AI’s Impact on IT Asset Disposition & The e-Waste Industry 

Katelyn Harrison
Marketing Specialist
HOBI-ITAD

You may have noticed the growing popularity of generative AI, especially in recent years. Artificial intelligence is utilized in many ways, including search engines, enabling machine task performance, understanding natural language, pattern recognition, problem-solving, decision-making, and more. AI is applied in self-driving cars, virtual assistants, medical diagnosis, and data analysis and has become popular on mobile apps. However, the continued use of generative AI could also effect IT asset disposition by contributing to the global e-waste crisis. 

The E-Waste Crisis & AI’s Contribution

E-waste makes up 70 percent of the world’s toxic waste, and only a small amount is disposed of properly. Electronic waste is considered hazardous because of the toxic chemicals it produces. In landfills, these chemicals soak into the soil, polluting groundwater and eventually contaminating the surrounding water supply. These chemicals can potentially cause health issues for those living nearby. Incineration facilities burn e-waste and release these chemicals into the atmosphere, leading to air pollution. 

The rapid evolution of technology has created an excess amount of e-waste, and not enough of it is responsibly disposed of. The volume has created a global e-waste crisis that continues to be a growing issue, and researchers have found that AI will only make the problem worse, particularly the large language models. Researchers conducting a study published in Nature Computational Science recently calculated the growth in AI e-waste by creating a model to quantify the scale of e-waste from data centers that support generative AI models. The study revealed that e-waste could reach 1.2-5.0 million metric tons by 2030 if waste reduction measures are not taken. According to Frontline, the study also offered solutions to reducing e-waste via reuse and recycling. 

Reuse & Recycling Will Help Reduce E-Waste

E-waste continues to grow, and the solution lies in circulation with device reuse and recycling. Device reuse is a critical component of reducing the amount of e-waste that is produced by helping to reduce the demand for new devices to be manufactured. Reusing retired IT assets via remarketing and donation programs keeps them in circulation longer and out of the waste stream. Recycling is the only disposal method for e-waste that prevents pollution and potential health problems for surrounding residents. ITAD facilities like HOBI focus on environmentally sound e-waste disposal and materials recovery. Recovering usable materials from obsolete IT assets helps preserve resources and saves time and energy by reducing the demand for new materials. 

HOBI is an R2v3, RIOS, WBE, and ISO 14001 certified IT asset management and disposition enterprise with more than 30 years of industry experience. HOBI focuses on maximizing economic return and mitigating potential environmental liability at every step of the disposition process. 

For more information about our ITAD services, call 817-814-2620 or contact HOBI at sales@hobi.com

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