1.
E-WASTE
Created by: Anup Mahato

2.
INTRODUCTION
• Electronic waste or e-waste 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.

3.
CAUSES
• E-waste is the most rapidly growing waste problem in the world.
• It is a crisis of not quantity alone but also a crisis born from toxics
ingredients, posing a threat to the occupational health as well as the
environment.
• Rapid technology change, changes in media (tapes, software, MP3),
falling prices, low initial cost, high obsolescence rate have resulted in
a fast growing problem around the globe.

4.
A GLOBAL CHALLENGE
•
•
An estimated 50 million tons of E-waste are produced each year.
•
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that only 15-20% of ewaste is recycled, the rest of these electronics go directly into landfills and
incinerators
•
the amount of e-waste being produced - including mobile phones and
computers - could rise by as much as 500 percent over the next decade in
some countries, such as India.
•
The United States is the world leader in producing electronic waste, tossing
away about 3 million tons each year.
•
China already produces about 2.3 million tons (2010 estimate) domestically,
second only to the United States. And, despite having banned e-waste
imports, China remains a major e-waste dumping ground for developed
The USA discards 30 million computers each year and 100 million phones
are disposed of in Europe each year.

5.
COMPOSITION OF E-WASTE
SALES
Others
10%
Large
Househol
d
Appliance
s
42%
Consumer
Electronic
s
14%
IT
Communi
cation
Technolog
y
34%

6.
TOXIC SUBSTANCES PRESENT IN E-WASTE
Hazardou
s
Americium
Lead
Mercury
Sulphur
Cadmium
Beryllium
oxide
NonHazardous
Aluminum
Copper
Germanium
Gold
Iron
Lithium
Nickel
Silicon
Tin
Zinc

7.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF ELECTRONIC
WASTE
•
Mercury: Found in fluorescent tubes causes environmental effects in
animals include death, reduced fertility, slower growth and
development.
•
Sulphur: Found in lead-acid batteries. Health effects include liver
damage, kidney damage, heart damage, eye and throat irritation. When
released into the environment, it can create sulphuric acid.
•
Lead: Found in Solder, CRT monitor glass, lead-acid batteries, some
formulations of PVC. Adverse effects of lead exposure include impaired
cognitive function, behavioral disturbances, attention
deficits, hyperactivity, conduct problems and lower IQ.
•
There is also evidence of DNA breaks which can increase the likelihood of
developing cancer.
•
Elevated Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) levels can cause damage to cell
structures.

8.
ELECTRONIC WASTE DUMP OF THE WORLD:
GUIYU, CHINA
• It is often referred to as the “e-waste capital of the world.”
• The city employs over 150,000 e-waste workers that work through 16hour days disassembling old computers and recapturing whatever
metals and parts they can reuse or sell.
• Soaring levels of toxic heavy metals and organic contaminants in the
soil.
• 82% of the Guiyu children had blood/lead levels of more than 100.
• The highest concentrations of lead were found in the children of parents
whose workshop dealt with circuit boards and the lowest was among
those who recycled plastic.

9.
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS IN
GUIYU, CHINA
• Airborne dioxins – one type found at 100 times levels previously
measured.
• Levels of carcinogens in duck ponds and rice paddies exceeded
international standards for agricultural areas and
cadmium, copper, nickel, and lead levels in rice paddies were above
international standards.
• Heavy metals found in road dust – lead over 300 times that of a
control village’s road dust and copper over 100 times

10.
E-WASTE MANAGEMENT
In industries management of e-waste should begin at the point of
generation. This can be done by waste minimization techniques and by
sustainable product design. Waste minimization in industries involves
adopting:
• inventory management,
• production-process modification,
• volume reduction,
• recovery and reuse.

11.
INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
• Proper control over the materials used in the manufacturing process is
an important way to reduce waste generation.
• By reducing both the quantity of hazardous materials used in the
process and the amount of excess raw materials in stock, the quantity
of waste generated can be reduced.
• This can be done in two ways i.e. establishing material-purchase
review and control procedures and inventory tracking system.
• Ensure that only the needed quantity of a material is ordered.

12.
PRODUCTION-PROCESS MODIFICATION
• Changes can be made in the production process, which will reduce
waste generation.
• Improvements in the operation and maintenance of process
equipment can result in significant waste reduction.
• Hazardous materials used in either a product formulation or a
production process may be replaced with a less hazardous or nonhazardous material.
• Installing more efficient process equipment or modifying existing
equipment to take advantage of better production techniques can
significantly reduce waste generation.

13.
VOLUME REDUCTION
• Volume reduction includes those techniques that remove the
hazardous portion of a waste from a non-hazardous portion.
• These techniques are usually to reduce the volume, and thus the cost
of disposing of a waste material.
• For example, an electronic component manufacturer can use
compaction equipment to reduce volume of waste cathode ray-tube.

14.
RECOVERY AND REUSE
• This technique could eliminate waste disposal costs, reduce raw
material costs and provide income from a salable waste.
• Waste can be recovered on-site, or at an off-site recovery facility, or
through inter industry exchange.
• For example, a printed-circuit board manufacturer can use electrolytic
recovery to reclaim metals from copper and tin-lead plating bath.

15.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE GOVERNMENT
•
Governments should set up regulatory agencies in each state, which are
vested with the responsibility of coordinating and consolidating the
regulatory functions of the various government authorities regarding
hazardous substances.
•
Governments must encourage research into the development and standard
of hazardous waste management, environmental monitoring and the
regulation of hazardous waste-disposal.
•
Governments should enforce strict regulations and heavy fines levied on
industries, which do not practice waste prevention and recovery in the
production facilities.
•
Governments should enforce strict regulations against dumping e-waste in
the country by outsiders.
•
Governments should explore opportunities to partner with manufacturers
and retailers to provide recycling services.

16.
RESPONSIBILITY AND ROLE OF
INDUSTRIES
• Use label materials to assist in recycling (particularly plastics).
• Standardize components for easy disassembly.
• Re-evaluate 'cheap products' use, make product cycle 'cheap' and so
that it
• has no inherent value that would encourage a recycling infrastructure.
• Create computer components and peripherals of biodegradable
materials.
• Utilize technology sharing particularly for manufacturing and de
manufacturing.
• Encourage / promote / require green procurement for corporate
buyers.

17.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CITIZEN
• Recycling raw materials from end-of-life electronics is the
most effective solution to the growing e-waste problem.
• E-wastes should never be disposed with garbage and other
household wastes. This should be segregated at the site
and sold or donated to various organizations.
• Reuse, in addition to being an environmentally preferable
alternative, also benefits society. By donating used
electronics, schools, non-profit organizations, and lowerincome families can afford to use equipment that they
otherwise could not afford.
• Gather any unwanted chargers, accessories or batteries to
recycle –find national recycling center of the company

18.
SUSTAINABLE PRODUCT DESIGN
• Minimization of hazardous wastes should be at product
design stage itself keeping in mind the following factors
• Rethink the product design
• Use of renewable materials and energy(e.g. use of Biobased plastics)
• Use of non-renewable materials that are safer (ensure the
product is built for re-use, repair and/or upgradeability)

19.
PICTURES
Guiyu
(China)
India
Ghana
Pakistan

20.
REFERENCES
• Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISc, Bangalore http://wgbis.ces.iisc.ernet.in)
• United Nations Environment Programme - http://www.unep.org
• http:// wikipedia.org
• http://www.greenpeace.org/
• http://www.dosomething.org/