1 Billion PCs but 180 million will be dumped this year

Davey Winder
Tuesday, 24 June 2008 04:12

Your IT - Home IT

An unfortunate side-effect of this growth in installed computers is the rise in churn rate that accompanies it. As users upgrade and replace older machines, so that global base is constantly being churned. While some are recycled, many are simply dumped in landfill with no regard to environmental concerns.

How many? Well Gartner estimate that 16 percent of the installed base will be replaced this year. That's a stonking 180 million PCs. Worryingly, Meike Escherich, principal research analyst at Gartner, estimates that "a fifth of these, or some 35 million PCs, will be dumped into landfill with little or no regard for their toxic content."

"The disposition of retired PCs has become a high-profile issue for many PC vendors, governments and environmental interest groups. It will become an even more pressing issue, especially in emerging markets, as the number of retired PCs grows with the continuing expansion of the PC installed base" Escherich concludes.