Go Green for better Environment

October 12, 2020

Go Green for better Environment

Classification :

E-waste can be classified on the basis of its composition and components. Ferrous and nonferrous metals, glass, plastics, pollutants, and other are the six categories of materials reported for e-waste composition. Iron and steel constitute the major fraction in waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) materials, with plastics being the second largest. Nonferrous materials, including metals such as copper and aluminum, and precious metals such as silver, gold, and platinum are third in abundance and have significant commercial value. Toxic materials include lead and cadmium in circuit boards, lead oxide and cadmium in cathode ray tubes, mercury in switches and flat-screen monitors, brominated flame retardants on printed circuit boards, and plastic and insulated cables; when these exceed the threshold quantities, they are regarded as pollutants and can damage the environment if disposed of improperly.

One of the most widely accepted classifications is based on European Union directives that divide e-waste into the 10 following categories:

• Large household appliances: refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, clothes dryers, dishwashers, electric cooking stoves and hot plates, microwaves, electric fans, and air conditioners.

• Small household appliances: vacuum cleaners, toasters, grinders, coffee machines, appliances for haircutting and drying, toothbrushing, and shaving.

• Information technology (IT) and telecommunications equipment: mainframes, minicomputers, personal computers, laptops, notebooks, printers, telephones, and cell phones.

• Consumer equipment: radios, televisions, video cameras, video recorders, stereo recorders, audio amplifiers, and musical instruments.

• Lighting equipment: straight and compact fluorescent lamps and high-intensity discharge lamps.

• Electrical and electronic tools: drills, saws, sewing machines, soldering irons, equipment for turning, milling, grinding, drilling, making holes, folding, bending, or similar processing of wood and metal.

• Toys, leisure equipment, and sporting goods: electric trains or racing car sets, video games, and sports equipment with electric elements.

• Medical devices: radiotherapy equipment, cardiology, dialysis, pulmonary ventilators, nuclear medicines, and analyzers.

• Monitoring and control instruments: smoke detectors, heating regulators, and thermostats.

• Automatic dispensers: for hot drinks, hot or cold bottles, solid products, money, and all appliances that automatically deliver various products.

Globally, e-waste constitutes more than 5 percent of all municipal solid waste and is increasing with the rise of sales of electronic products in developing countries. The majority of the world’s e-waste is recycled in developing countries, where informal and hazardous setups for the extraction and sale of metals are common. But countries like Pakistan, srilanka, nepal, bhutan the small countries from south east asia or the whole 3rd world countries are not as much well equipped to disposed the garbage for reused in a Eco-Friendly way. Recycling companies in developed countries face strict environmental regulatory regimes and an increasing cost of waste disposal and thus may find exportation to small traders in developing countries more profitable than recycling in their own countries. There is also significant illegal transboundary movement of e-waste in the form of donations and charity from rich industrialized nations to developing countries. E-waste profiteers can harvest substantial profits owing to lax environmental laws, corrupt officials, and poorly paid workers, and there is an urgent need to develop policies and strategies to dispose of and recycle e-waste safely in order to achieve a sustainable future.