E-Waste in Nigeria: 14 Statistics That Change How You See Your Old Phone

There is probably an old phone in a drawer in your house right now. Maybe two. A cracked one you meant to fix, one that stopped charging, one you kept "just in case". You're not alone, and the numbers show why it matters where those phones end up.

Here are the most reliable e-waste statistics we could find for Nigeria and the world, each linked to its source.

The Global Picture

1. The world produced 62 million tonnes of e-waste in 2022, up 82% from 2010. That would fill 1.55 million 40-tonne trucks. (Global E-waste Monitor 2024, ITU and UNITAR)
2. That's 7.8 kg of e-waste for every person on earth. (Global E-waste Monitor 2024)
3. Only 22.3% was documented as properly collected and recycled. (Global E-waste Monitor 2024)
4. E-waste is on track to hit 82 million tonnes by 2030, while the recycling rate is expected to fall to 20%. E-waste is growing five times faster than documented recycling. (Global E-waste Monitor 2024)
5. Small IT and telecom equipment (phones, laptops, routers) made up 4.6 million tonnes, with only 22% documented as recycled. (Global E-waste Monitor 2024)
6. The metals inside 2022's e-waste were worth $91 billion, including $19 billion of copper and $15 billion of gold. (Global E-waste Monitor 2024)
7. Just 1% of the world's demand for rare earth elements is met by recycling e-waste. (Global E-waste Monitor 2024)

Africa and Nigeria

8. Africa formally recycles less than 1% of its e-waste. Europe documents 42.8%. (Global E-waste Monitor 2024)
9. Africans generate the least e-waste per person. Europe produces 17.6 kg per person a year, Oceania 16.1 kg and the Americas 14.1 kg. (Global E-waste Monitor 2024)
10. Nigeria generates about 500,000 tonnes of e-waste a year, third in Africa behind Egypt and South Africa. (The Guardian Nigeria)
11. Most of Lagos's used electronics arrive working. A study of imports through Lagos found 70% of used equipment was functional and sold after testing. (Öko-Institut for the Basel Convention E-waste Africa Project, 2011)
12. 70% of the devices that didn't work were repaired locally and sold on. Only 9% of all used imports were beyond repair. (Öko-Institut, 2011)
13. Ikeja Computer Village and Alaba Market were home to about 3,000 and 2,500 repair and resale businesses respectively. (Öko-Institut, 2011)
14. Most e-waste collection in Lagos is informal. Collectors buy old devices from homes and businesses; parts with no value are often discarded or burned. (Öko-Institut, 2011)

The Lagos repair figures come from the most detailed field study available, carried out in 2010. The market is bigger now, but no newer study has measured it as closely.

What the Numbers Mean

Stats 11 and 12 are the ones worth sitting with. Nigeria is often described as a dumping ground, and some of it is. But the same study found that most used electronics coming into Lagos are working phones and laptops that get a second life, repaired by the thousands of small businesses in stat 13.

The difference between a second-hand phone and a piece of e-waste is simple: whether it works, and whether anyone stands behind it when it stops.

The greenest phone is the one that already exists.

Every year a phone stays in use is a year a new one doesn't need to be made, and a year the old one stays out of a burn pile. That's why buying used, repairing instead of replacing, and passing your old phone on properly all matter.

What to Do With Your Old Phone

• Trade it in. A working or even cracked phone still has value. Trade it in at Ziggatech and put it towards your next device. See what yours is worth in our iPhone trade-in value guide.
• Repair before you replace. A new screen often costs a fraction of a new phone. Our iPhone screen replacement cost guide has the numbers.
• Pass it on. An old phone makes a good first phone, a backup line, or a phone for a parent who mostly calls and chats.
• Wipe it first. Sign out of iCloud or your Google and Samsung accounts, then do a factory reset. A phone still linked to your account can't be reused and ends up as scrap.
• Don't throw it in the bin. Batteries can catch fire in waste trucks, and everything inside a phone is either reusable or hazardous.

Buying Used, Without the Risk

Buying UK Used keeps a good phone in use and saves you a lot of money. A UK Used iPhone 13 128GB is ₦426,800, an iPhone 12 64GB is ₦288,800 and an iPhone 11 64GB is ₦264,800. Every UK Used phone at Ziggatech is IMEI-checked, fully tested and comes with a 12-month warranty. See every model in our UK Used iPhone price guide or read which UK Used Samsungs are still worth buying.

Prices are live store prices at the time of writing. Statistics are from the sources linked beside each one.

Buying from Ziggatech

• 12-month written warranty on UK Used phones, honoured in person at our Ikeja store.
• 7-day exchange and 48-hour damage cover.
• Same-day delivery in Lagos on orders placed before 12 PM, and 2–3 business days nationwide.
• Trade in your current phone and pay only the difference.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much e-waste does Nigeria produce?

Nigeria generates about 500,000 tonnes of e-waste a year, the third highest in Africa after Egypt and South Africa.

How much e-waste is recycled in Africa?

Less than 1% of Africa's e-waste is formally collected and recycled, according to the Global E-waste Monitor 2024. Most is handled by informal collectors. Worldwide, the figure is 22.3%.

Is buying a used phone better for the environment?

Yes. Every year a phone stays in use is a year a new one doesn't need to be made and the old one stays out of the waste stream. Buying a tested used phone with a warranty is the lowest-waste way to get a good phone.

What should I do with my old phone in Nigeria?

Trade it in, repair it, or pass it on. Sign out of your accounts and factory reset it first, and never throw it in the household bin, as the battery can catch fire. Ziggatech accepts trade-ins towards a new or UK Used device.