Electronic waste

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Abandoned monitor

Defective and obsolete computer equipment

Electronic waste, "e-waste" or "Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment"

("WEEE") is a waste type consisting of any broken or unwanted electrical or electronic
device. Recyclable electronic waste is sometimes further categorized as a "commodity"
while e-waste which cannot be reused is distinguished as "waste". Both types of e-waste
have raised concern considering that many components of such equipment are considered
toxic and are not biodegradable. Responding to these concerns, many European countries
banned e-waste from landfills in the 1990s. As the price of gold, silver and copper
continue to rise, e-waste has become more desirable. E-waste roundups can be used as
fundraisers in some communities.
The European Union would further advance e-waste policy in Europe by implementing
the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive in 2002 which holds
manufacturers responsible for e-waste disposal at end-of-life. Similar legislation has been
enacted in Asia, with e-waste legislation in the United States limited to the state level due
to stalled efforts in the United States Congress regarding multiple e-waste legislation
bills.

Due to the difficulty and cost of recycling used electronics as well as lacklustre
enforcement of legislation regarding e-waste exports, large amounts of used electronics
have been sent to countries such as China, India, and Kenya, where lower environmental
standards and working conditions make processing e-waste more profitable.[1]

Contents
[hide]

• 1 Definition
• 2 Problems
• 3 Trends in disposal and recycling
• 4 List of substances contained in electronic waste
o 4.1 Substances in bulk (Alphabetical)
o 4.2 Elements in bulk
o 4.3 Elements in small amounts
o 4.4 Elements in trace amounts (alphabetical)
o 4.5 List of example applications of the above elements and substances
• 5 See also
• 6 References

• 7 External links

[edit] Definition
This section does not cite any references or sources.
Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material
may be challenged and removed. (July 2008)

Some activists define "Electronic waste" to include all secondary computers,

entertainment devices electronics, mobile phones and other items, whether they have
been sold, donated, or discarded by their original owner. This definition includes used
electronics which are destined for reuse, resale, salvage, recycling or disposal. Others
define the reusable (working and repairable electronics) and secondary scrap (copper,
steel, plastic, etc.) to be "commodities", and reserve the use of the term "waste" for
residue or material which was represented as working or repairable but which was
discarded by the buyer.
Debate continues over the distinction between "commodity" and "waste" electronics
definitions. Some exporters may deliberately leave obsolete or non-working equipment
mixed in loads of working equipment (through ignorance, or to avoid more costly
treatment processes for 'bad' equipment). On the other hand, some importing countries
specifically seek to exclude working or repairable equipment in order to protect domestic
manufacturing markets. "White box" computers ('off-brand' or 'no name' computers) are
often assembled by smaller scale manufacturers utilizing refurbished components. These
'white box' sales accounted for approximately 45% of all computer sales worldwide by
2004, and are considered a threat to some large manufacturers, who therefore seek to
classify used computers as 'waste'.

While a protectionist may broaden the definition of "waste" electronics, the high value of
working and reusable laptops, computers, and components (e.g. RAM), can help pay the
cost of transportation for a large number of worthless "commodities". Broken monitors,
obsolete circuit boards, short circuited transistors, and other junk are difficult to spot in a
containerload of used electronics.

Until such time as equipment no longer contains such hazardous substances, the disposal
and recycling operations must be undertaken with great care to avoid damaging pollution
and workplace hazards, and exports need to be monitored to avoid "toxics along for the
ride".

[edit] Problems
If treated properly, electronic waste is a valuable source for secondary raw materials.
However, if not treated properly, it is a major source of toxins and carcinogens[2]. Rapid
technology change, low initial cost and planned obsolescence have resulted in a fast
growing problem around the globe. Technical solutions are available but in most cases a
legal framework, a collection system, logistics and other services need to be implemented
before a technical solution can be applied. Electronic waste represents 2 percent of
America's trash in landfills, but it equals 70 percent of overall toxic waste.[3]

Due to higher reuse and repair capability, as well as lower environmental standards and
working conditions, markets for used electronics have expanded in China, India, Kenya,
and elsewhere. Generally, the cost of transport is covered by legitimate reuse and repair
value. However, there is a disincentive to screen out electronic waste, which requires
additional staff as well as environmental liability in the (developed) generator country.
Demand is also strong where there is copper and aluminum and plastic smelting. Guiyu
in the Shantou region of China, and Delhi and Bangalore in India, all have electronic
waste processing areas.[4] Uncontrolled burning, disassembly, and disposal are causing
environmental and health problems, including occupational safety and health effects
among those directly involved, due to the methods of processing the waste. Trade in
electronic waste is controlled by the Basel Convention. However, the Basel Convention
specifically exempts repair and refurbishment of used electronics in Annex IX.
Electronic waste is of concern largely due to the toxicity and carcinogenicity of some of
the substances if processed improperly. Toxic substances in electronic waste may include
lead, mercury and cadmium. Carcinogenic substances in electronic waste may include
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). A typical computer monitor may contain more than
6% lead by weight, much of which is in the lead glass of the CRT. Capacitors,
transformers, PVC insulated wires, PVC coated components that were manufactured
before 1977 often contain dangerous amounts of polychlorinated biphenyls.[5] Up to
thirty-eight separate chemical elements are incorporated into electronic waste items. The
unsustainability of discarding electronics and computer technology is another reason for
the need to recycle – or perhaps more practically, reuse – electronic waste.

E-waste is often exported to developing countries

Electronic waste processing systems have matured in recent years following increased
regulatory, public, and commercial scrutiny, and a commensurate increase in
entrepreneurial interest. Part of this evolution has involved greater diversion of electronic
waste from energy intensive, down-cycling processes (eg. conventional recycling) where
equipment is reverted to a raw material form. This diversion is achieved through reuse
and refurbishing. The environmental and social benefits of reuse are several: diminished
demand for new products and their commensurate requirement for virgin raw materials
(with their own environmental externalities not factored into the cost of the raw
materials) and larger quantities of pure water and electricity for associated
manufacturing, less packaging per unit, availability of technology to wider swaths of
society due to greater affordability of products, and diminished use of landfills.

Challenges remain, when materials cannot or will not be reused, conventional recycling
or disposal via landfill often follow. Standards for both approaches vary widely by
jurisdiction, whether in developed or developing countries. The complexity of the various
items to be disposed of, cost of environmentally sound recycling systems, and the need
for concerned and concerted action to collect and systematically process equipment are
the resources most lacked -- though this is changing. Many of the plastics used in
electronic equipment contain flame retardants. These are generally halogens added to the
plastic resin, making the plastics difficult to recycle.

In June 2008, a container of illegal electronic waste, destined from Port of Oakland in the
US to Sanshui District in mainland China, was intercepted in Hong Kong by
Greenpeace.[6] E-waste is imported as a second-hand goods to Ghana.[7][8]
[edit] Trends in disposal and recycling
In the 1990s some European countries banned the disposal of electronic waste in
landfills. This created an e-waste processing industry in Europe.

In Switzerland the first electronic waste recycling system was implemented in 1991
beginning with collection of old refrigerators. Over the years, all other electric and
electronic devices were gradually added to the system. Legislation followed in 1998 and
since January 2005 it has been possible to return all electronic waste to the sales points
and other collection points free of charge. There are two established PROs (Producer
Responsibility Organizations): SWICO mainly handling electronic waste and SENS
mainly responsible for electrical appliances. The total amount of recycled electronic
waste exceeds 10 kg per capita per year.[9][10][11]

The European Union has implemented a similar system under the Waste Electrical and
Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE 2002/96/EC). The WEEE Directive has now
been transposed in national laws in all member countries of the European Union. The
WEEE directive was designed to make equipment manufacturers financially or physically
responsible for their equipment at its end-of-life under a policy known as extended
producer responsibility (EPR). EPR was seen as a useful policy as it internalized the end-
of-life costs and provided a competitive incentive for companies to design equipment
with less costs and liabilities when it reached its end-of-life. However the application of
the WEEE directive has been criticized for implementing the EPR concept in a collective
manner and thereby losing the competitive incentive of individual manufacturers to be
rewarded for their green design.[12] Since 13 August 2005, the electronics manufacturers
became financially responsible for compliance to the WEEE directive. Under the
directive, by the end of 2006 – and with one or two years' delay for the new EU members
– every country has to recycle at least 4 kg of e-waste per capita per year.

Some states in recent years in the US developed policies banning CRTs from landfills due
to the fear that the heavy metals contained in the glass would eventually leach into
groundwater. Circuit boards also contain considerable quantities of lead-tin solders and
are even more likely to leach into groundwater or become air pollution if managed in an
incinerator. Indeed, a policy of "diversion from landfill" has been the driver for
legislation in many states requiring higher and higher volumes of e-waste to be collected
and processed separate from the solid waste stream. Today the e-waste recycling business
is in all areas of the developed world a big and rapidly consolidating business.
Unfortunately, increased regulation of e-waste and concern over the environmental harm
which can result from toxic e-waste has raised disposal costs. This has had the unforeseen
effect of providing brokers and others calling themselves recyclers with an incentive to
export the e-waste to developing countries. This form of toxic trade was first exposed by
the Basel Action Network (BAN) in their 2002 report and film entitled "Exporting Harm:
The High-Tech Trashing of Asia".[13] Exporting Harm placed a spotlight on the global
dumping of electronic waste, primarily from North America on a township area of China
known as Guiyu. To this day in Guiyu, thousands of men, women and children are
employed, in highly polluting, primitive recycling technologies, extracting the metals,
toners, and plastics from computers and other e-waste. Because the United States has not
ratified the Basel Convention or the Basel Ban Amendment, and has no domestic laws
forbidding the export of toxic waste, BAN estimates that about 80% of the e-waste
directed to recycling in the US does not get recycled there at all but is put on container
ships and sent to countries such as China.[14] [15]

In developed countries, e-waste processing usually first involves dismantling the

equipment into various parts — metal frames, power supplies, circuit boards, and plastics
— which are separated, often by hand. Alternatively, material is shredded, and
sophisticated expensive equipment separates the various metal and plastic fractions,
which then are sold to various smelters and or plastics recyclers. From 2004 the state of
California introduced a Electronic Waste Recycling Fee on all new monitors and
televisions sold to cover the cost of recycling. The amount of the fee depends on the size
of the monitor. That amount was adjusted on July 1, 2005 in order to match the real cost
of recycling. Canada has also begun to take responsibility for electronics recycling. For
example, in August 2007 a fee similar to the one in California was added to the cost of
purchasing new televisions, computers, and computer components in British Columbia.
The new legislation made recycling mandatory for all of those products.

A typical electronic waste recycling plant as found in some industrialized countries

combines the best of dismantling for component recovery with increased capacity to
process large amounts of electronic waste in a cost effective-manner. Material is fed into
a hopper, which travels up a conveyor and is dropped into the mechanical separator,
which is followed by a number of screening and granulating machines. The entire
recycling machinery is enclosed and employs a dust collection system. The European
Union, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan have already demanded that sellers and
manufacturers of electronics be responsible for recycling 75% of them.

A growing trend in the field of E-Waste management is reuse. Advocates of this strategy,
such as Gazelle, contend that reuse is actually preferable to recycling because it extends
the lifespan of a device. The devices will need to be recycled at some point, they say, but
by allowing others to purchase these used electronics, recycling can be postponed and
value gained from use of the device. There is no reason to condemn electronics to
recycling if they still have value. Many Asian countries have legislated, or will do so[citation
needed]
, for electronic waste recycling.

The United States Congress is considering a number of electronic waste bills including
the National Computer Recycling Act introduced by Congressman Mike Thompson (D-
CA). This bill has continually stalled, however.

In the meantime, several states have passed their own laws regarding electronic waste
management. California was the first state to enact such legislation, followed by
Maryland, Maine, Washington and Minnesota. More recently, legislatures in Oregon and
Texas passed their own laws.
e-Waste Definition

E-waste for short - or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) - is the term
used to describe old, end-of-life or discarded appliances using electricity. It includes
computers, consumer electronics, fridges etc which have been disposed of by their
original users. While there is no generally accepted definition of e-waste, often it is
associated with relatively expensive and essentially durable products used for data
processing, telecommunications or entertainment in private households and businesses.
But the ever increasing digitalisation of products blurs such a distinction from former
electrical appliance such as a kettle, a boiler or an oven; all do or will soon contain
electronic circuits and ultimately become e-waste.
On this website - the e-Waste Guide - "e-waste" is used as a generic term embracing all
types of waste containing electrically powered components. E-waste contains both
valuable as well as harmful materials which require special handling and recycling
methods. This guide covers all categories of e-waste but emphasizes categories which
contain problematic, scarce and valuable or otherwise interesting materials. examples:
Computers, LCD / CRT Screens, Cooling Appliances, Mobile Phones, etc. containing
precious metals, flame retarded plastics CFC foams and many other substances.

E-Waste Management

Definition of e-waste :

Electronic waste, popularly known as ‘e-waste’ can 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.

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.

Indian Scenario :
There is an estimate that the total obsolete computers originating from government
offices, business houses, industries and household is of the order of 2 million nos.
Manufactures and assemblers in a single calendar year, estimated to produce around 1200
tons of electronic scrap. It should be noted that obsolence rate of personal computers
(PC) is one in every two years. The consumers finds it convenient to buy a new computer
rather than upgrade the old one due to the changing configuration, technology and the
attractive offers of the manufacturers. Due to the lack of governmental legislations on e-
waste, standards for disposal, proper mechanism for handling these toxic hi-tech
products, mostly end up in landfills or partly recycled in a unhygienic conditions and
partly thrown into waste streams. Computer waste is generated from the individual
households; the government, public and private sectors; computer retailers;
manufacturers; foreign embassies; secondary markets of old PCs. Of these, the biggest
source of PC scrap are foreign countries that export huge computer waste in the form of
reusable components.

Electronic waste or e-waste is one of the rapidly growing environmental problems of the
world. In India, the electronic waste management assumes greater significance not only
due to the generation of our own waste but also dumping ofe-waste particularly computer
waste from the developed countries.

With extensively using computers and electronic equipments and people dumping old
electronic goods for new ones, the amount ofE-Waste generated has been steadily
increasing. At present Bangalore alone generates about 8000 tonnes of computer waste
annually and in the absence of proper disposal, they find their way to scrap dealers.

E-Parisaraa, an eco-friendly recycling unit on the outskirts of Bangalore which is located

in Dobaspet industrial area, about 45 Km north of Bangalore, makes full use ofE-Waste.
The plant which is India’s first scientific e-waste recycling unit will reduce pollution,
landfill waste and recover valuable metals, plastics & glass from waste in an eco-friendly
manner. E-Parisaraa has developed a circuit to extend the life of tube lights. The circuit
helps to extend the life of fluorescent tubes by more than 2000 hours. If the circuits are
used, tube lights can work on lower voltages. The initiative is to aim at reducing the
accumulation of used and discarded electronic and electrical equipments.

India as a developing country needs simpler, low cost technology keeping in view of
maximum resource recovery in an environmental friendly methodologies. E-Parisaraa,
deals with practical aspect ofe-waste processing as mentioned below by hand. Phosphor
affects the display resolution and luminance of the images that is seen in the monitor.

E-Parisaraa’s Director Mr. P. Parthasarathy, an IIT Madras graduate, and a former

consultant for a similar e-waste recycling unit in Singapore, has developed an eco-
friendly methodology for reusing, recycling and recovery of metals, glass & plastics with
non-incineration methods . The hazardous materials are segregated separately and send
for secure land fill for ex.: phosphor coating, LED’s, mercury etc.

We have the technology to recycle most of the e-waste and only less than one per cent of
this will be regarded as waste, which can go into secure landfill planned in the vicinity by
the HAWA project.

The e-waste problem

The hazardous effects of e-waste are a worrisome problem, says Vinutha V.

You may be a software professional working on the latest PC, a call-centre employee
on your first job, or a teenager tapping away furiously on an assembled computer at
home. Whatever slot you fall into, have you stopped to think what happens when you
get parts of your PC, or all of it, replaced? Where do these parts go and where does
all the unwanted or unusable stuff land up? e-waste or Waste from Electronic and
Electrical Equipment (WEEE) is no longer a subject for academic discussions at
environmental forums. Instead, there is a growing realisation that the issue may
assume dangerous proportions over the next few years if it continues to be left
unaddressed.

The situation is alarming. According to a survey by IRG Systems, South Asia, the
total waste generated by obsolete or broken-down electronic and electrical
equipment in India has been estimated to be 1,46,180 tons per year based on select
EEE tracer items. This figure does not include WEEE imports. At the rate at which
technological changes are taking place, not only in computers and cell phones but
also in domestic appliances such as washing machines, refrigerators, microwave
ovens and TV sets, the problem seems to be compounding.

India a dumping ground

End-of-life products find their way to recycling yards in countries such as India and
China, where poorly-protected workers dismantle them, often by hand, in appalling
conditions. About 25,000 workers are employed at scrap-yards in Delhi alone, where
10,000 to 20,000 tons of e-waste are handled every year, with computers accounting
for 25 percent of it. Other e-waste scrap-yards exist in Meerut, Ferozabad, Chennai,
Bangalore and Mumbai. About 80 percent of the e-waste generated in the US is
exported to India, China and Pakistan, and unorganised recycling and backyard
scrap-trading forms close to 100 percent of total e-waste processing activity. Many of
India’s corporations burn e-waste such as PC monitors, PCBs, CDs, motherboards,
cables, toner cartridges, light bulbs and tube-lights in the open along with garbage,
releasing large amounts of mercury and lead into the atmosphere.

IT is the largest contributor

Toxics Link, a Delhi-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), says that India

annually generates $1.5 billion worth of e-waste. As per a study done last year by
Bangalore-based NGO, Saahas, that city generates around 8,000 tons of e-waste
every year. It is true that the e-waste spectrum is broad, but we see that IT
companies are the single largest contributors to the growing mountains of it. This is
because 30 percent of their equipment is rendered obsolete every year. The average
computer monitor or television set holds, apart from complex plastic blends that are
either difficult to recycle or non-degradable, valuable components such as gold and
platinum, aluminium, cadmium, mercury, lead and brominated flame-retardants.

Above and left: work being carried

out at a recycler in Delhi. Photos
courtesy Greenpeace India

Slow poisoning

As is the case in the disposal of

medical waste, private sector
participation is needed to handle the
huge quantities of e-waste that are
being generated

“It is a means of livelihood for unorganised recyclers. Due to lack of awareness, they
are risking their health and the environment as well. They use strong acids to
retrieve precious metals such as gold. Working in poorly-ventilated enclosed areas
without masks and technical expertise results in exposure to dangerous and slow-
poisoning chemicals,” says Wilma Rodrigues of Saahas. She says there are no clear
guidelines for the unorganised sector to handle e-waste.

The trade in e-waste is camouflaged and is a thriving business in India. It is

conducted under the pretext of obtaining ‘reusable’ equipment or ‘donations’ from
developed nations. According to K K Shajahan, Principal Consultant, Indian Institute
of Material Management, Bangalore, “Trade in e-waste, like that in other scrap, is
dominated by the ‘informal’ sector. Although the waste trade sector in India is known
as part of the ‘informal’ sector, it has a system that is highly organised with
extensive co-ordination in an established network. The recycling of e-waste is
undertaken in an unscientific manner, impacting both health and environment.”
Recently, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board has given authorisation for two
commercial enterprises to handle e-waste in Bangalore—e-Parisaraa and Ash
Recyclers. The authorised companies get e-waste from corporates to manage the
menace following the rules and regulations set down by the Pollution Board.

In India, organised recycling companies extract metals through copper smelting,

which is followed by pulverisation. The use of chemicals for bleaching is avoided.
They also ensure safety aspects such as employees wearing masks.

State of denial

As of now, NGOs are carrying out an inventory of e-waste. Like the disposal of
medical waste, private sector participation is needed to set up units to handle the
huge quantity of e-waste that’s being generated. The Central Pollution Control Board,
the Government of India’s regulatory and monitoring body, continues to deny that e-
waste is coming into India. Unfortunately, it’s true that countries such as India and
Pakistan are becoming the dumping yards of e-waste from the US and other
industrialised nations. e-waste recycling is lucrative because electronic equipment
has small quantities of valuable material such as gold and copper. Loopholes in law
and enforcement are utilised by all parties—the importers, traders and recyclers.

The problem is compounded by the fact that imported equipment is brought in duty-
free and is customs-bound. It is high time that the Government and port authorities
in India implement the Hazardous Waste Rules and check the illegal imports of e-
waste at the entry point itself. The awareness on the hazardous effects of e-waste
has not yet sunk in, barring a handful of IT and consumer electronics firms.
Companies such as LG, Sony Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, Sony, Wipro and Infosys are
involved in eliminating toxic chemicals from electronic goods. Says Y B Yoo, Vice-
president, Manufacturing, Samsung India, “We encourage our vendors to ensure
lead, cadmium, mercury and chromium-free components. In addition to 1SO 14001-
compliant vendor facilities, they should have a manual for ensuring conformity with
the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Act. Our audit team regularly checks vendor
facilities for environmental compliance. The waste generated is either returned to the
suppliers for recycling and reuse or disposed off to vendors certified by the Ministry
of Environment and Forests for treatment of the waste.” Under its Ozone Initiative,
Infosys complies with all legal requirements. It meets and exceeds the ISO 14001
standards for environmental initiatives.
The government’s responsibilities

• e-waste policy and legislation

• Encourage organised system recycling
• Collecting fee from manufacturers/consumers for the
disposal of toxic materials
• Should subsidise recycling and disposal industries
• Incentive schemes for garbage collectors and
general public for collecting and handing over e-
waste
• Awareness programme on e-waste for school
children and general public

Source: e-Parisaraa
Inadequate governance

The IT sector is taking baby-steps towards dismantling e-waste through the

organised sector. Says P Parthasarathy, Managing Director of e-Parisaraa, “IT
companies are bypassing [the proper procedures to deal with] their obsolete
hardware products through donations and the unorganised sector. The rules,
regulations and maintenance of records involved in going through organised
recyclers are holding back many companies.”

Additionally, the support from the Government is not up to expectations. The draft of
the policy and guidelines for e-waste management which are ready are waiting for
the approval of the Government adds Parthasarathy who is also a member of the e-
waste management task force.