Bitcoin mining is generating as much waste material as a small country produces, according to a new report by the Dutch central bank and MIT.
Specialised computer chips called ASICs used in bitcoin mining are thrown away on average every fifteen months, said the report, with the result that the bitcoin network generates as much as IT waste as the Netherlands.
“The lifespan of bitcoin mining devices remains limited to just 1.29 years,” researchers Alex de Vries and Christian Still said in the paper - Bitcoin’s growing e-waste problem, published in the journal Resources, Conservation and Recycling.
“As a result, we estimate that the whole bitcoin network currently cycles through 30.7 metric kilotons of equipment per year. This number is comparable to the amount of small IT and telecommunication equipment waste produced by a country like the Netherlands.”
Obsolescence is behind the problem. Only the newest most efficient chips can mine profitably said the report and older ASICs with no alternative use beyond bitcoin mining have no purpose unless the price of the cryptocurrency were to rocket.
Bitcoin could produce up to 64.4 metric kilotons of e-waste at peak price levels seen in early 2021, estimates the report and the soaring demand for mining hardware might further disrupt global semiconductor supply chains.
“E-waste represents a growing threat to our environment, from toxic chemicals and heavy metals leaching into soils, to air and water pollutions caused by improper recycling,"
Bitcoin has also already been under scrutiny for the amount of power used and carbon generated in the mining process with even fans such as Tesla chief executive Elon Musk expressing concern, but the e-waste problem is being overlooked said the authours.