Investment in cloud infrastructure has surged since 2015, and the market for data-center equipment is expected to grow at an average annualized rate of roughly 16% this year and next, according to Citigroup Inc.
Cloud servers, though, typically have a lifespan of only about three years, according to experts, meaning that some of the earliest equipment already has passed its use-by date.
— The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal takes a look at the anticipated market for scrap metal and other components used to make cloud computing infrastructure.
As the cloud computing era gets underway globally, efforts to recycle the short-lived data servers that power the cloud have been complicated by privacy and sustainability concerns. Recycling policies vary by manufacturers, while a lack of coordination and technology industry secrecy stifles efforts to solidify a coordinated approach for the estimated 2 metric tons of obsolete equipment generated by cloud computing, according to The Wall Street Journal.
A 2017 report from the United Nations University, the International Telecommunication Union, and the International Solid Waste Association reads: “Although cloud-computing trends can lead to fewer devices because all services can be accessed from one device, more cloud computing also means more data centers and more e-waste."
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