This study reveals how much “material for tech” we’ve extracted and produced from the Earth — 30 trillion tons. It’s an amazing amount of tonnage and I was totally stunned when I read it. They call it our Technosphere.

Technosphere includes physical human-made structures such as houses, factories, smartphones, computers and landfill.

All is not lost though. Electronic recycling is strong in the United States and is growing more efficient every day. In fact, many places give you a good sized payment for your efforts. So the next time you’re ready to upgrade your computer just remember to recycle responsibly — and wipe your data first. 😉

Check it out at Science Daily.