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John,

Microsoft may soon trigger the single-largest surge of electronic waste in history.

If the company follows through with its plans to end support and security updates for Windows 10, as many as 400 million otherwise-working computers will be marked for disposal overnight.

The worst part? It's all preventable.

Microsoft can solve this problem before it happens. Tell Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to keep working computers working by extending free support for Windows 10.
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It's not as simple as upgrading. 53% of PCs still use Windows 10, and up to 40% of them can't upgrade to Windows 11 due to hardware limitations.[1,2]

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This means that hundreds of millions of PCs may soon add to the piles of electronic waste already in landfills.[3] Landfill e-waste is a mounting environmental problem, as discarded electronics leach lead and mercury into soil and groundwater.[4]

Shredding old electronics isn't the solution, either -- the resulting shards also contribute to soil and air pollution.[5]

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Garbage collectors aren't equipped to handle all this e-waste. Only 22% percent of the world's e-waste in 2022 was collected and recycled properly. The math is simple: 78% of all e-waste remains unaccounted for.[6]

Waste management can't handle the electronic waste we've already created, so it certainly won't be able to properly dispose of the 400 million PCs that Microsoft is about to render useless.

Microsoft can stop this impending environmental disaster. Join us in urging Microsoft to do the right thing and extend support for Windows 10.
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After our national network delivered 20,000 petition signatures from our members, Microsoft announced that anyone could pay for an extra year of extended support. They also announced that Windows 10 users can get a free year of additional security updates if they join their cloud service.

We're urging Microsoft to extend free support for Windows 10 to everyone, not just those who jump through hoops. Will you add your name?
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Thank you for taking action,

Faye Park
President

1. "Desktop Windows Version Market Share Worldwide", Statscounter, last accessed June 23, 2025.
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2. Paul Kunert, "More than 4 in 10 PCs still can't upgrade to Windows 11," The Register, October 10, 2022.
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3. Gerrit De Vynck, "The AI boom may unleash a global surge in electronic waste," The Washington Post, October 29, 2024.
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4. "Electronic waste and their leachates impact on human health and environment: Global ecological threat and management," Environmental Technology & Innovation, last accessed June 24, 2025.
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5. "Heavy metal pollution in the environment and its impact on health: Exploring green technology for remediation," National Library of Medicine, last accessed June 24, 2025.
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6. "Electronic waste rising five times faster than documented e-waste recycling," The United Nations Institute for Training and Research, last accessed June 24, 2025.
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