Introduction

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.

As per E-waste Rule 2016, e-waste defined as “electrical and electronic equipment, whole or in part discarded as waste by the consumer or bulk consumer as well as rejects from manufacturing, refurbishment and repair processes”.

E-waste contains many valuable, recoverable materials such as aluminium, copper, gold, silver, plastics, and ferrous metals. In order to conserve natural resources and the energy needed to produce new electronic equipment from virgin resources, electronic equipment can be refurbished, reused, and recycled instead of being land-filled.

E-waste also contains toxic and hazardous materials including mercury, lead, cadmium, beryllium, chromium, and chemical flame retardants, which have the potential to leach into our soil and water.

Benefits of E-waste recycling

Electronics recycling conserves natural resources

There are many materials that can be recovered from old electronics. These materials can be used to make new products, thus reducing the need to mine for new raw materials. For instance, various metals can be recovered from computer circuit boards and other electronics, and the plastics and glass found in computer monitors and televisions can be recycled.

Electronics recycling supports the community

Donating your old electronics plays an important role in the provision of refurbished products such as computers and mobile phones, which can be of great help to low-income families, schools, and not-for-profit organizations. It also helps individuals gain access to technology that they could not have otherwise afforded.

Electronics recycling creates employment locally

Considering that around 90 percent of electronic equipment is recyclable, electronics recycling can play a significant role in creating employment. This is because new firms dealing with electronics recycling will form and existing firms will look to employ more people to recover recyclable materials. This can be triggered by the increase in the demand for electronics recycling.

Electronics recycling helps protect public health and the environment

Many electronics have toxic or hazardous materials such as mercury and lead, which can be harmful to the environment if disposed of in trash cans. Reusing and recycling electronics safely helps in keeping hazardous materials from harming humans or the environment. For example, televisions and computer monitors are hazardous since they have lead in them. Printed circuit boards contain harmful materials such as cadmium, lead, mercury, and chromium. Also, batteries in computers and other electronics may contain hazardous materials such as cadmium, mercury, and lead.

Instead of keeping old electronics in the house or dumping them in landfills, recycling or reusing them is an appropriate option that should be supported by individuals and organizations. Considering the benefits of electronics recycling, it is very important that people in various parts of the world embrace this concept.

Creates jobs

“E-waste recycling creates new jobs for professional recyclers and creates a secondary market for recycled materials”.

Collection centre