E-Waste – The growing concern of today's IT industry
E-Waste The growing concern of today's IT industry
E-Waste The growing concern of today's IT industry
Abstract
"E-waste" is a popular, informal name for electronic products nearing the end of their "useful life."E-wastes are considered dangerous, as certain components of some electronic products contain materials that are hazardous, depending on their condition and density. The hazardous content of these materials pose a threat to human health and environment. Discarded computers, televisions, VCRs, stereos, copiers, fax machines, electric lamps, cell phones, audio equipment and batteries if improperly disposed can leach lead and other substances into soil and groundwater. Many of these products can be reused, refurbished, or recycled in an environmentally sound manner so that they are less harmful to the ecosystem. Here we highlight the hazards of e-wastes, the need for its appropriate management and options that can be implemented.
1. What is e-waste?
Electronic waste, e-waste, e-scrap, or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) 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' can also be defined as electronic equipments / products connects with power plug, batteries which have become obsolete due to: advancement in technology changes in fashion, style and status nearing the end of their useful life.
2. Classification of e-waste:
E-waste encompasses ever growing range of obsolete electronic devices such as computers, servers, main frames, monitors, TVs & display devices, telecommunication devices such as cellular phones & pagers, calculators, audio and video devices, printers, scanners, copiers and fax machines besides refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, and microwave ovens, e-waste also covers recording devices such as DVDs, CDs, floppies, tapes, printing cartridges, military electronic waste, automobile catalytic converters, electronic components such as chips, processors, mother boards, printed circuit boards, industrial electronics such as sensors, alarms, sirens, security devices, automobile electronic devices.
3. Categories of e-waste:
Household Appliances
Washing machines, Dryers, Refrigerators, Air-conditioners, Vacuum cleaners, Coffee Machines, Toasters, Irons etc.
Large Household Appliances
Washing machines, Dryers, Refrigerators, Air-conditioners, etc.
Small Household Appliances
Vacuum cleaners, Coffee Machines, Irons, Toasters, etc Office, Information & Communication Equipment
PCs, Latops, Mobiles, Telephones, Fax Machines, Copiers, Printers etc.
Office, Information & Communication Equipment
PCs, Latops, Mobiles, Telephones, Fax Machines, Copiers, Printers etc.
Entertainment & Consumer Electronics
Televisions, VCR/DVD/CD players, Hi-Fi sets, Radios, etc
Entertainment & Consumer Electronics
Televisions, VCR/DVD/CD players, Hi-Fi sets, Radios, etc
Lighting Equipment
Fluorescent tubes, sodium lamps etc. (Except: Bulbs, Halogen Bulbs)
Electric and Electronic Tools
Drills, Electric saws, Sewing Machines, Lawn Mowers etc. (Except: large stationary tools/machines) Drills, Electric saws, Sewing Machines, Lawn Mowers etc. (Except: large stationary tools/machines)
Toys, Leisure, Sports and Recreational Equipment
Electric train sets, coin slot machines, treadmills etc.
Medical Instruments and Equipment
Surveillance and Control Equipment
Automatic Issuing Machines
4. Material Composition
The following graphs and the table show the material composition of four e-waste categories in %.
Material
Large household appliances
Small household
appliances
ICT and
consumer electronics
Lamps
Ferrous metal
43
29
36
-
Aluminum
14
9.3
5
14
Copper
12
17
4
0.22
Lead
1.6
0.57
0.29
-
Cadmium
0.0014
0.0068
0.018
-
Mercury
0.000038
0.000018
0.00007
0.02
Gold
0.00000067
0.00000061
0.00024
-
Silver
0.0000077
0.000007
0.0012
-
Palladium
0.0000003
0.00000024
0.00006
-
Indium
0
0
0.0005
0.0005
Brominated plastics
0.29
0.75
18
3.7
Plastics
19
37
12
0
Lead glass
0
0
19
0
Glass
0.017
0.16
0.3
77
Other
10
6.9
5.7
5
Total
100
100
100
100
5. Weight
Item
Average
Weight (kg)
Desktop Computer
9.9
Laptop Computer
3.5
CRT Screen
14.1
LCD Screen
4.7
Mouse
0.05
Keyboard
1
Printer
6.5
Television (CRT)
31.6
Mobile Phone
0.1
Mobile Phone charger
0.1
Video Recorder/DVD Player
5
Hi-Fi system
10
Radio
2
Telephone
1
Washing Machine
65
Tumble Dryer
49
Dish Washer
50
Refrigerator
35
Fridge/Freezer
35
Freezer
65
Microwave
15
Electric cooker
46
Vacuum Cleaner
8
Iron
1
Kettle
1
Toaster
1
Mixer
1
Hair Dryer
1
Electric Heater
5
Electric Drill
2
Power Saw
2
Lawn Mower
15
The above table presents a collection of the average weight of selected electric and electronic appliances. Note that the weight of a single item can vary a lot from the average weight, depending on design, age etc.
6. Impacts of e-wastes
Electronic wastes can cause widespread environmental damage due to the use of toxic materials in the manufacture of electronic goods (Mehra, 2004). Hazardous materials such as lead, mercury and hexavalent chromium in one form or the other are present in such wastes primarily consisting of Cathode ray tubes (CRTs), Printed board assemblies, Capacitors, Mercury switches and relays, Batteries, Liquid crystal displays (LCDs), Cartridges from photocopying machines, Selenium drums (photocopier) and Electrolytes. Although it is hardly known, e-waste contains toxic substances such as Lead and Cadmium in circuit boards; lead oxide and Cadmium in monitor Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs); Mercury in switches and flat screen monitors; Cadmium in computer batteries; polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in older capacitors and transformers; and brominated flame retardants on printed circuit boards, plastic casings, cables and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) cable insulation that releases highly toxic dioxins and furans when burned to retrieve Copper from the wires. All electronic equipments contain printed circuit boards which are hazardous because of their content of lead (in solder), brominated flame retardants (typically 5-10 % by weight) and antimony oxide, which is also present as a flame retardant (typically 1- 2% by weight) (Devi et al, 2004).
Land filling of e wastes can lead to the leaching of lead into the ground water. If the CRT is crushed and burned, it emits toxic fumes into the air (Ramachandra and Saira, 2004). These products contain several rechargeable battery types, all of which contain toxic substances that can contaminate the environment when burned in incinerators or disposed of in landfills. The cadmium from one mobile phone battery is enough to pollute 600 m3 of water (Trick, 2002). The quantity of cadmium in landfill sites is significant, and considerable toxic contamination is caused by the inevitable medium and long-term effects of cadmium leaking into the surrounding soil (Envocare, 2001). Because plastics are highly flammable, the printed wiring board and housings of electronic products contain brominated flame retardants, a number of which are clearly damaging to human health and the environment.
7. Elements of e-waste management system for India:
8. E-waste Treatment & Disposal Methods
(a) Landfilling:
It is one of the most widely used methods for disposal of e-waste. In landfilling, trenches are made on the flat surfaces. Soil is excavated from the trenches and waste material is buried in it, which is covered by a thick layer of soil. Modern techniques like secure landfill are provided with some facilities like, impervious liner made up of plastic or clay, leachate collection basin that collects and transfer the leachate to wastewater treatment plant. The degradation processes in landfills are very complicated and run over a wide time span.
The environmental risks from landfilling of e-waste cannot be neglected because the conditions in a landfill site are different from a native soil, particularly concerning the leaching behavior of metals. Mercury, cadmium and lead are the most toxic leachates. Lead has been found to leach from broken lead-containing glass, such as the cone glass of cathode ray tubes from TVs and monitors. Cadmium also leaches into soil and ground water. In addition, it is known that cadmium and mercury are emitted in diffuse form or via the landfill gas combustion plant. Landfills are also prone to uncontrolled fires, which can release toxic fumes. Therefore, landfilling does not appear to be an environmentally sound treatment method for substances, which are volatile and not biologically degradable (Cd, Hg,), persistent (Poly Chlorinated Biphenyls) or with unknown behaviour in a landfill site (brominated flame retardants).
(b) Incineration:
It is a controlled and complete combustion process, in which the waste material is burned in specially designed incinerators at a high temperature (900-1000oC). Advantage of incineration of e-waste is the reduction of waste volume and the Utilization of the energy content of combustible materials. Some plants remove iron from the slag for recycling. By incineration some environmentally hazardous organic substances are converted into less hazardous compounds. Disadvantage of incineration are the emission to air of substances escaping flue gas cleaning and the large amount of residues from gas cleaning and combustion. e-waste incineration plants contribute significantly to the annual emissions of cadmium and mercury. In addition, heavy metals not emitted into the atmosphere are transferred to slag and exhaust gas residues and can reenter the environment on disposal. Therefore, e-waste incineration will increase these emissions, if no reduction measures like removal of heavy metals are taken.
(c)Recycling of e-waste:
Monitors & CRT, keyboards, laptops, modems, telephone boards, hard drives, floppy drives, Compact disks, mobiles, fax machines, printers, CPUs, memory chips, connecting wires & cables can be recycled.
Recycling involves dismantling i.e. removal of different parts of e-waste containing dangerous substances like PCB, Hg, separation of plastic, removal of CRT, segregation of ferrous and non-ferrous metals and printed circuit boards. Recyclers use strong acids to remove precious metals such as copper, lead, gold. The value of recycling from the element could be much higher if appropriate technologies is used. The recyclers working in poorlyventilated enclosed areas without mask and technical expertise results in exposure to dangerous and slow poisoning chemicals.
The existing dumping grounds in India are full and overflowing beyond capacity and it is difficult to get new dumping sites due to scarcity of land. Therefore recycling is the best possible option for the management of e-waste.
(d) Re-use:
It constitutes direct second hand use or use after slight modifications to the original functioning equipment. It is commonly used for electronic equipments like computers, cell phones etc. Inkjet cartridge is also used after refilling. This method also reduces the volume of e-waste generation. We can use above mentioned methods for treatment and disposal of e-waste. The better option is to avoid its generation. To achieve this, buy back of old electronic equipments shall be made mandatory. Large companies should purchase the used equipments back from the customers and ensure proper treatment and disposal of e-waste by authorized processes. This can considerably reduce the volume of e- waste generation.
9. Conclusion
Electronics are quickly becoming a significant portion of the materials sent to local landfills. Computers, radios, fax machines, cellular telephones and personal digital assistants are becoming items of concern in the waste stream. Advances in technology, as well as the decreasing price of most electronics, has led to an increase in the volume of outdated items that require proper disposal.
The next few years will see considerable growth in the volume of electronic products being retired and an entire reverse supply chain will have to be developed around them. This will lead to challenges and opportunities for diverse disciplines and companies.
References/Sources:
[1] E-waste: An opportunity ,Matthew J. Realff, a, Michele Raymondb and Jane C. Ammonsc- Materials Today, Volume 7, Issue 1, January 2004, Pages 40-45
[2] Introduction E-Waste, by Michelle M. Nicholls, May 1, 2007-Pollution Engg.
[5] Electronic waste management in Indiaissues and strategies-Kurian Joseph, Centre for environmental studies, anna university, chennai, india
[6] www.assocham.org/events/recent/event
[7] www.iimm.org/knowledge_bank/9_e-waste
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