Fundamentals of E-waste Management & Recycling
Electronic waste, or shortened as e-waste, is a term used for all kinds of electronics that lose their ability to operate. Old fridges, toasters, mobile phones, monitors, and many more could be counted as e-waste after they are discarded. According to Global E-waste Monitor 2020, there are 6 general categories that e-wastes are grouped into. For more information about this topic, download our eBook.
Importance of E-waste Management
Recycling electronic wastes important due to the harm they cause to the environment. Also, recycling enables the recovery of valuable materials in e-wastes. Electronics contain toxic materials such as zinc, lead, and mercury. When these hazardous substances are thrown away into the environment, they contaminate soil and groundwater, and affect our health. When electronic waste burns, toxic chemicals are released into the air, causing workers to expose to dangerous substances and damage the atmosphere. Besides the negative effects on the environment, improper disposal of e-waste causes loss of valuable items. Many electronics have valuable materials inside them. Therefore we recover important parts such as gold, silver, and platinum by recycling.
Phases of E-waste Recycling
Electronic recycling process differs for each electronic depending on the materials they are made of. The process starts with the collection and transportation. There are many collection schemes (you can find more information about this topic in our eBook). After collecting and transporting old and non-usable electronics to the recycling facilities, the shredding and separating process starts. Separating different materials such as plastic or metal makes the recycling process much easier. Before shredding, reusable components are determined, and the shredding process applied to those components. The separating process continues after shredding and separates iron from steel or glass from plastics. Different types of technology used for this process. And the last step of the recycling process is to prepare those materials for sale.
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