What is E Waste ? Why you should recycle electronics ?

Electronic waste, or e-waste, is a term for electronic products that have become unwanted, non-working or obsolete, and have essentially reached the end of their useful life. Because technology advances at such a high rate, many electronic devices become “trash” after a few short years of use.

Electronics contain valuable metals and components that can be used again in another manufacturing process. Cadmium, hexavalent chromium, mercury, chromium, barium, beryllium and brominated flame-retardant materials are components that can pollute water and air resources without proper disposal or recycling.

Simply put, Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) or e-waste is end-of-life electronic and electrical gadgets, in simpler words, broken, surplus or obsolete gadgets run by electricity.

As much as 80% of electronic waste goes out with the trash, the EPA estimates, while only about 20% is properly recycled. 300 million computers and 1 BILLION cell phones are put into production each year. This global mountain of waste is expected to continue growing 8% per year, indefinitely (BCC Research).

E-waste is not just a problem of waste quantity or volumes. The concern is compounded because of the presence of toxic materials like lead, mercury, cadmium, certain BFRs ( brominated flame retardants) and many other chemicals. In developing country like India, most E-waste lands up in the informal sector where it is recycled without any consideration to health and environment. Open burning, acid baths, unventilated work spaces and crude handling of chemicals are typical of these operations, where susceptible groups like children and women are regularly employed. With no safety equipment at hand, the workers in some of the recycling hotspots spread all over the country, are exposed to the toxic cocktails daily. The unregulated practices also release hazardous materials in air, water and soil, thereby endangering our environment.

The situation is similar across much of the developing world, according to a recent report by the United Nations Environment Programme. China, for instance, deals with 500,000 tones of refrigerators, 1.3 million tones of TVs, and 300,000 tones of personal computers a year. Some of that is handled in sophisticated factories, but not all.

In the United States, it’s estimated that 4 million tons of e-waste gets dumped in landfills every year, based on reports from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). U.S. dismantlers are much more closely regulated, although American companies and cities have long been accused of shipping material–and thus their toxic burden–overseas.