vikram chawla
Vikram Chawla
What Is E-Waste?
E-waste or `electronic waste' refers to equipment or products having a battery or an electrical cord, which have become obsolete, either due to advancement in technology, changes in fashion, style and status, or are nearing the end of their useful life. Electronic waste includes computers, entertainment electronics, mobile phones and other items that have been discarded by their original users. While there is no generally accepted definition of electronic waste, in most cases electronic waste consists of electronic products that were used for data processing, telecommunications, or entertainment in private households and businesses that are now considered obsolete, broken, or unrepairable. Despite its common classification as a waste, disposed electronics are a considerable category of secondary resource due to their significant suitability for direct reuse (for example, many fully functional computers and components are discarded during upgrades), refurbishing, and material recycling of its constituent raw materials. Reconceptualization of electronic waste as a resource thus preempts its potentially hazardous qualities. Unfortunately, electronic discards is one of the fastest growing segments of our nation's waste stream.
Today the average lifespan for most electronic equipment is 2 years. What does that mean to us as a society? It means literally millions of pounds of computer junk will fall victim to the garbage truck's compactor and eventually end up buried in a landfill. This is a very bad thing to happen to the environment though as computer equipment is made up of more than 1,000 different materials, many of which are highly toxic, such as chlorinated and brominates substances, toxic gases, toxic metals, biologically active materials, acids, plastics, and plastic additives.
Many people do not realize the severity of this issue on the environment. Many computer parts such as monitors contain hazardous materials such as lead. The lead on a computer monitor is found in the lining of the glass tube. While only one computer may not have enough hazardous materials in it to harm the environment or you, imagine a large company located in one of our big cities in buildings reaching to the sky literally hundreds of feet into the air housing thousands of computers! Thousands of computers which will all one day falter and be added to the already overcrowded landfills. Computers are composed mostly of parts that are totally recyclable. Recycling old computer parts is not only beneficial to the environment, but you as a consumer. By recycling old computer parts, new computers can be made using recycled materials instead of having to mine for new raw materials thus holding down production costs and keeping computer prices low.
E-waste or `electronic waste' refers to equipment or products having a battery or an electrical cord, which have become obsolete, either due to advancement in technology, changes in fashion, style and status, or are nearing the end of their useful life. Electronic waste includes computers, entertainment electronics, mobile phones and other items that have been discarded by their original users. While there is no generally accepted definition of electronic waste, in most cases electronic waste consists of electronic products that were used for data processing, telecommunications, or entertainment in private households and businesses that are now considered obsolete, broken, or unrepairable. Despite its common classification as a waste, disposed electronics are a considerable category of secondary resource due to their significant suitability for direct reuse (for example, many fully functional computers and components are discarded during upgrades), refurbishing, and material recycling of its constituent raw materials. Reconceptualization of electronic waste as a resource thus preempts its potentially hazardous qualities. Unfortunately, electronic discards is one of the fastest growing segments of our nation's waste stream.
Today the average lifespan for most electronic equipment is 2 years. What does that mean to us as a society? It means literally millions of pounds of computer junk will fall victim to the garbage truck's compactor and eventually end up buried in a landfill. This is a very bad thing to happen to the environment though as computer equipment is made up of more than 1,000 different materials, many of which are highly toxic, such as chlorinated and brominates substances, toxic gases, toxic metals, biologically active materials, acids, plastics, and plastic additives.
Many people do not realize the severity of this issue on the environment. Many computer parts such as monitors contain hazardous materials such as lead. The lead on a computer monitor is found in the lining of the glass tube. While only one computer may not have enough hazardous materials in it to harm the environment or you, imagine a large company located in one of our big cities in buildings reaching to the sky literally hundreds of feet into the air housing thousands of computers! Thousands of computers which will all one day falter and be added to the already overcrowded landfills. Computers are composed mostly of parts that are totally recyclable. Recycling old computer parts is not only beneficial to the environment, but you as a consumer. By recycling old computer parts, new computers can be made using recycled materials instead of having to mine for new raw materials thus holding down production costs and keeping computer prices low.