Introduction
"Electronic waste" may be defined as discarded computers, office electronic equipment, entertainment device electronics, mobile phones, television sets, and refrigerators. This definition also includes used electronics which eventually are reused, resold, salvaged, recycled, or disposed of.
Rapid changes in technology, changes in media, falling prices, and planned obsolescence have resulted in a fast-growing excess of electronic waste around the globe.
An estimated 50 million tons of E-waste are produced each year. The USA alone discards 30 million computers and 100 million phones each year. The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that only 15-20% of e-waste is recycled, the rest of these electronics go directly into landfills and incinerators across the globe.
The high value of the computer recycling subset of electronic waste (working and reusable laptops, desktops, and components like RAM) can help pay the cost of transportation for a larger number of worthless pieces than can be achieved with display devices, which have less (or negative) scrap value. In A 2011 report, "Ghana E-Waste Country Assessment", found that of 215,000 tons of electronics imported to Ghana, 30% were brand new and 70% were used. Of the used product, the study concluded that 15% was not reused and was scrapped or discarded. This contrasts with published but uncredited claims that 80% of the imports into Ghana were being burned in primitive conditions.
E-Waste:
First World Trash, Third World's Problem
Chemistry of E-Waste
Everyday, millions of tonnes of refrigerators, televisions, mobile phones and computers are discarded around the world, containing metals like copper, tin, cadmium, mercury and lead, as well as plastics and wood.
E-wastes are not degradable by soil bacteria. Nor can they cannot be destroyed by burning. When they are dumped in landfills, they occupy too much space and leak out dangerous chemicals into the air or soil. If these enter sources of drinking water like rivers or wells, they can cause serious health problems in humans, animals and plants alike.
The environmental impact of the processing of different electronic waste components