#greenetworks
Electronic waste (or e-waste) is the fastest growing waste stream in both developed and in developing countries. The term ‘e-waste’ stands for any electrical or electronic appliance that has reached its end-of-life.
As a downside to fast growing technology, the life span of computers has dropped to just two years, and mobile phones have a lifespan of even less than two years. Companies and individuals are more and more tempted to dump their electronic appliances for newer models. Unfortunately this has a direct impact on the amount of generated e-waste per year, which grows more and more rapidly.
What you should know about E-Waste:
More than 50 million tons of e-waste is generated every year with a major fraction finding its way to landfills and dump sites. The major constituent of e-waste is iron and steel (about 50%) followed by plastics (21%), and non-ferrous metals (13%) like copper, aluminum and precious metals like silver, gold, platinum, palladium etc. E-waste also contains toxic elements like lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, selenium and chromium.
And although in this case recycling may seem like the logical solution, but it’s still a double edged sword, as recycling techniques for e-waste include burning and dissolution in strong acids with few measures to protect human health and the environment. Inappropriate methods like open burning, which are often used by the informal sector in developing countries to recover valuable materials, have heavy impacts on human health and the environment.
As a matter of fact, E-waste workers often suffer from bad health effects through skin contact and inhalation. Workers, consumers and communities are exposed to the chemicals contained in electronics throughout their life cycle, from manufacture through use and disposal. The incineration, land-filling, and illegal dumping of electronic wastes all contribute toxic chemicals to the environment.