Silicon Valley tech companies are heavily funding data centers, updating them to power generative AI products and hold powerful computer chips. The AI boom sparks concerns that the chips and other equipment used today will soon be outdated, leading to massive electronic waste equivalent to throwing out 13 billion iPhones annually by 2030.

Not only are waste and workers being affected by AI, but also water and energy. The programs are so powerful that it takes huge amounts of water and energy to keep the computer chips from overheating during use.

Not much electronic waste is recycled, and most of it ends up in landfills. Computers and other electronics that are thrown out in the West are often sent to lower-income countries where workers are exposed to chemicals like mercury and lead while they break down the electronics to access other metals.

According to the study, more AI production will increase global electronic waste between 3% and 12% by 2030, amounting to 2.5 million metric tons of excess e-waste each year. Those calculations are based on researchers projecting that companies will replace their computer systems every three years. The study did not take into account the waste that could result from the disposal of other equipment, such as cooling systems.

The particular computer system researchers used for the study is called Nvidia. The company’s 2024 sustainability report stated that it is working to reduce emissions from its data centers and recycle technology that its employees use.

Other companies are being scrutinized for their carbon emissions, too. In July, Google reported its carbon emission footprint had increased by 48% since 2019. In May, Microsoft said its emissions are up 29% since 2020. Regardless of the emission increase, the company has said its quarterly spending of $14 billion on data centers will continue to grow despite its goal of making its carbon emissions negative by 2030.

AI programs like OpenAI’s ChatGPT require advanced chips that require extensive amounts of power. The strain on electric grids across the United States is prompting power providers to keep coal plants open and to reopen old nuclear reactors to meet the AI energy demand. Big Tech companies have said they are making attempts to limit the increase in carbon emissions, but now e-waste has joined the list of possible AI threats.

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Asaf Tzachor, one of the study’s authors, hopes the research will bring attention to the risks AI technology poses.

“We hope this work brings attention to the often-overlooked environmental impact of AI hardware,” Tzachor said. “AI comes with tangible environmental costs beyond energy consumption and carbon emissions.”