ELECTRONIC WASTE MANAGEMENT "TODAY'S GADGETS ARE TOMORROWS E-WASTE"
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.Abstract
Electronic waste (e-waste) is the most rapidly growing segment of the municipal waste stream. E-waste is a general category of electronic products including broken or obsolete televisions, computer monitors, central processing units (CPU), cordless and cell phones, cash registers, videocassette recorders, cell phones, copiers and printers, stereos and speakers, microwaves, x-ray machines, and some scientific equipment. These products may contain toxic materials such as lead, barium, mercury, and cadmium that require proper management as well as valuable resources that should be recovered. 95 percent of electronic waste is recyclable. However, unregulated recycling can cause more harm to the environment than land-filling. While many companies, have safe and effective recycling programs, the majority of recycling companies export some percentage of their electronic waste to China or poor countries in Africa, where the waste is “recycled,” or destroyed and stripped of its valuable metals. Though this seems like a good thing on the surface, because components are being repurposed, unregulated recycling centres burn or dissolve the plastic components to release the precious metals: a process that releases environmental contaminants into the air, land, and water that would otherwise remain trapped and inert in landfills. There is urgent need to frame and implement rules for regulating this waste and to find environmentally sound, economically viable methods for recycling and disposing of this necessary evil.
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