Causes of E-Waste

With the rapid developments in technology and the growing demand for new
products, the production and consumption of more electronic and electrical
equipment's (EEE) has significantly increased around the world.

This has resulted in the acceleration of the rate of replacement of new

products , creating a substantial burden on the waste stream in general.

Three Main Reasons that causes e waste are ,

The rapid growth of technological devices

Growth of population
Human mentality

Environmental and Health effects

of E-waste
Effects on Environment
Pollution of Ground Water
Acidification of soil
Air Pollution
Slower growth and development in animals
Reduced fertility
Harmful to micro organisms and to eco system

Environmental and Health effects

of E-waste

The environmental impact of the processing of different

electronic waste components
E-Waste Component

Process Used

Potential Environmental
Hazard

Cathode ray tubes (used in TVs,

Breaking and removal of yoke, then
computer monitors, ATM, video cameras,
dumping
and more)

Lead, barium and other heavy metals

leaching into the ground water and release
of toxic phosphor

De-soldering and removal of computer

Printed circuit board (image behind table
chips; open burning and acid baths to
- a thin plate on which chips and other
remove final metals after chips are
electronic components are placed)
removed.

Air emissions as well as discharge into

rivers of glass dust, tin, lead, brominated
dioxin, beryllium cadmium, and mercury

Chips and other gold plated components

Chemical stripping using nitric and

hydrochloric acid and burning of chips

Hydrocarbons, heavy metals, brominated

substances discharged directly into rivers
acidifying fish and flora. Tin and lead
contamination of surface and groundwater.
Air emissions of brominated dioxins, heavy
metals and hydrocarbons

Plastics from printers, keyboards,

monitors, etc.

Shredding and low temp melting to be

reused

Emissions of brominated dioxins, heavy

metals and hydrocarbons

Computer wires

Open burning and stripping to remove

copper

Hydrocarbon ashes released into air, water

and soil.

Toxic composition of electronic

and electrical equipment

Grey Goods : computers

( CRT Monitors), batteries, printers,
electrical circuits
(High toxic
composition)

Brown Goods: Televisions,

Camcorders, cameras
(Medium toxic composition )

White Goods : Refrigerators,

Washing machines, Air conditioners
(Low toxic composition )

Effects on Human Health

Breathing Difficulties
Skin Diseases
Nervous Disorder
Coma and even Death

E waste workers are also exposed to other hazards leading to ,

Physical Injuries
and
Chronic aliments such as,
- Asthma
- Skin diseases
- Eye irritation
- Stomach disease

 Electronics have become a necessity in the global economy

critical for work, communication, and entertainment. However,
used, discarded, broken, or obsolete electronic equipment and
devicesknown as electronic waste, or e-wasteis a growing
global problem.
These waste products contain toxic materials that require special
collection and disposal, and can lead to serious environmental
and health problems if not disposed of properly.
However, because e-waste is a relatively recent phenomenon,
and much of it is discarded in small quantities from households, it
is typically exempt from hazardous waste regulation in the United
States. In 2011 the Consumer Electronics Association found that
the average American household owns approximately twenty four
electronic units (Consumer Electronics Association 2011).

 In 2012 the volume of electronic waste in the United States was estimated at
more than 400 million items per year
Environment Programme predicted that by 2020 e-waste from computers will
increase by more than 500 percent from 2007 levels in India, and by 200 400
percent in South Africa and China, and e-waste from discarded cell phones will
be 7 times higher in China and 18 times higher in India
Because of the composition and toxicity of these products, they need to be
properly managed or recycled to prevent toxins from damaging ecosystems.
Components of these electronics, when left to sit in landfills, can degrade and
release toxins, ultimately affecting the environment and human health.
The major sources of known hazards in electronics are in the CRTs, which are
a major source of lead in municipal solid waste streams
Mercury exposure is most dangerous to fetuses and small children, impairing
neurological development and cognitive abilities
Much of the e-waste from the United States and other developed nations ends
up exported to developing countries that often have less-stringent
environmental, health, and safety laws and enforcement mechanisms

 Recycling or reusing e-waste has important environmental and

financial benefits. Precious metals and other basic components like
plastic can be diverted from the waste cycle and reused
Substantial amounts of energy and water are used when miners
extract the precious metals and manufacturers produce electronics.
Recovering these materials through recycling saves energy and
reduces carbon emissions.
Recycling one million laptops saves the energy equivalent to the
electricity used by more than 3,500 US homes in a year
Currently, most of the U.S. regulation of e-waste occurs at the state
level, primarily through mandated recycling programs
As of 2012, 28 states have put in place some type of e-waste law.
These laws include producer responsibility laws, ARF (advance
recovery fees, where consumers pay for the recycling), landfill
disposal fees, and disposal bans

 In most of these cases, excluding California and Utah, the rules utilize
the producer responsibility approach, where the manufacturers
must pay for recycling, removing the cost burden from households or
entities with the e-waste (polluter pays principle)
Successful state regulations could serve as models for other states or
for national regulation. For example, California considers televisions
and computer monitors to be hazardous waste and bans them from
landfills.
. Beginning in 2015, New
Yorkers will be banned from
discarding their computers,
televisions, and other selected
electronic equipment with household
trash.
)

 Administration enacted new rules that banned federal agencies from

disposing of electronic waste inland fills. The guidelines also
encourage the agencies to reuse electronics to the maximum extent
possible and to direct e-waste to certified e-waste recyclers (there
are few in SL)
EPA explains that the US signed the Basel Convention in 1990 and
the Senate gave its advice and consent to ratification in 1992, but
before the President can ratify the treaty, implementing legislation is
required. The US supports ratification of the Convention, but to date
no implementing legislation has been enacted
To address [chinas] domestic e-waste, it implemented a rebate
program from 2009 to 2011 that gave discounts to purchasers of new
equipment if they disposed of old electronics with the government ewaste collectors. (more than 80 percent of the appliances collected
and treated in China in 2011 were collected through this program

Our view of land as private property is a part of this mindset.

We are told that Native Americans, with a different set of
values, didnt originally have a concept of land as property
and learned only gradually and painfully of the impact of
concept. The early popularizes of the environmental
movement, Rachel Carson and Barry Commoner, focused a
great deal of attention on the need to demonstrate that what
we think of as discrete pieces of property are in fact
interdependent components of ecological systems. Carson
demonstrated the movement of toxics through the biosphere,
and Commoner succinctly noted, Everything is connected to
everything. Our property laws recognize that if a neighbors
house fire spreads to your house, your neighbor is responsible
for compensating you for damages. But what if damage is
caused by an air pollutant created five hundred miles away?
What if it was a chemical from a bunch of TVs buried a mile
away and carried into your backyard by an aquifer or
underground stream? The freedom to act as you wish on your
own property assumes that the impact of your behavior will be
limited to your property.

 If we want a less lethal environment, we must have a system of

law and regulation to influence corporate behavior.
Toxic waste isnt like an invasion of termitesit doesnt just
destroy the frame of your house. It can poison your children or
your pregnant spouse.
NIMBY not in my backyard syndrom
Electronic toxic waste is not like climate change or air pollution. It
is not caused by something far away and difficult to see. Its origin
is visible and local. The closer you are to its source, the stronger
its impact tends to be.
In the case of electronic waste, the issues of where the waste
comes from and preventing the waste from being created in the
first place are central to the political definition of the issue.
Now it has been further defined in the sustainability era as
pollution prevention and resource reuse.

 From the beginning of the industrial age until the 1980s, waste
was considered to be part of the cost of production: You cant
make an omelet without breaking some eggs.
In the case of disposal of e-waste, the difficulty is that smallquantity generators of hazardous waste and household waste
are both exempt from U.S. federal regulations.
in the case of pollution prevention, a system of incentives could
be put in place to encourage manufacturers to take back old
products and remanufacture or recycle them. For example a $10
deposit could be charged on a cell phone, and then refunded to
the consumer when the phone is returned to the store.
Guiyu in the Shantou region of China is a huge electronic waste
processing area It is often referred to as the ewaste capital of
the world