Product Code Database
Electronic waste (or e-waste) describes discarded electrical or electronics. It is also commonly known as waste electrical and electronic equipment ( WEEE) or end-of-life ( EOL) electronics.Patil T., Pagano C., Fassi I., " Hyperspectral Imaging for e-waste Material Identification" Environment and Sustainable Development, 2023. Used electronics which are destined for refurbishment, reuse, resale, salvage recycling through material recovery, or disposal are also considered e-waste. Informal processing of e-waste in developing countries can lead to adverse effect human health effects and environmental pollution. The growing consumption of electronic goods due to the Digital Revolution and innovations in science and technology, such as bitcoin, has led to a global e-waste problem and hazard. The rapid exponential increase of e-waste is due to frequent new model releases and unnecessary purchases of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), short innovation cycles and low recycling rates, and a drop in the average life span of computers.
Electronic scrap components, such as CPUs, contain potentially harmful materials such as lead, cadmium, beryllium, or brominated flame retardants. Recycling and disposal of e-waste may involve significant risk to the health of workers and their communities.
In the US, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies e-waste into ten categories:
These include used electronics which are destined for reuse, resale, salvage, recycling, or disposal as well as re-usables (working and repairable electronics) and secondary raw materials (copper, steel, plastic, or similar). The term "waste" is reserved for residue or material which is dumped by the buyer rather than recycled, including residue from reuse and recycling operations, because loads of surplus electronics are frequently commingled (good, recyclable, and non-recyclable). Several public policy advocates apply the term "e-waste" and "e-scrap" broadly to apply to all surplus electronics. Cathode ray tubes (CRTs) are considered one of the hardest types to recycle.
Using a different set of categories, the Partnership on Measuring ICT for Development defines e-waste in six categories:
Products in each category vary in longevity profile, impact, and collection methods, among other differences.Baldé, C. P., et al., The Global E-waste Monitor 2017, UNU, ITU, ISWA, 2017 Around 70% of toxic waste in landfills is electronic waste.
CRTs have a relatively high concentration of lead and phosphors (not to be confused with phosphorus), both of which are necessary for the display. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) includes discarded CRT monitors in its category of "hazardous household waste" but considers CRTs that have been set aside for testing to be commodities if they are not discarded, speculatively accumulated, or left unprotected from weather and other damage. These CRT devices are often confused between the DLP Rear Projection TV, both of which have a different recycling process due to the materials of which they are composed.
The EU and its member states operate a system via the European Waste Catalogue (EWC) – a European Council Directive, which is interpreted into "member state law". In the UK, this is in the form of the List of Wastes Directive. However, the list (and EWC) gives a broad definition (EWC Code 16 02 13*) of what is hazardous electronic waste, requiring "waste operators" to employ the Hazardous Waste Regulations (Annex 1A, Annex 1B) for refined definition. Constituent materials in the waste also require assessment via the combination of Annex II and Annex III, again allowing operators to further determine whether waste is hazardous.
Debate continues over the distinction between "commodity" and "waste" electronics definitions. Some exporters are accused of deliberately leaving difficult-to-recycle, obsolete, or non-repairable equipment mixed in loads of working equipment (though this may also come through ignorance, or to avoid more costly treatment processes). Protectionists may broaden the definition of "waste" electronics in order to protect domestic markets from working secondary equipment.
The high value of the computer recycling subset of electronic waste (working and reusable laptops, desktops, and components like RAM) can help pay the cost of transportation for a larger number of worthless pieces than what can be achieved with display devices, which have less (or negative) scrap value. A 2011 report, "Ghana E-waste Country Assessment", found that of 215,000 tons of electronics imported to Ghana, 30% was brand new and 70% was used. Of the used product, the study concluded that 15% was not reused and was scrapped or discarded. This contrasts with published but uncredited claims that 80% of the imports into Ghana were being burned in primitive conditions.
Rapid changes in technology, changes in media (tapes, software, MP3), falling prices, and planned obsolescence have resulted in a fast-growing surplus of electronic waste around the globe. Truly circular technical solutions are very limited, but in most cases, a legal framework, a collection, logistics, and other services need to be implemented before a technical solution can be applied.
Display units (CRT, LCD, LED monitors), processors (CPU, GPU, or APU chips), memory (DRAM or SRAM), and audio components have different useful lives. Processors are most frequently out-dated (by software no longer being optimized) and are more likely to become "e-waste" while display units are most often replaced while working without repair attempts, due to changes in wealthy nation appetites for new display technology. This problem could potentially be solved with modular smartphones (such as the Phonebloks concept). These types of phones are more durable and have the technology to change certain parts of the phone making them more environmentally friendly. Being able to simply replace the part of the phone that is broken will reduce e-waste.Smedley, Tim. The Guardian, 2013. Web. 22 May 2015. An estimated 50 million tons of e-waste are produced each year. The USA discards 30 million computers each year and 100 million phones are disposed of in Europe each year. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that only 15–20% of e-waste is recycled, the rest of these electronics go directly into landfills and incinerators. According to a report by UNEP titled, "Recycling – from e-waste to Resources," 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 10.1 million tons (2020 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 countries.
Society today revolves around technology and by the constant need for the newest and most high-tech products we are contributing to a mass amount of e-waste. Since the invention of the iPhone, cell phones have become the top source of e-waste products . Electrical waste contains hazardous but also valuable and scarce materials. Up to 60 elements can be found in complex electronics. Concentration of metals within the electronic waste is generally higher than a typical ore, such as copper, aluminium, iron, gold, silver, and palladium. As of 2013, Apple has sold over 796 million iDevices (iPod, iPhone, iPad). Cell phone companies make cell phones that are not made to last so that the consumer will purchase new phones. Companies give these products such short lifespans because they know that the consumer will want a new product and will buy it if they make it. In the United States, an estimated 70% of heavy metals in landfills comes from discarded electronics.
While there is agreement that the number of discarded electronic devices is increasing, there is considerable disagreement about the relative risk (compared to automobile scrap, for example), and strong disagreement whether curtailing trade in used electronics will improve conditions, or make them worse. According to an article in Motherboard, attempts to restrict the trade have driven reputable companies out of the supply chain, with unintended consequences.
As of October 2019, 78 countries globally have established either a policy, legislation or specific regulation to govern e-waste. However, there is no clear indication that countries are following the regulations. Regions such as Asia and Africa are having policies that are not legally binding and rather only programmatic ones. Hence, this poses as a challenge that e-waste management policies are yet not fully developed by globally by countries.
Considering the impact of WEEE materials make on our environment, EU legislation has made two legislations: the WEEE Directive and the RoHS Directive: Directive on usage and restrictions of hazardous materials in producing these Electrical and Electronic Equipment.
The EC revised this Directive in December 2008, since this has become the fastest growing waste stream. In August 2012, the WEEE Directive was rolled out to handle the situation of controlling electronic waste and this was implemented on 14 February 2014 (Directive 2012/19/EU). On 18 April 2017, the EC adopted a common principle of carrying out research and implementing a new regulation to monitor the amount of WEEE. It requires each member state to monitor and report their national market data.
Annex III to the WEEE Directive (Directive 2012/19/EU): Re-examination of the timelines for waste collection and setting up individual targets.
On 15 February 2014, the EC revised the Directive. To know more about the old Directive 2002/96/EC, see (Report [10]).
This Directive was again revised in December 2008 and later again in January 2013 (RoHS recast Directive 2011/65/EU). In 2017, the EC has made adjustment to the existing Directive considering the impact assessmen and adopted to a new legislative proposal (RoHS 2 scope review). On 21 November 2017, the European Parliament and Council has published this legislation amending the RoHS 2 Directive in their official journal.
Legislation: In 2006, the EC has adopted the Batteries Directive and revised it in 2013. - On 6 September 2006, the European Parliament and European Council have launched Directives in waste from Batteries and accumulators (Directive 2006/66/EC [15]). - Overview of Batteries and accumulators Legislation [16]
Evaluation of Directive 2006/66/EC (Batteries Directive): Revising Directives could be based on the Evaluation [17] process, considering the fact of the increase in the usage of batteries with an increase in the multiple communication technologies, household appliances and other small battery-powered products. The increase in the demand of renewable energies and recycling of the products has also led to an initiative 'European Batteries Alliance (EBA)' which aims to supervise the complete value chain of production of more improved batteries and accumulators within Europe under this new policy act. Though the adoption of the Evaluation [18] process has been broadly accepted, few concerns rose particularly managing and monitoring the use of hazardous materials in the production of batteries, collection of the battery waste, recycling of the battery waste within the Directives. The evaluation process has definitely gave good results in the areas like controlling the environmental damage, increasing the awareness of recycling, reusable batteries and also improving the efficiency of the internal markets.
However, there are few limitations in the implementations of the Batteries Directive in the process of collecting batteries waste and recovering the usable materials from them. The evaluation process throws some light on the gap in this process of implementation and collaborate technical aspects in the process and new ways to use makes it more difficult to implement and this Directive maintains the balance with technological advancements. The EC's regulations and guidelines has made the evaluation process more impactful in a positive way. The participation of number of stakeholders in the evaluation process who are invited and asked to provide their views and ideas to improve the process of evaluation and information gathering. On 14 March 2018, stakeholders and members of the association participated to provide information about their findings, support and increase the process of Evaluation Roadmap [19].
There are, however, exemptions in the case in which substitution is not possible from the scientific and technical point of view. The allowance and duration of the substitutions should take into account the availability of the substitute and the socioeconomic impact of the substitute. (2011/65/EU, (18))
EU Directive 2012/19/EU regulates WEEE and lays down measures to safeguard the ecosystem and human health by inhibiting or shortening the impact of the generation and management of waste of WEEE. (2012/19/EU, (1)) The Directive takes a specific approach to the product design of EEE. It states in Article 4 that Member States are under the constraint to expedite the kind of model and manufacturing process as well as cooperation between producers and recyclers as to facilitate re-use, dismantling and recovery of WEEE, its components, and materials. (2012/19/EU, (4)) The Member States should create measures to make sure the producers of EEE use eco-design, meaning that the type of manufacturing process is used that would not restrict later re-use of WEEE. The Directive also gives Member States the obligation to ensure a separate collection and transportation of different WEEE. Article 8 lays out the requirements of the proper treatment of WEEE. The base minimum of proper treatment that is required for every WEEE is the removal of all liquids. The recovery targets set are seen in the following figures.
Under Annex I of Directive 2012/19/EU, the categories of EEE covered are as follows:
Minimum recovery targets referred in Directive 2012/19/EU starting from 15 August 2018:
WEEE falling within category 1 or 10 of Annex I
- 85% shall be recovered, and 80% shall be prepared for re-use and recycled;
WEEE falling within category 3 or 4 of Annex I
- 80% shall be recovered, and 70% shall be prepared for re-use and recycled;
WEEE falling within category 2, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 of Annex I
-75% shall be recovered, and 55% shall be prepared for re-use and recycled;
For gas and discharged lamps, 80% shall be recycled.
In 2021, the European Commission proposed the implementation of a standardization – for iterations of USB-C – of phone charger products after commissioning two impact assessment studies and a product analysis study. Regulations like this may reduce electronic waste by small but significant amounts as well as, in this case, increase device-interoperability, convergence and convenience for consumers while decreasing resource-needs and redundancy. The regulations were passed in June 2022, mandating that all phones sold in the EU to have USB-C charging ports by late 2024.
Defenders of the trade in used electronics say that extraction of metals from virgin mining has been shifted to developing countries. Recycling of copper, silver, gold, and other materials from discarded electronic devices is considered better for the environment than mining. They also state that repair and reuse of computers and televisions has become a "lost art" in wealthier nations and that refurbishing has traditionally been a path to development.
South Korea, Taiwan, and southern China all excelled in finding "retained value" in used goods, and in some cases have set up billion-dollar industries in refurbishing used ink cartridges, single-use cameras, and working CRTs. Refurbishing has traditionally been a threat to established manufacturing, and simple protectionism explains some criticism of the trade. Works like "The Waste Makers" by Vance Packard explain some of the criticism of exports of working product, for example, the ban on import of tested working Pentium 4 laptops to China, or the bans on export of used surplus working electronics by Japan.
Opponents of surplus electronics exports argue that lower environmental and labor standards, cheap labor, and the relatively high value of recovered raw materials lead to a transfer of pollution-generating activities, such as smelting of copper wire. Electronic waste is often sent to various African and Asian countries such as China, Malaysia, India, and Kenya for processing, sometimes illegally. Many surplus laptops are routed to developing nations as "dumping grounds for e-waste".
Because the United States has not ratified the Basel Convention or its Basel Ban, and has few domestic federal laws forbidding the export of toxic waste, the Basel Action Network estimates that about 80% of the electronic waste directed to recycling in the U.S. does not get recycled there at all, but is put on and sent to countries such as China. This figure is disputed as an exaggeration by the EPA, the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, and the World Reuse, Repair and Recycling Association.
Independent research by Arizona State University showed that 87–88% of imported used computers were priced above the constituent materials they contained, and that "the official trade in end-of-life computers is thus driven by reuse as opposed to recycling".
Opponents of the trade argue that developing countries utilize methods that are more harmful and more wasteful. An expedient and prevalent method is simply to toss equipment onto an open fire, in order to melt plastics and to burn away non-valuable metals. This releases and into the air, contributing to an acrid, lingering smog. These noxious fumes include dioxins and furans. Bonfire refuse can be disposed of quickly into drainage ditches or waterways feeding the ocean or local water supplies.
In June 2008, a container of electronic waste, destined from the Port of Oakland in the U.S. to Sanshui District in mainland China, was intercepted in Hong Kong by Greenpeace. Concern over exports of electronic waste were raised in press reports in India, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, and Nigeria.
The research that was undertaken by the Countering WEEE Illegal Trade (CWIT) project, funded by the European Commission, found that in Europe only 35% (3.3 million tons) of all the e-waste discarded in 2012 ended up in the officially reported amounts of collection and recycling systems. The other 65% (6.15 million tons) was either:
Six of the many villages in Guiyu specialize in circuit-board disassembly, seven in plastics and metals reprocessing, and two in wire and cable disassembly. Greenpeace, an environmental group, sampled dust, soil, river sediment, and groundwater in Guiyu. They found very high levels of toxic heavy metals and organic contaminants in both places. Lai Yun, a campaigner for the group found "over 10 poisonous metals, such as lead, mercury, and cadmium."
Guiyu is only one example of digital dumps but similar places can be found across the world in Nigeria, Ghana, and India.
A major point of concern is the rapid turnover of technology in the bitcoin industry which results in such high levels of e-waste. This can be attributed to the proof-of-work principle bitcoin employs where miners receive currency as a reward for being the first to decode the hashes that encode its blockchain. As such, miners are encouraged to compete with one another to decode the hash first. However, computing these hashes requires massive computing power which, in effect, drives miners to obtain rigs with the highest processing power possible. In an attempt to achieve this, miners increase the processing power in their rigs by purchasing more advanced computer chips.
According to Koomey's Law, efficiency in computer chips doubles every 1.5 years, meaning that miners are incentivized to purchase new chips to keep up with competing miners even though the older chips are still functional. In some cases, miners even discard their chips earlier than this timeframe for the sake of profitability. However, this leads to a significant build up in waste, as outdated application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC computer chips) cannot be reused or repurposed. Most computer chips used to mine bitcoin are ASIC chips, whose sole function is to mine bitcoin, rendering them useless for other cryptocurrencies or operation in any other piece of technology. Therefore, outdated ASIC chips can only be disposed of since they are unable to be repurposed.
The bitcoin e-waste problem is further exacerbated by the fact that many countries and corporations lack recycling programs for ASIC chips. Developing a recycling infrastructure for bitcoin mining may prove to be beneficial, though, as the aluminum and metal casings in ASIC chips can be recycled into new technology. Much of this responsibility falls onto Bitmain, the leading manufacturer of bitcoin, which currently lacks the infrastructure to recycle waste from bitcoin mining. Without such programs, much of bitcoin waste ends up in landfill along with 83.6% of the global total of e-waste.
Many argue for relinquishing the proof-of-work model altogether in favour of the proof-of-stake one. This model selects one miner to validate the transactions in the blockchain, rather than have all miners competing for it. With no competition, the processing speed of miners' rigs would not matter. Any device could be used for validating the blockchain, so there would be no incentive to use single-use ASIC chips or continually purchase new and dispose of old ones.
One study of environmental effects in Guiyu, China found the following:
The Agbogbloshie area of Ghana, where about 40,000 people live, provides an example of how e-waste contamination can pervade the daily lives of nearly all residents. Into this area—one of the largest informal e-waste dumping and processing sites in Africa—about 215,000 tons of secondhand consumer electronics, primarily from Western Europe, are imported annually. Because this region has considerable overlap among industrial, commercial, and residential zones, Pure Earth (formerly Blacksmith Institute) has ranked Agbogbloshie as one of the world's 10 worst toxic threats (Blacksmith Institute 2013).
A separate study at the Agbogbloshie e-waste dump, Ghana found a presence of lead levels as high as 18,125 ppm in the soil. US EPA standard for lead in soil in play areas is 400 ppm and 1200 ppm for non-play areas. Scrap workers at the Agbogbloshie e-waste dump regularly burn electronic components and auto harness wires for copper recovery, releasing toxic chemicals like lead, dioxins and furans into the environment.
Researchers such as Brett Robinson, a professor of soil and physical sciences at Lincoln University in New Zealand, warn that wind patterns in Southeast China disperse toxic particles released by open-air burning across the Pearl River Delta Region, home to 45 million people. In this way, toxic chemicals from e-waste enter the "soil-crop-food pathway," one of the most significant routes for heavy metals' exposure to humans. These chemicals are not biodegradable— they persist in the environment for long periods of time, increasing exposure risk.
In the agricultural district of Chachoengsao, in the east of Bangkok, local villagers had lost their main water source as a result of e-waste dumping. The cassava fields were transformed in late 2017, when a nearby Chinese-run factory started bringing in foreign e-waste items such as crushed computers, circuit boards and cables for recycling to mine the electronics for valuable metal components like copper, silver and gold. But the items also contain lead, cadmium and mercury, which are highly toxic if mishandled during processing. Apart from feeling faint from noxious fumes emitted during processing, a local claimed the factory has also contaminated her water. "When it was raining, the water went through the pile of waste and passed our house and went into the soil and water system. Water tests conducted in the province by environmental group Earth and the local government both found toxic levels of iron, manganese, lead, nickel and in some cases arsenic and cadmium. The communities observed when they used water from the shallow well, there was some development of skin disease or there are foul smells", founder of Earth, Penchom Saetang, said: "This is proof, that it is true, as the communities suspected, there are problems happening to their water sources."
Depending on the age and type of the discarded item, the chemical composition of e-waste may vary. Most e-waste are composed of a mixture of metals like Cu, Al and Fe. They might be attached to, covered with or even mixed with various types of plastics and ceramics. E-waste has a horrible effect on the environment and it is important to dispose it with an R2 certifies recycling facility.
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There are generally three methods of extracting precious metals from electronic waste, namely hydrometallurgy, pyrometallurgy, and hydro-pyrometallurgical methods. Each of these methods has its own advantages and disadvantages together with the production of toxic waste.
One of the major challenges is recycling the printed circuit boards from electronic waste. The circuit boards contain such precious metals as gold, silver, platinum, etc. and such base metals as copper, iron, aluminum, etc. One way e-waste is processed is by melting circuit boards, burning cable sheathing to recover copper wire and open- pit acid leaching for separating metals of value. Conventional method employed is mechanical shredding and separation but the recycling efficiency is low. Alternative methods such as cryogenic decomposition have been studied for printed circuit board recycling, and some other methods are still under investigation. In 2023 an AF aerogel using protein fibrils in an aerogel matrix was developed for the adsorption of gold from circuit boards.
Properly disposing of or reusing electronics can help prevent health problems, reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, and create jobs.
Some U.S. retailers offer opportunities for consumer recycling of discarded electronic devices. In the US, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) urges consumers to dispose properly of end-of-life electronics through its recycling locator. This list only includes manufacturer and retailer programs that use the strictest standards and third-party certified recycling locations, to provide consumers assurance that their products will be recycled safely and responsibly. CEA research has found that 58 percent of consumers know where to take their end-of-life electronics, and the electronics industry would very much like to see that level of awareness increase. Consumer electronics manufacturers and retailers sponsor or operate more than 5,000 recycling locations nationwide and have vowed to recycle one billion pounds annually by 2016, a sharp increase from 300 million pounds industry recycled in 2010.
The Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Electronic Challenge was created by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2012. Participants of the Challenge are manufacturers of electronics and electronic retailers. These companies collect end-of-life (EOL) electronics at various locations and send them to a certified, third-party recycler. Program participants are then able publicly promote and report 100% responsible recycling for their companies.United States Environmental Protection Agency, Sustainable Materials Management Electronics Challenge. Retrieved from The Electronics Takeback Coalition (ETBC) is a campaign aimed at protecting human health and limiting environmental effects where electronics are being produced, used, and discarded. The ETBC aims to place responsibility for disposal of technology products on electronic manufacturers and brand owners, primarily through community promotions and legal enforcement initiatives. It provides recommendations for consumer recycling and a list of recyclers judged environmentally responsible. While there have been major benefits from the rise in recycling and waste collection created by producers and consumers, such as valuable materials being recovered and kept away from landfill and incineration, there are still many problems present with the EPR system including "how to ensure proper enforcement of recycling standards, what to do about waste with positive net value, and the role of competition," (Kunz et al.). Many stakeholders agreed there needs to be a higher standard of accountability and efficiency to improve the systems of recycling everywhere, as well as the growing amount of waste being an opportunity more so than downfall since it gives us more chances to create an efficient system. To make recycling competition more cost-effective, the producers agreed that there needs to be a higher drive for competition because it allows them to have a wider range of producer responsibility organizations to choose from for e-waste recycling.
The Certified Electronics Recycler program for electronic recyclers is a comprehensive, integrated management system standard that incorporates key operational and continual improvement elements for quality, environmental and health and safety performance. The grassroots Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition promotes human health and addresses environmental justice problems resulting from toxins in technologies. The World Reuse, Repair, and Recycling Association (wr3a.org) is an organization dedicated to improving the quality of exported electronics, encouraging better recycling standards in importing countries, and improving practices through "Fair Trade" principles. Take Back My TV is a project of The Electronics TakeBack Coalition and grades television manufacturers to find out which are responsible, in the coalition's view, and which are not.
There have also been efforts to raise awareness of the potentially hazardous conditions of the dismantling of e-waste in American prisons. The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, prisoner-rights activists, and environmental groups released a Toxic Sweatshops report that details how prison labor is being used to handle e-waste, resulting in health consequences among the workers. These groups allege that, since prisons do not have adequate safety standards, inmates are dismantling the products under unhealthy and unsafe conditions.
In an alternative bulk system, a hopper conveys material for shredding into an unsophisticated mechanical separator, with screening and granulating machines to separate constituent metal and plastic fractions, which are sold to or plastics recyclers. Such recycling machinery is enclosed and employs a dust collection system. Some of the emissions are caught by scrubbers and screens. Magnets, eddy currents, and are employed to separate glass, plastic, and ferrous and nonferrous metals, which can then be further separated at a smelter.
Copper, gold, palladium, silver and tin are valuable metals sold to smelters for recycling. Hazardous smoke and gases are captured, contained and treated to mitigate environmental threat. These methods allow for safe reclamation of all valuable computer construction materials. Hewlett-Packard product recycling solutions manager Renee St. Denis describes its process as: "We move them through giant shredders about 30 feet tall and it shreds everything into pieces about the size of a quarter. Once your disk drive is shredded into pieces about this big, it's hard to get the data off". An ideal electronic waste recycling plant combines dismantling for component recovery with increased cost-effective processing of bulk electronic waste. Reuse is an alternative option to recycling because it extends the lifespan of a device. Devices still need eventual recycling, but by allowing others to purchase used electronics, recycling can be postponed and value gained from device use.
In early November 2021, the U.S. state of Georgia announced a joint effort with Igneo Technologies to build an $85 million large electronics recycling plant in the Port of Savannah. The project will focus on lower-value, plastics-heavy devices in the waste stream using multiple shredders and furnaces using pyrolysis technology.
Benefits of recycling are extended when responsible recycling methods are used. In the U.S., responsible recycling aims to minimize the dangers to human health and the environment that disposed and dismantled electronics can create. Responsible recycling ensures best management practices of the electronics being recycled, worker health and safety, and consideration for the environment locally and abroad.Interagency Task Force on Electronics Stewardship. (20 July 2011). National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship In Europe, metals that are recycled are returned to companies of origin at a reduced cost. Through a committed recycling system, manufacturers in Japan have been pushed to make their products more sustainable. Since many companies were responsible for the recycling of their own products, this imposed responsibility on manufacturers requiring many to redesign their infrastructure. As a result, manufacturers in Japan have the added option to sell the recycled metals.
Improper management of e-waste is resulting in a significant loss of scarce and valuable raw materials, such as gold, platinum, cobalt and rare earth elements. As much as 7% of the world's gold may currently be contained in e-waste, with 100 times more gold in a tonne of e-waste than in a tonne of gold ore.
Consumer dissatisfaction with this state of affairs has led to a growing repair movement. Often, this is at a community level such as through repair cafės or the "restart parties" promoted by the Restart Project.
The right to repair is spearheaded in the US by farmers dissatisfied with non-availability of service information, specialised tools and spare parts for their high-tech farm machinery. But the movement extends far beyond farm machinery with, for example, the restricted repair options offered by Apple coming in for criticism. Manufacturers often counter with safety concerns resulting from unauthorised repairs and modifications.
An easy method of reducing electronic waste footprint is to sell or donate electronic gadgets, rather than dispose of them. Improperly disposed e-waste is becoming more and more hazardous, especially as the sheer volume of e-waste increases. For this reason, large brands like Apple, Samsung, and others have started giving options to customers to recycle old electronics. Recycling allows the expensive electronic parts inside to be reused. This may save significant energy and reduce the need for mining of additional raw resources, or manufacture of new components. Electronic recycling programs may be found locally in many areas with a simple online search; for example, by searching "recycle electronics" along with the city or area name.
Cloud services have proven to be useful in storing data, which is then accessible from anywhere in the world without the need to carry storage devices. Cloud storage also allows for large storage, at low cost. This offers convenience, while reducing the need for manufacture of new storage devices, thus curbing the amount of e-waste generated.
| +Hazardous waste material from e-waste | ||
| It is known to be carcinogenic. | ||
| Adverse effects of lead exposure include impaired cognitive function, behavioral disturbances, attention deficits, hyperactivity, conduct problems, and lower IQ. These effects are most damaging to children whose developing nervous systems are very susceptible to damage caused by lead, cadmium, and mercury. | ||
| Health effects include sensory impairment, dermatitis, memory loss, and muscle weakness. Exposure in-utero causes fetal deficits in motor function, attention, and verbal domains. Environmental effects in animals include death, reduced fertility, and slower growth and development. | ||
| The inhalation of cadmium can cause severe damage to the lungs and is also known to cause kidney damage. Cadmium is also associated with deficits in cognition, learning, behavior, and neuromotor skills in children. | ||
| A known carcinogen after occupational inhalation exposure. There is also evidence of cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of some chemicals, which have been shown to inhibit cell proliferation, cause cell membrane lesion, cause DNA single-strand breaks, and elevate Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) levels. | ||
| Health effects include liver damage, kidney damage, heart damage, eye and throat irritation. When released into the environment, it can create sulfuric acid through sulfur dioxide. | ||
| Health effects include impaired development of the nervous system, thyroid problems, liver problems. Environmental effects: similar effects as in animals as humans. PBBs were banned from 1973 to 1977 on. PCBs were banned during the 1980s. | ||
| Studies in mice have found the following health effects: Hepatotoxicity, developmental toxicity, immunotoxicity, hormonal effects and carcinogenic effects. Studies have found increased maternal PFOA levels to be associated with an increased risk of spontaneous abortion (miscarriage) and stillbirth. Increased maternal levels of PFOA are also associated with decreases in mean gestational age (preterm birth), mean birth weight (low birth weight), mean birth length (small for gestational age), and mean APGAR score. | ||
| Occupational exposures associated with lung cancer, other common adverse health effects are beryllium sensitization, chronic beryllium disease, and acute beryllium disease. | ||
| Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) | Commonly found in electronics and is typically used as insulation for electrical cables. | In the manufacturing phase, toxic and hazardous raw material, including dioxins are released. PVC such as chlorine tend to bioaccumulate. Over time, the compounds that contain chlorine can become pollutants in the air, water, and soil. This poses a problem as human and animals can ingest them. Additionally, exposure to toxins can result in reproductive and developmental health effects. |
| +Recycling non-hazardous waste |
| Nearly all electronic goods using more than a few watts of power (), ICs, electrolytic capacitors |
| Copper wire, printed circuit board tracks, ICs, component leads |
| 1950s–1960s transistorized electronics (bipolar junction transistors) |
| Gold plating, primarily in computer equipment |
| Lithium-ion batteries |
| Nickel–cadmium batteries |
| Glass, , ICs, printed circuit boards |
| Solder, coatings on component leads |
| Plating for steel parts |
Studies show that people living around e-waste recycling sites have a higher daily intake of heavy metals and a more serious body burden. Potential health risks include mental health, impaired cognitive function, and general physical health damage ( see also Electronic waste#Hazardous). DNA damage was also found more prevalent in all the e-waste exposed populations (i.e. adults, children, and neonates) than the populations in the control area. DNA breaks can increase the likelihood of wrong replication and thus mutation, as well as lead to cancer if the damage is to a tumor suppressor gene.
Prenatal exposure to informal e-waste recycling can also lead to several adverse birth outcomes (still birth, low birth weight, low Apgar scores, etc.) and longterm effects such as behavioral and learning problems of the neonates in their future life.
Exposure to e-waste can cause serious health problems to children. Children's exposure to developmental neurotoxins containing in e-waste such as lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, arsenic, nickel and PBDEs can lead to a higher risk of lower IQ, impaired cognitive function, exposure to known human carcinogens and other adverse effects. In certain age groups, a decreased lung function of children in e-waste recycling sites has been found. Some studies also found associations between children's e-waste exposure and impaired coagulation, hearing loss, and decreased vaccine antibody tilters in e-waste recycling area. For instance, nickel exposure in boys aged 8–9 years at an e-waste site leads to lower forced vital capacity, decrease in catalase activities and significant increase in superoxide dismutase activities and malondialdehyde levels.
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has summarized several potential safety hazards of recycling workers in general, such as crushing hazards, hazardous energy released, and toxic metals.
OSHA has also specified some chemical components of electronics that can potentially do harm to e-recycling workers' health, such as lead, mercury, PCBs, asbestos, refractory ceramic fibers (RCFs), and radioactive substances. Besides, in the United States, most of these chemical hazards have specific Occupational exposure limits (OELs) set by OSHA, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH).
For the details of health consequences of these chemical hazards, see also Electronic waste#Electronic waste substances.
The health impact of e-waste recycling workers working in informal industry and formal industry are expect to be different in the extent. Studies in three recycling sites in China suggest that the health risks of workers from formal e-recycling facilities in Jiangsu and Shanghai were lower compared to those worked in informal e-recycling sites in Guiyu. The primitive methods used by unregulated backyard operators (e.g., the informal sector) to reclaim, reprocess, and recycle e-waste materials expose the workers to a number of toxic substances. Processes such as dismantling components, wet chemical processing, and incineration are used and result in direct exposure and inhalation of harmful chemicals. Safety equipment such as gloves, face masks, and ventilation fans are virtually unknown, and workers often have little idea of what they are handling. In another study of e-waste recycling in India, hair samples were collected from workers at an e-waste recycling facility and an e-waste recycling slum community (informal industry) in Bangalore. Levels of Vanadium, Chromium, Manganese, Molybdenum, Tin, Titanium, and Lead were significantly higher in the workers at the e-waste recycling facility compared to the e-waste workers in the slum community. However, Cobalt, Silver, Cadmium, and Hg levels were significantly higher in the slum community workers compared to the facility workers.
Even in formal e-recycling industry, workers can be exposed to excessive pollutants. Studies in the formal e-recycling facilities in France and Sweden found workers' overexposure (compared to recommended occupational guidelines) to lead, cadmium, mercury and some other metals, as well as BFRs, PCBs, dioxin and furans. Workers in formal industry are also exposed to more brominated flame-retardants than reference groups.
Policy and conventions:
Security:
General:
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