How much digital waste did you create on World Earth Day?

When we think about waste, most people imagine plastic, packaging or litter in nature. But there is another type of waste that we do not see and that is why we often forget about it: the digital waste.

Earth Day, celebrated every year on 22 April, has been raising awareness of environmental challenges and encouraging action for our planet since 1970. As more and more aspects of our everyday lives move into the digital world, sustainability is no longer only about the physical environment. The environmental footprint of digital technologies and our digital habits is becoming increasingly important

Every photo we take, every email we never delete, and every file that remains forgotten in the cloud has its own "invisible" footprint. The digital world is not without weight. It works on servers that require energy, cooling and continuous operation.

Invisible energy for every click

Although our data seems to be stored somewhere “in the cloud”, in reality it exists in huge data centres around the world. These centres consume large amounts of electricity and form an important part of the global digital infrastructure.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), data centres consumed around 415 TWh of electricity in 2024, accounting for approximately 1.5% of global electricity consumption. The IEA estimates that their electricity consumption could more than double by 2030, driven in part by the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and other data-intensive digital services.

The more data we create and store, the more energy it takes to function. Digital waste is therefore not only a matter of organisation, but also a matter of sustainability.

Unlike electronic waste, or e-waste, which refers to discarded electronic devices, digital waste refers to unnecessary or unused digital content, such as old files, duplicate photos, unwanted emails, unused applications and other data that continues to be stored even when it is no longer needed. The global Digital Cleanup Day initiative raises awareness of this issue and encourages individuals and organisations to reduce unnecessary digital data and adopt more responsible digital habits.

Why are we accumulating them?

We create digital waste almost unknowingly:

By photographing the same thing many times.
By saving files “just in case”
By never clearing the mailbox.
By downloading applications that we never use.

The space in the digital world works limitlessly. By this, we quickly lose the sense of how much data we actually create.

Digital Minimalism as a New Habit

Cleaning up the digital space is not only environmentally responsible, but also beneficial for everyday productivity. Less data means more transparency, faster devices and less digital “noise”.

Simple habits, such as regularly deleting unnecessary files, editing photos, and cleaning emails, can make a big difference in the long run.

Small decisions, big impact

World Earth Day is an opportunity to extend our vision of sustainability to the digital space.

We may not see digital waste, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Each click, each saved document and each unnecessary file contribute to the wider picture.