45 Million Metric Tons of Electronic Waste Discarded Last Year

A new study  says that 44.7 million metric tons of electronic waste were discarded  last year, and 6.3 metric tons came from the United States. According to  the Associated Press, "e-waste" includes such electronic goods as TVs,  refrigerators and cell phones. Only one-fifth of the discarded goods  were recycled to salvage the valuable raw materials inside. The sliver,  gold, copper and other valuable materials in the non-recycled goods  would have reportedly been worth $55 billion. The study was backed by  the United Nations and published Wednesday.