4. www.transend.co.nz | 0800 84 22 53 | [email_address] Material Main applications in computer production Plastics including PVC Cabling, computer housings Lead Soldering of printed circuit boards and other components; glass panels in CRT monitors Barium Vacuum tubes in CRT monitors Beryllium Used for thermal conductivity Cadmium SMD chip resistors, infrared detectors, semiconductors, older models of CRTs; also used as plastic stabilizer Hexavalent Chromium Mostly phased out, but still some limited use as corrosion protector and decorative or hardener for steel housings
5. www.transend.co.nz | 0800 84 22 53 | [email_address] Materials Main application in computer production Selenium Used in rectifiers and printed wiring boards Mercury Sensors and switches on printed circuit boards, batteries, switches/housing, printed wiring boards, tubes in flat panel Screens Arsenic Doping’ agents in transistors and printed wiring boards PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls) Used in capacitors and transformers (older equipment only)
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7. Barium – Brain swelling , muscle weakness, damage to the heart, liver and spleen Selenium – Causes Selenosis , which symptoms are hair loss, nail brittleness and neurological abnormalities PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls) – PCBs affect the immune, hormone, nervous, and enzyme systems of the body and therefore have impacts on almost every organ. PCBs are considered by health agencies as a known carcinogen for animals and a probable carcinogen for humans www.transend.co.nz | 0800 84 22 53 | [email_address]
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10. 50 million tonnes of E-waste a year worldwide Still over 85% unsafe disposal or landfill A Global Problem www.transend.co.nz | 0800 84 22 53 | [email_address]
18. Do we want to be remembered as the generation that destroyed the environment for our descendants? www.transend.co.nz | 0800 84 22 53 | [email_address]
http://ngm.nationalgeogra www.ban.org/main/hall_of_shame.html phic.com/2008/01/high-tech-trash/computer-interactive What currently happens to your old IT equipment? Where does it go? Hw is it recylced? Is it recycled? Do you re-use it? Longer term how sustainable do you think it is throwing waste equipment away? We cannot sustain the amount of ewaste 3.156 million tonnes of waste to landfills in 2006 2-3 % = 63,120 tonnes – 94,660 tonnes 2006
Another table with the same kind of information came from Environment Victoria, Computer waste in Australia and the case for producer responsibility, ,June 2005.
If all sources of electronic waste are tallied, it could total 50 million tons a year worldwide, according to the UN Environment Programme. Toxic Waste: Each computer, monitor or cellphone etc contains some or all of the following, lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic Also: plastics including PVC (polyvinyl chloride), beryllium, hexavalent chromium, brominated flame retardants, barium, selenium. Lead – Accumulates in environment and has high acute, toxic effects on plants, animals and micro-orgasnisms. Damage to nervous system, blood. Cadmium – Acute and Chronic toxic compound which accumulates in human body, esp. In kidneys Mercury – Causes Chronic brain damage. Easily accumulates in living organisms, esp. Fish. Arsenic – Various diseases of the skin. Can also cause lung cancer and can often be fatal. Plastics (PVC) – Various cancers, endocrine system disruption. If burnt, releases highly toxic dioxins Beryllium – Human carcinogen – cancer causing. Lung cancer and skin disease Hexavalent Chromium – Strong allergic reaction (astmatic, bronchitis) even in small concentrations Brominated flame retardants – Cause Thyroid Damage and harm fetal development Barium – Brain swelling, muscle weakness, damage to the heart, liver and spleen. Selenium – Causes Selenosis, which symptoms are hair loss, nail brittleness and neurological adnormalities *Information from Environment Victoria, computer waste in Australia and the case for producer responsibility, June 2005 **Heavy Metals (cadmium, lead, mercury, and other metallic elements that have high molecular weights) are used in circuit boards, semiconductors, lamps and batteries. Most heavy metals are toxic in low concentrations and tend to accumulate in the food web. Heavy metals cause neurological damage, adversely affect fetal development and reproductive systems, are known to cause kidney disease, and some are recognised carcinogens. Lead – one of the most commonly used heavy metals – can remain in the human body for years, lodging in the bones and circulating through the bloodstream. This is one reason you don’t want old circuit boards to end up in landfills: these elements can leach into water and soil and seep into the local watershed, where they can be ingested by insects, fish, and other aquatic creatures and then work their way into our diet – High tech Trash – Digital Devices, Hidden Toxics and Human Health – Elizabeth Grossman -Still over 85% unsafe disposal or landfil – GAO – US Government Accountability Office -Open air incineration and acid baths are just a couple of ways China and India are dealing with e-waste in a unhealthy manner In NZ, 2006 - 96,000 Tonnes of e-waste sent to landfill (Electronic Waste: report – Consumer 471 –July 2007 – consumer.org.nz) – in 2006 we dumped 3.2 million tonnes of rubbish in landfills. It’s estimated 3% of that is e-waste and that margin is growing. New Zealand disposed of an estimated 3.156 million tonnes of waste to landfills in 2006 -No laws in NZ preventing e-waste going to landfil. The new waste minimisation bill will charge a $10 levy per tonne of e-waste. “Wip dee doo” Precious Metals: Copper, Aluminium, Gold, zinc, nickel, tin, iron, Silver, Palladium, platnium, Steel, Indium, Ruthenium, Waste of resources – metals can be recycled indefinitely without degradation. It takes 95% less energy to recycle aluminium, compared with smelting it from ore. In the Case of Steel it takes 75% less energy to recycle it. Burying metals is a total waste of resources (Electronic Waste: report – Consumer 471 –July 2007 – consumer.org.nz). Copper is 85%, Lead 65%, Plastics 80%.
Copper is 100% recyclable – (while 90% of a computers copper can be recovered and used again, only 10% is of PC’s are recycled. In comparison recycling copper uses 15-20 percent the amount of energy required to mine new ore. Sending e-waste to landfill is also a waste of resources – metals can be recycled indefinitely without degradation. It takes 95% less energy to recycle aluminium, compared with smelting it from ore. In the Case of Steel it takes 75% less energy to recycle it. Burying metals is a total waste of resources (Electronic Waste: report – Consumer 471 –July 2007 – consumer.org.nz) How do we slow down the prolific rate of mineral consumption for electronics One metric ton of circuit boards can contain 40-800 times the concentration of gold contained in gold ore mined in the United States Copper is 100% recyclable – (while 90% of a computers copper can be recovered and used again, only 10% is of PC’s are recycled.
The ‘European Directive on the Restrictions of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances’ in electrical and electronic equipment (known as the RoHS Directive) came fully into effect on 1 July 2006 for all electronic or electrical equipment sold in Europe.
Buy RoHS compliant gearI n the meantime the best advice we can give consumers is to continue to store old electronic equipment or take computers that still have life in them to a computer refurbisher, where they can be cleaned and resold to schools and not-for-profit community groups.
![E-Waste www.transend.co.nz | 0800 84 22 53 | [email_address]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/e-wastenz-100728032914-phpapp01/85/E-waste-nz-1-320.jpg)
![The ingredients of a typical desktop, laptop or monitor Colton , Copper, Aluminium , Lead, Gold , Zinc, Nickel , Tin, Silver , Iron, Platinum , Palladium, Mercury , Cobalt, Antimony , Arsenic, Barium , Beryllium , Cadmium, Chromium , Selenium, Polyvinyl Chloride , Hexavalent Chromium, Brominated Flame Retardants , and Gallium www.transend.co.nz | 0800 84 22 53 | [email_address]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)