Metallic toxicity as a consideration for future computing paradigms

Abstract The ever-increasing amount of electronic waste has become a global environmental challenge, estimated at 62 billion kilograms annually, with computing systems accounting for a substantial share. As we consider radically novel approaches to computing, we can do our part to help solve the e-waste problem by developing methods to quantify the impact of our design decisions and exploring trade-offs between e-waste footprint and future system design parameters. In this paper, through applying state-of-the-art environmental modeling tools and elemental profiling of two distinct server-class systems, we establish the first method for designers of future computing systems to systematically assess the potential ecotoxicity and human toxicity of system design choices. We find that there are significant new opportunities for e-waste-aware design of future computing paradigms via novel 2.5D/3D integration technologies like silicon-interconnect fabric, which have the potential to reduce e-waste impact by at least 44% compared to traditional systems.