Electronic waste or e-waste is a global issue. More than 50 million tons of e-waste are produced each year. According to The Environmental Protection Agency only 15–20% of the e-waste is recycled, and the rest of electronics go directly into landfills and become an electronic waste and some goes to incinerators.
Electronic waste (e-waste) is the fastest growing solid waste stream in the world, increasing 3 times faster than the world’s population.
Electrical waste is a rich source of toxic and valuable resources. Complex electronics may contain as many as 60 elements. This gold (Au), silver and the platinum group metals. Concentration of metals within the electronic waste is generally higher than a typical ore, such as copper, aluminum, iron, gold, silver, and palladium.
Due to the fact that E-waste is considered toxic waste, in which it could contain hazardous elements or generate dangerous substances when improperly managed. Some of these toxic substances are known or suspected to be very harmful for human health and many fall into the World Health 10 chemicals of public concern, such as dioxins, lead and mercury. Potential Hazards to Public Health & Safety through substandard e-waste recycling.
These e-waste can become a threat to the environment and to human health if they are not treated, disposed of, and recycled appropriately. In 2019, the world generated (53.6) Mt of waste electrical and electronic equipment but just (17.4)% was officially documented as properly collected and responsibly recycled.
ILO and WHO estimate that millions of women and child laborers working in the informal recycling sector around the world may be at risk of e-waste exposure.
Common items in e-waste streams include computers, mobile phones, and large household appliances, as well as medical equipment. Annually, millions of tonnes of e-waste are treated with environmentally unsound techniques and are most likely stored in homes and warehouses, dumped, exported, or inadequately recycled. Treated e-waste with inferior activities can emit up to 1000 different chemical substances, including hazardous neuro-toxicants like lead. Compared to others, pregnant women and children are more vulnerable because of their unique pathways of exposure and their developmental status. According to ILO, in 2020, the estimated number of children working in the industrial sector reached 16.5 million, with waste processing being a subsector of the same.
We should also keep in mind the contribution of electronic items to climate change. Human-made global warming comes down to embodied energy: every machine ever built has contributed its ton of CO2. Manufacturing a tonne of laptops potentially emits 10 tonnes of CO2. When considering the carbon dioxide emitted during the lifetime of a device, it mainly occurs during production, before consumers purchase a product. It creates low-carbon processes and inputs at the production stage (such as the use of recycled raw materials) and is a key determinant of overall environmental impact over the lifetime of the product.
The good news is that there are efficient and successful ways to solve the growing environmental problems that e-waste poses. And one of the most proven solutions is through recycling.
But before doing anything we have to make people aware about the situation. Without the awareness of electronic waste and how it impacts the whole world no one will be able to know what problems can happen.