Assignment on E-Waste

Submitted by: Group 7

Submitted to:
Dr. Md Monirul Islam
Associate Professor,

University of Dhaka.

Date of Submission: 19 February 2015

Contents:
 1. Definition

 2.Source of e-waste

 3.Amount of electronic waste world-wide

 4.Environmental impact

 5.E-waste management

o 5.1 Recycling

o 5.2 Consumer awareness efforts

o 5.3 Processing techniques

o 5.4 Benefits of recycling

 6. Conclusion
1. Definition:
Hoarding (left), disassembling (center) and collecting (right) electronic waste in
Bangalore, India

"Electronic waste" may be defined as discarded computers, office electronic

equipment, entertainment device electronics, mobile phones, television sets, and
refrigerators. This includes used electronics which are destined for reuse, resale,
salvage, recycling, or disposal. Others are re-usable (working and repairable
electronics) and secondary scrap (copper, steel, plastic, etc.) to be "commodities",
and reserve the term "waste" for residue or material which is dumped by the buyer
rather than recycled, including residue from reuse and recycling operations.
Because loads of surplus electronics are frequently commingled (good, recyclable,
and non-recyclable), several public policy advocates apply the term "e-waste"
broadly to all surplus electronics. Cathode ray tubes (CRTs) are considered one of
the hardest types to recycle.

CRTs have relatively high concentration of lead and phosphors (not to be confused
with phosphorus), both of which are necessary for the display. The United States
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) includes discarded CRT monitors in its
category of "hazardous household waste but considers CRTs that have been set
aside for testing to be commodities if they are not discarded, speculatively
accumulated, or left unprotected from weather and other damage.

The EU and its member states operate a system via the European Waste Catalogue
(EWC)- a European Council Directive, which is interpreted into "member state
law". In the UK (a EU member state). This is in the form of the List of Wastes
Directive. However, the list (and EWC) gives broad definition (EWC Code 16 02
13*) of Hazardous Electronic wastes, requiring "waste operators" to employ the
Hazardous Waste Regulations (Annex 1A, Annex 1B) for refined definition.
Constituent materials in the waste also require assessment via the combination of
Annex II and Annex III, again allowing operators to further determine whether a
waste is hazardous.

Debate continues over the distinction between "commodity" and "waste"

electronics definitions. Some exporters are accused of deliberately leaving
difficult-to-recycle, obsolete, or non-repairable equipment mixed in loads of
working equipment (though this may also come through ignorance, or to avoid
more costly treatment processes). Protectionists may broaden the definition of
"waste" electronics in order to protect domestic markets from working secondary
equipment.

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 unaccredited claims that 80% of the imports into
Ghana were being burned in primitive conditions.

2. Source of e-waste:
Medical/Clinical sources of waste:
Medical/clinical waste, normally refers to waste produced from health care
facilities, such as hospitals, clinics, surgical theaters, veterinary hospitals and labs.
They tend to be classified as hazard waste rather than general waste.

Items in this group include surgical items, pharmaceuticals, blood, body parts,
wound dressing materials, needles and syringes

Agricultural sources of waste:

Typically, this is waste generated by agricultural activities. These include
horticulture, fruit growing, seed growing, livestock breeding, market gardens and
seedling nurseries.

Waste items in this group include empty pesticide containers, old silage wrap, out
of date medicines and wormers, used tires, surplus milk, cocoa pods and corn
husks.

End-of-life Automobiles:

When cars are all old and not working again, where do they end up? Many people
just leave them to rust in the fields, but there is a better way to deal with them. In
many cities, these vehicles are sent to the plant, where all the removable parts are
taken out for recycling. The rest is flattened up and shredded into pieces for
recycling. The last bits that cannot be used again is sent to a landfill.

Industrial sources of waste:

Since the industrial revolution, the rise in the number of industries manufacturing
glass, leather, textile, food, electronics, plastic and metal products has significantly
contributed to waste production. Take a look at the things in your home, every item
there was probably manufactured and possibly, waste was produced as a result.

Construction/demolition sources of waste:

Construction waste is that resulting from the construction of roads and building.
Sometimes old buildings and structures are pulled down (demolished) to make
space for new ones. This is particularly common in old cities that are modernizing.
This is called demolition waste.

Waste items include concrete debris, wood, earth, huge package boxes and plastics
from the building materials and the like.
Electronic sources of waste:
This is waste from electronic and electrical devices. Think of DVD and music
players, TV, Telephones, computers, vacuum cleaners and all the other electrical
stuff in your home. These are also called e-waste, e-scrap, or waste electrical and
electronic equipment (WEEE)
Some e-waste (like TV) contains lead, mercury, cadmium, and brominated flame
retardants. These are harmful to humans and the environment. It is therefore
important that the right authorities ensure the proper disposal of such waste.

3. Amount of electronic waste world-wide:

Rapid changes in technology, changes in media (tapes, software, MP3), falling
prices, and planned obsolescence have resulted in a fast-growing surplus of
electronic waste around the globe. Technical solutions are available, but in most
cases a legal framework, a collection, logistics, and other services need to be
implemented before a technical solution can be applied.

Display units (CRT, LCD, LED monitors), processors (CPU, GPU, or APU chips),
memory (DRAM or SRAM), and audio components have different useful lives.
Processors are most frequently out-dated (by software no longer being optimized)
and are more likely to become "e-waste", while display units are most often
replaced while working without repair attempts, due to changes in wealthy nation
appetites for new display technology.

An estimated 50 million tons of E-waste are produced each year. The USA
discards 30 million computers each year and 100 million phones are disposed of in
Europe each year. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that only 15-
 20% of e-
waste is recycled, the rest of these electronics go directly into landfills and
incinerators.

According to a report by UNEP titled, "Recycling - from E-Waste to Resources,"

the amount of e-waste being produced - including mobile phones and computers -
could rise by as much as 500 percent over the next decade in some countries, such
as India. The United States is the world leader in producing electronic waste,
tossing away about 3 million tons each year. China already produces about 2.3
million tons (2010 estimate) domestically, second only to the United States. And,
despite having banned e-waste imports, China remains a major e-waste dumping
ground for developed countries.

Electrical waste contains hazardous but also valuable and scarce materials. Up to
60 elements can be found in complex electronics.

In the United States, an estimated 70% of heavy metals in landfills comes from
discarded electronics.

While there is agreement that the number of discarded electronic devices is

increasing, there is considerable disagreement about the relative risk (compared to
automobile scrap, for example), and strong disagreement whether curtailing trade
in used electronics will improve conditions, or make them worse. According to an
article in Motherboard, attempts to restrict the trade have driven reputable
companies out of the supply chain, with unintended consequences.

4.Environmental impact:

The processes of dismantling and disposing of electronic waste in the third world
lead to a number of environmental impacts as illustrated in the graphic. Liquid and
atmospheric releases end up in bodies of water, groundwater, soil, and air and
therefore in land and sea animals – both domesticated and wild, in crops eaten by
both animals and human, and in drinking water.

One study of environmental effects in Guiyu, China found the following:

 Airborne dioxins – one type found at 100 times levels previously measured
 Levels of carcinogens in duck ponds and rice paddies exceeded international
standards for agricultural areas and cadmium, copper, nickel, and lead levels
in rice paddies were above international standards
 Heavy metals found in road dust – lead over 300 times that of a control
village’s road dust and copper over 100 times
 The environmental impact of the processing of different electronic waste
components
 E-Waste Component Process Used Potential Environmental Hazard
Cathode ray tubes (used
Lead, barium and other heavy metals
in TVs, computer Breaking and removal of
leaching into the ground water and release
monitors, ATM, video yoke, then dumping
of toxic phosphor
cameras, and more)
Printed circuit board De-soldering and removal
(image behind table - a of computer chips; open Air emissions as well as discharge into
thin plate on which chips burning and acid baths to rivers of glass dust, tin, lead, brominates
and other electronic remove final metals after dioxin, beryllium cadmium, and mercury
components are placed) chips are removed.
Hydrocarbons, heavy metals, brominates
substances discharged directly into rivers
Chemical stripping using
Chips and other gold acidifying fish and flora. Tin and lead
nitric and hydrochloric
plated components contamination of surface and groundwater.
acid and burning of chips
Air emissions of brominates dioxins, heavy
metals and hydrocarbons
Plastics from printers, Shredding and low temp Emissions of brominates dioxins, heavy
keyboards, monitors, etc. melting to be reused metals and hydrocarbons
Open burning and
Hydrocarbon ashes released into air, water
Computer wires stripping to remove
and soil.
copper
WASHINGTON – A rising mountain of hazardous electronic waste is putting
workers in developing countries and the environment at risk. Some of the disused
computers, cell phones, televisions and other products are locally generated, but
the developed world – especially the U.S. – is responsible for sending many of the
items.

The developed world has in the past exported an estimated 23 percent of its
electronic waste to seven developing countries, according to a study published in
June by the journal Environmental Science and Technology. The growing demand
for electronics, and the increasingly short life spans of these devices, means e-
waste isn’t going anywhere. But the problem is complex, and solutions will not
come quickly – or easily.

The average American household owns more than 20 electronic products,

according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Several states have
banned disposing of such products in the same way as conventional trash, and the
EPA strongly encourages recycling. But when a person recycles a television, for
instance, there's a chance it could end up exported to a country like China, India or
Nigeria, where workers at informal recycling operations often use crude, hazardous
techniques to extract valuable metals from the equipment and then burn what’s left.

[READ: U.N. Seeks to Solve Growing Global E-Waste Problem]

Recycling electronics, it’s been argued, could help developing nations transcend
the “digital divide,” as well as grow information and communications technologies
in places that need to catch up. Even if devices don’t work, some say recycling
could provide spare parts and valuable metals like copper. But the processes to get
those valuable materials often entail exposure to heavy metals like lead and
mercury.

The EPA, one of the lead agencies on the Interagency Task Force on Electronics
Stewardship established by the Obama administration, recognizes the potential
benefits of e-recycling and encourages the practice over allowing electronic junk to
pile up in landfills. But the agency also has “serious concerns about unsafe
handling of used electronics, especially discarded electronics or e-waste, both
domestically and overseas, that results in harm to human health and the
environment,” EPA spokeswoman Liz Purchia said in an email.

E-waste is exported largely for the same reason manufacturing jobs have been sent
overseas: lower labor costs and fewer regulatory burdens. Handling e-recycling
domestically could ensure safer procedures for the environment and workers but
would come at a price, as it often costs more to process these devices than the
materials are worth.

Environmental and Health Hazards

Jim Puckett, executive director of the nonprofit Basel Action Network, said
techniques and worker demographics vary across each country. In Ghana, Puckett
said he has seen mostly orphans – anywhere from 12 to 20 years old – working in a
slum, burning discarded electronics and releasing toxic fumes into the air. In
Nigeria, Puckett watched workers of all ages throw electronics into dumps and
burn them. They try to repair and recycle the equipment when possible, but many
pieces are irreparable.

In China, Puckett said he saw children exposed to hazardous substances.

“Children are digging in the ash from the burned plastics,” Puckett said. “They’re
breathing in the fumes. Sometimes it happens indoors when they cook the circuit
boards – children are breathing all this in.”

A recent study from Toxics Link – a nongovernmental organization that focuses on

struggles with toxic materials, both at the global and local level – reported soil and
water contamination in two regions in Delhi, India, that engage in e-recycling.

[MORE: ‘E-Waste Pollution’ a Threat to Health]

The soil in both Loni and Mandoli contains high levels of heavy metals and other
contaminants. Soil samples from both regions contained lead, with the highest
level in Loni coming in at almost 147 times the control sample. Drinking water has
also been contaminated, the study found, with observable amounts of toxic metals.
One sample in each region even contained mercury – 710 times the Indian standard
limit in Mandoli, and about 20 times the limit in Loni.

India is second only to China in e-recycling volume, followed by Nigeria, Ghana,

Ivory Coast, Benin and Liberia, according to the Environmental Science and
Technology study, which used 2005 as its reference year.

Exporting of e-waste to developing countries is prohibited in the European Union,

but the practice remains legal in the U.S. E-waste still makes it out of the EU
illegally, but those doing it can be prosecuted, unlike in America, Puckett said. To
legally ship from the EU, Puckett said equipment must first be tested and proven
functional.

Handling the Problem at the Source

Purchia said the U.S. is collaborating with Mexico and Canada to promote building
capacity for environmentally sound management of e-waste in North America. The
EPA-led electronics task force has also worked to provide more information on e-
waste and assist developing countries that handle U.S. exports.

The EPA supports the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary

Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, which would bring to the
U.S. the same rules that prohibit exporting e-waste from the EU. But the U.S. has
yet to adopt the international treaty, which was negotiated in the late 1980s.

[ALSO: 10 Ways to Save by Going Green]

Although the U.S. has not ratified the Basel Convention, Purchia said the country
participates in the convention’s working group on environmentally safe
management, which is seeking to develop guidance for countries on safe ways to
handle waste.

But how the U.S. handles e-waste comes down to what consumers are willing to
pay for or what legislators decide, said Jeremy O’Brien, director of applied
research for the Solid Waste Association of North America.

Handling e-waste domestically would mean higher labor costs and tighter
regulations on how devices are handled, and extracting valuable materials would
cost more than they are actually worth. The price difference would necessitate fees
to cover costs, O’Brien said.

E-waste company workers arrange computer monitors that have arrived for
recycling at a factory in Manesar, India, in 2009.

“I think the benefits are that we would have absolute certainty over the
environmental impacts and the labor standards that are being enforced, and what’s
being done with the material,” O’Brien said. “All those come at a cost, so the
question is whether communities that are asking for that service are willing to pay
those costs for those benefits.”

Legislation with bipartisan support currently in the House and Senate could put in
place the same basic policies the EU follows, making the export of hazardous and
electronic waste illegal. A bill in the House was referred to the Subcommittee on
Environment last September, and its companion Senate bill was referred to the
Committee on Environment and Public Works in March.

Purchia said many retailers also now allow consumers to drop off old electronics
for recycling. Another Toxics Link study found that take-back policies are not
always reliable in India, however. Of 50 brands studied, only seven received a
“good” rating based on how easily consumers could find information and drop off
old equipment. The remainder ranked from “fair” to “bad.”

Some companies’ recycling services for nations like the U.S. and United Kingdom
also differ from those offered in India, the study found.
Consumers can make sure their electronic waste is handled properly by bringing
old devices to a recycling facility certified under the e-Stewards program. E-
Stewards is voluntary, and certifies that facilities are in full compliance with the
Basel Convention.

Electronic products are a complex mixture of several hundred tiny components,

many of which contain deadly chemicals. These chemicals are a strain on human
health and the environment. Most of the components in electronic devices contain
lead, cadmium, mercury, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), brominated flame retardants
(BFRs), chromium, beryllium etc., TVs, video and computer monitors use CRTs,
which have significant amounts of lead and the long term exposure to these
substances can damage the nervous system, kidney and bones and the reproductive
and endocrine systems and some of them are carcinogenic. These e-wastes will
have long lasting effects on the environment, when improperly disposed
(incinerated/land filled instead of recycling) with domestic waste, without any
controls, can contaminate the soil, water and air. EEEs are made of a multitude of
components, some containing toxic substances that have an adverse impact on
human health and the environment if not handled properly. Often, these hazards
arise due to the improper recycling and disposal processes used. It can have serious
repercussions for those in proximity to places where e-waste is recycled or burnt.
In general the electronic goods/gadgets are classified under three major heads:

• White goods: Household appliances

• Brown goods: TVs, camcorders, cameras

• Grey goods: Computers, printers, fax machines, scanners etc.

5.E-waste management:
5.1 Recycling:
Computer monitors are typically packed into low stacks on wooden pallets for
recycling and then shrink-wrapped.
See also: Computer recycling

Today the electronic waste recycling business is in all areas of the developed world
a large and rapidly consolidating business. People tend to forget that properly
disposing of or reusing electronics can help prevent health problems, create jobs,
and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Part of this evolution has involved greater
diversion of electronic waste from energy-intensive down cycling processes (e.g.,
conventional recycling), where equipment is reverted to a raw material form. This
recycling is done by sorting, dismantling, and recovery of valuable materials. This
diversion is achieved through reuse and refurbishing. The environmental and social
benefits of reuse include diminished demand for new products and virgin raw
materials (with their own environmental issues); larger quantities of pure water and
electricity for associated manufacturing; less packaging per unit; availability of
technology to wider swaths of society due to greater affordability of products; and
diminished use of landfills.

Audiovisual components, televisions, VCRs, stereo equipment, mobile phones,

other handheld devices, and computer components contain valuable elements and
substances suitable for reclamation, including lead, copper, and gold.

One of the major challenges is recycling the printed circuit boards from the
electronic wastes. The circuit boards contain such precious metals as gold, silver,
platinum, etc. and such base metals as copper, iron, aluminum, etc. One way e-
waste is processed is by melting circuit boards, burning cable sheathing to recover
copper wire and open- pit acid leaching for separating metals of value.
Conventional method employed is mechanical shredding and separation but the
recycling efficiency is low. Alternative methods such as cryogenic decomposition
have been studied for printed circuit board recycling, and some other methods are
still under investigation.

5.2 Consumer awareness efforts

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency encourages electronic recyclers to

become certified by demonstrating to an accredited, independent third party auditor
that they meet specific standards to safely recycle and manage electronics. This
works to ensure the highest environmental standards are being maintained. Two
certifications for electronic recyclers currently exist and are endorsed by the EPA.
Customers are encouraged to choose certified electronics recyclers. Responsible
electronics recycling reduces environmental and human health impacts, increases
the use of reusable and refurbished equipment and reduces energy use while
conserving limited resources. The two EPA-endorsed certification programs are:
Responsible Recyclers Practices (R2) and E-Stewards. Certified companies ensure
they are meeting strict environmental standards which maximize reuse and
recycling, minimize exposure to human health or the environment, ensure safe
management of materials and require destruction of all data used on electronics.
Certified electronics recyclers have demonstrated through audits and other means
that they continually meet specific high environmental standards and safely
manage used electronics. Once certified, the recycler is held to the particular
standard by continual oversight by the independent accredited certifying body. A
certification board accredits and oversees certifying bodies to ensure that they meet
specific responsibilities and are competent to audit and provide certification.

Some U.S. retailers offer opportunities for consumer recycling of discarded

electronic devices.

In the US, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) urges consumers to

dispose properly of end-of-life electronics through its recycling locator at
www.GreenerGadgets.org. This list only includes manufacturer and retailer
programs that use the strictest standards and third-party certified recycling
locations, to provide consumers assurance that their products will be recycled
safely and responsibly. CEA research has found that 58 percent of consumers
know where to take their end-of-life electronics, and the electronics industry would
very much like to see that level of awareness increase. Consumer electronics
manufacturers and retailers sponsor or operate more than 5,000 recycling locations
nationwide and have vowed to recycle one billion pounds annually by 2016, a
sharp increase from 300 million pounds industry recycled in 2010.

The Sustainable Materials Management Electronic Challenge was created by the

United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Participants of the
Challenge are manufacturers of electronics and electronic retailers. These
companies collect end-of-life (EOL) electronics at various locations and send them
to a certified, third-party recycler. Program participants are then able publicly
promote and report 100% responsible recycling for their companies. The
Electronics Take Back Coalition is a campaign aimed at protecting human health
and limiting environmental effects where electronics are being produced, used, and
discarded. The ETBC aims to place responsibility for disposal of technology
products on electronic manufacturers and brand owners, primarily through
community promotions and legal enforcement initiatives. It provides
recommendations for consumer recycling and a list of recyclers judged
environmentally responsible.

The Certified Electronics Recycler program for electronic recyclers is a

comprehensive, integrated management system standard that incorporates key
operational and continual improvement elements for quality, environmental and
health and safety (QEH&S) performance.

The grassroots Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition focuses on promoting human health
and addresses environmental justice problems resulting from toxins in
technologies.

The World Reuse, Repair, and Recycling Association (wr3a.org) is an organization

dedicated to improving the quality of exported electronics, encouraging better
recycling standards in importing countries, and improving practices through "Fair
Trade" principles.

Take Back My TV is a project of The Electronics Take Back Coalition and grades
television manufacturers to find out which are responsible and which are not.

The e-Waste Association of South Africa (eWASA) has been instrumental in

building a network of e-waste recyclers and refurbishes in the country. It continues
to drive the sustainable, environmentally sound management of all e-waste in
South Africa.

E-Cycling Central is a website from the Electronic Industry Alliance which allows
you to search for electronic recycling programs in your state. It lists different
recyclers by state to find reuse, recycle, or find donation programs across the
country.

Ewaste.guide.info is a Switzerland-based website dedicated to improving the e-

waste situation in developing and transitioning countries. The site contains news,
events, case studies, and more.

StEP: Solving the E-Waste Problem This website of StEP, an initiative founded by
various UN organizations to develop strategies to solve the e-waste problem,
follows its activities and programs.
5.3 Processing techniques

Recycling the lead from batteries.

In many developed countries, electronic waste processing usually first involves

dismantling the equipment into various parts (metal frames, power supplies, circuit
boards, plastics), often by hand, but increasingly by automated shredding
equipment. A typical example is the NADIN electronic waste processing plant in
Novi Iskar, Bulgaria—the largest facility of its kind in Eastern Europe. The
advantages of this process are the human's ability to recognize and save working
and repairable parts, including chips, transistors, RAM, etc. The disadvantage is
that the labor is cheapest in countries with the lowest health and safety standards.

In an alternative bulk system, a hopper conveys material for shredding into an

unsophisticated mechanical separator, with screening and granulating machines to
separate constituent metal and plastic fractions, which are sold to smelters or
plastics recyclers. Such recycling machinery is enclosed and employs a dust
collection system. Some of the emissions are caught by scrubbers and screens.
Magnets, eddy currents, and trammel screens are employed to separate glass,
plastic, and ferrous and nonferrous metals, which can then be further separated at a
smelter.

Leaded glass from CRTs is reused in car batteries, ammunition, and lead wheel
weights, or sold to foundries as a fluxing agent in processing raw lead ore. Copper,
gold, palladium, silver and tin are valuable metals sold to smelters for recycling.
Hazardous smoke and gases are captured, contained and treated to mitigate
environmental threat. These methods allow for safe reclamation of all valuable
computer construction materials. Hewlett-Packard product recycling solutions
manager Renee St. Denis describes its process as: "We move them through giant
shredders about 30 feet tall and it shreds everything into pieces about the size of a
quarter. Once your disk drive is shredded into pieces about this big, it's hard to get
the data off".

An ideal electronic waste recycling plant combines dismantling for component

recovery with increased cost-effective processing of bulk electronic waste.

Reuse is an alternative option to recycling because it extends the lifespan of a

device. Devices still need eventual recycling, but by allowing others to purchase
used electronics, recycling can be postponed and value gained from device use.
5.4 Benefits of recycling

Recycling raw materials from end-of-life electronics is the most effective solution
to the growing e-waste problem. Most electronic devices contain a variety of
materials, including metals that can be recovered for future uses. By dismantling
and providing reuse possibilities, intact natural resources are conserved and air and
water pollution caused by hazardous disposal is avoided. Additionally, recycling
reduces the amount of greenhouse gas emissions caused by the manufacturing of
new products.

Benefits of recycling are extended when responsible recycling methods are used.
In the U.S., responsible recycling aims to minimize the dangers to human health
and the environment that disposed and dismantled electronics can create.
Responsible recycling ensures best management practices of the electronics being
recycled, worker health and safety, and consideration for the environment locally
and abroad.

6. Conclusion:
E-waste is is a relatively new segment in the global problem of waste removal. It
is also the fastest growing segment worldwide in discarded waste. This growing
problem in the world is largely ignored or misunderstood. Many people do not
understand what it is or how it affects them, the world, or the environment. So the
question "What is e-waste" needs to be addressed before any solutions can be
effective. E-waste comes from the improper disposal of any number of electronic
devices. These devices include computers, televisions, cell phones, or most other
electronic equipment. Consumers in developed nations are quick to replace their
devices because of continuous technological advances. This upgrading leads to an
excess of unused electronic devices. What is done with old computers and phones
is what is contributing to the e-waste problem. Some people understand the
importance of properly disposing of these old units, but many more still throw
them in the garbage or incinerators.

Most developed nations in the world have laws and regulations requiring that e-
waste not be disposed of in landfills or be incinerated. Cities and states have set up
programs across the United States where consumers can drop off used electronic
devices to be properly disposed of. The best method of disposal is to recycle this
equipment. Many people do not understand that the parts in old devices can be
reused in new products. There is a popular mantra used by many recycling
advocates, "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle." This slogan has widely been promoted
with plastics and glass, but its message is also applicable to the disposal of e-waste.
Many electronic stores offer services to help customers bring in old electronics or
parts so as to dispose of them safely and properly.

Unfortunately, there is another alternative being used for the removal of e-waste in
the world. Much of the e-waste in developing nations is being exported to
developing countries. Many developed countries have enacted laws to prevent this
from happening, but e-waste is still often being exported. The bulk of the world's
e-waste is being shipped to Nigeria, Ghana, Pakistan, India, and China, among
others. While it seems odd that a country would willingly import another's waste,
the waste is imported, sometimes illegally. This practice provides jobs and
valuable scraps. E-waste is a source of valuable metals such as gold, nickel,
copper, iron, and silicon. The countries that are receiving this e-waste have lax
laws protecting their workers or the environment. Many of the workers are
children, or are working countless hours each day. There is also the reality that
much of the refuse from electronic devices is hazardous. The dumping of these
materials following the harvesting of scrap can lead to contamination of soil or
water, damaging an area's environment and potentially their food sources.

The purpose of this web quest was to alert students and make them aware of the
problem. Tons and tons of e-waste is dumped each year and the problems
continues to grow. The tasks we have assigned are intended to increase awareness
of this global situation and encourage students to research not only the problem,
but potential solutions. The numbers are mind blowing and awareness is a good
way to begin resolving or attending to the problem.