction pipeline and details the scale of equipment that must be replaced—racks of computer servers weighing 1,360 kilograms each, switches up to 30 kilograms, plus hundreds of kilograms of copper cable per rack. Equipment is not designed for repair and reuse, requiring complete replacement every two to five years.

  3. background

    Basel Action Network releases report projecting AI e-waste surge — The environmental non-profit Basel Action Network publishes a report warning that the ongoing campaign to build thousands of massive datacenters for AI will create a "tsunami" of discarded electronics, tripling annual toxic e-waste generation in 25 years. The report projects AI-driven equipment retirement will generate up to 13 million metric tonnes per year by 2030.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 3 outlets Datacenter rush will create ‘tsunami’ of discarded electronics, report says

    first by Mastodon, 11d ago · also Guardian Environment, Guardian

  2. 2 outlets AI boom could leave an e-waste trail that wraps 6 times around Earth

    first by Mastodon, 8d ago · also The Register

  3. 2 outlets The AI data center e-waste problem is huge — and getting bigger

    first by Mastodon, 11d ago · also The Verge

What people are saying 4 voices from 1 site · best of 7 · verbatim