Introduction to Electronics (E-Waste) Recycling
Electronics waste, commonly known as e-scrap or e-waste, is the trash we generate from surplus, broken, and obsolete electronic devices. Electronics contains various toxic and hazardous chemicals and materials that are released into the environment if we do not dispose of them properly. E-waste or electronics recycling is the process of recovering material from old devices to use in new products.
Frequently Replaced Electronics
With such a very short useful life, electronics transition into e-waste at a rapid pace. In fact, it was estimated that close to 500 million unused cell phones are accumulating in people's homes. Globally, a cell phone is sold to around 25% of the population annually, and every year millions of electronic devices such as mobile phones, TVs, computers, laptops, and tablets reach the end of their useful life.
What Happens to Devices at the End of Their Useful Life
Unfortunately, the majority of these electronic products end up in landfills, and just 12.5% of e-waste is recycled. According to a UN study, over 41.8 million tons of e-waste was discarded worldwide, with only 10%–40% percent of disposals appropriately done. Electronics are full of valuable materials, including copper, tin, iron, aluminum, fossil fuels, titanium, gold, and silver. Many of the materials used in making these electronic devices can be recovered, reused, and recycled—including plastics, metals, and glass.
In a report, Apple revealed that it recovered 2,204 pounds of gold —worth $40 million—from recycled iPhones, Macs, and iPads in 2015.
Benefits of E-Waste Recycling
Recycling e-waste enables us to recover various valuable metals and other materials from electronics, saving natural resources (energy), reducing pollution, conserving landfill space, and creating jobs. According to the EPA, recycling one million laptops can save the energy equivalent of electricity that can run 3,657 U.S. households for a year. Recycling one million cell phones can also recover 75 pounds of gold, 772 pounds of silver, 35,274 pounds of copper, and 33 pounds of palladium.
On the other end, e-waste recycling helps cut down on production waste. According to the Electronics TakeBack Coalition, it takes 1.5 tons of water, 530 lbs of fossil fuel, and 40 pounds of chemicals to manufacture a single computer and monitor. 81% of the energy associated with a computer is used during production and not during operation.
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