E-waste

Electronic waste or e-waste is any broken or unwanted electrical or electronic appliance. • E-waste includes computers, entertainment electronics, mobile phones and other items that have been discarded by their original users.

 E-waste is the most rapidly growing waste problem in the world.

--> • It is a crisis of not quantity alone but also a crisis born from toxics ingredients, posing a threat to the occupational health as well as the environment.

--> • Rapid technology change, changes in media (tapes, software, MP3), falling prices, low initial cost, high obsolescence rate have resulted in a fast growing problem around the globe.

• An estimated 50 million tons of E-waste are produced each year. 

• The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that only 15-20% of ewaste is recycled, the rest of these electronics go directly into landfills and incinerators 

• the amount of e-waste being produced - including mobile phones and computers - could rise by as much as 500 percent over the next decade in some countries, such as India. 

• The United States is the world leader in producing electronic waste, tossing away about 3 million tons each year.

 • China already produces about 2.3 million tons (2010 estimate) domestically, second only to the United States. And, despite having banned e-waste imports, China remains a major e-waste dumping ground for developed The USA discards 30 million computers each year and 100 million phones are disposed of in Europe each year.

1. VOLUME REDUCTION:-
2.  • Volume reduction includes those techniques that remove the hazardous portion of a waste from a non-hazardous portion.
3.  • These techniques are usually to reduce the volume, and thus the cost of disposing of a waste material.
4.  • For example, an electronic component manufacturer can use compaction equipment to reduce volume of waste cathode ray-tube.
5.  RECOVERY AND REUSE:-
6.  • This technique could eliminate waste disposal costs, reduce raw material costs and provide income from a salable waste.
7.  • Waste can be recovered on-site, or at an off-site recovery facility, or through inter industry exchange.
8.  • For example, a printed-circuit board manufacturer can use electrolytic recovery to reclaim metals from copper and tin-lead plating bath.

1. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CITIZEN:-
2.  • Recycling raw materials from end-of-life electronics is the most effective solution to the growing e-waste problem.
3.  • E-wastes should never be disposed with garbage and other household wastes. This should be segregated at the site and sold or donated to various organizations.
4.  • Reuse, in addition to being an environmentally preferable alternative, also benefits society. By donating used electronics, schools, non-profit organizations, and lower income families can afford to use equipment that they otherwise could not afford. 
5. • Gather any unwanted chargers, accessories or batteries to recycle –find national recycling center of the company

REFERENCES:- • Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc, Bangalore http://wgbis.ces.iisc.ernet.in) • United Nations Environment Programme - http://www.unep.org • http:// wikipedia.org • http://www.greenpeace.org/ • http://www.dosomething.org/
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