WHERE DOES E-WASTE GO?

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WHERE DOES E-WASTE GO?
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• Electronic waste is the waste generated from
  discarded electronic devices. Electrical devices
  that are no longer in use or those meant to be
  recycled or reused can also be considered
  e-waste. E-waste is considered to be one of the
  most dangerous/hazardous forms of waste due to
  the high level of chemicals such as lead,
  beryllium etc. present in the electrical
  components.

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Effects on Environment and Human Health

• Electronic waste, if not handled with the utmost
  care, can cause harmful effects to the
  environment. The acid from leaking chips and
  other electrical components pollute the ground
  water. A classic example is the Guiyu area in
  Hong Kong which faces acute water shortage due to
  contamination. Uncontrolled fires may arise if
  e-waste is not treated properly.

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Where Does E-Waste Go? It Depends on End-of-Life
Management

• Proper treatment of e-waste requires proper
  planning from the government and the private
  players in the market. The number and weight of
  products that will become obsolete and would need
  end-of-life management must be calculated. An
  estimate has to be drawn up on which end-of-life
  product will become obsolete and which can be
  reused.
• For effective e-waste management, the product
  lifecycle must be thoroughly understood. The
  estimate of the annual quantities of end-of-life
  products requiring management must be equated to
  the industrial production of electronic goods, to
  draw a pattern which would help the recycling
  industries better predict and analyze the waste
  management system. A typical lifecycle of an
  electronic product resulting to an e-waste would
  be in the order below
• Product Purchase
• Reuse/Store
• Recycle/Dispose
• Resale after recycle within the US /Resale after
  recycle outside the US
• Process in the US /Process outside the US
• New Products/Residual disposal

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Statistics on E-Waste

• E-waste represents about 2 of Americas trash in
  landfills. It also equals 70 of overall toxic
  waste.
• Cell phones and other items generally contain
  high amounts of gold and silver which in turn
  amounts to about 60 million dollars every year.
• Only 12.5 of e-waste is recycled.
• Recycling 1 million laptops equals powering 3,657
  US homes a year.

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Strategies Employed in E-Waste Management

• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) assigns
  the collection and recycling responsibility to
  the manufacturer. In a way, EPR is a form of
  Corporate Social Responsibility which would
  account the manufacturer for planning the
  end-of-life of products during the design phase.
  This would help them to use environmentally-friend
  ly and easily recyclable raw materials, minimize
  packaging or adopt recyclable packaging, consider
  the judicious use of toxic substances while
  manufacturing.
• Advance Recycling Fee is another strategy that
  tries to solve the where does e-waste go
  conundrum. This is where the customer pays a fee
  at the point of purchase that would depend on the
  size of the electronic device. Regardless of
  customer or manufacturer, the end-of-life
  management costs are incorporated into the market
  price. This would result in either a reduction in
  sales or increase in sales price. However, this
  is an effective e-waste management strategy as it
  inculcates a feeling of social responsibility
  right from the beginning of purchase.

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Questions? Comments?

• Website http//www.allgreenrecycling.com
• All Green Recycling
• info_at_allgreenrecycling.com
• [phone] 
•  
• Source
• http//www.seas.columbia.edu/earth/wtert/sofos/Nam
  ias_Thesis_07-08-13.pdf
• https//www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-e
  -waste
• http//www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/ecycling
  /docs/app-1.pdf
• http//www.allgreenrecycling.com/blog/where-does-e
  -waste-go/