## Ongoing research estimates export volume
_By Editorial Staff, Resource Recycling_
Ongoing research aims to quantify the unknown volume of electronic waste that is exported overseas, with researchers estimating approximately a fifth of all computers disposed of in 2010 may have been exported.
"[Materials flow analysis of e-waste: Domestic flows and exports of used computers from the United States](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344912001383)" was published in the online journal Resources, Conservation and Recycling by Eric Williams, associate professor in the Golisano Institute for Sustainability at Rochester Institute of Technology and Ramzy Kahhat of the Department of Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru.
The study, which focuses on desktop and laptop computers, uses a materials flow analysis that combines collection of primary survey data from residential, business and public sectors with secondary data from available recycling, landfill and computer adoption studies in an attempt to fill the "data gap" of the export of e-scrap that is often left out of official trade statistics.
Researchers estimated exports based on how many computers were recycled, reused or landfill domestically.
The researchers found that 40 million computers were disposed of in various ways in 2010. Of the 40 million disposed, between 20 and 47 percent were recycled and between 17-22 percent were landfilled. A comparable percentage were exported. The range in results is due to uncertainty from inferring end-of-life disposal choice among individual and institutional users.
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URL: http://resource-recycling.com/node/3160
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