Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Introduction
There.are.a.number.of.deinitions.of.electronic.wastes.(or.e-waste),.which.is.
also.known.as.waste.electrical.and.electronic.equipment.(WEEE).(EU.2002;.
Puckett.and.Smith.2002;.Electronic.Recyclers.International.2006;.Wong.et.al..
2007a).. For. the. purpose. of. this. chapter,. e-waste. will. be. deined. as. consist-
ing. of. old,. end-of-life. electronic. devices. such. as. televisions,. refrigerators,.
washing.machines,.vacuum.cleaners,.computers,.computer.peripherals,.and.
mobile.phones.that.original.users.no.longer.want.because.they.are.obsolete.
or.irreparable.
E-waste.is.one.of.the.world's.rapidly.growing.problems.(LaCoursiere.2005)..
In.most.countries.around.the.world,.including.Australia,.it.is.projected.that.
the.volume.of.e-waste.materials.is.growing.at.a.rate.of.3-5%.per.annum.and.
will.be.three.times.that.of.other.individual.waste.streams.in.the.solid.waste.
sector.(Schwarzer.et.al..2005)..The.advent.of.new.design.and.technology.at.
regular. intervals. in. the. electronic. sector. is. causing. the. early. obsolescence.
of. many. electronic. items. used. around. the. world. today.. For. example,. the.
introduction. of. digital. TVs. in. Australia. and. worldwide. has. posed. signii-
cant.challenge.to.the.management.of.millions.of.analogue.TVs.that.are.cur-
rently. being. disposed. in. prescribed. landills. despite. the. potential. adverse.
impact. that. such. an. act. can. have. on. the. environment.. Coupled. with. this,.
it.is.now.widely.recognized.that.the.lifespan.of.many.electronic.goods.has.
substantially. reduced. due. to. advanced. electronics,. attractive. design,. and.
compatibility.. For. example,. the. average. lifespan. of. a. new. model. computer.
has. decreased. from. 4.5. years. in. 1992. to. an. estimated. 2. years. in. 2005. and.
is.further.decreasing.(Widmer.et.al..2005)..A.UNEP.(Bushehri.2010).report.
estimates. that. more. than. 130. million. computers,. monitors,. and. televisions.
become. obsolete. each. year. and. that. amount. is. growing. each. year. in. the.
United. States.. The. UNEP. report. further. reveals. that. around. 500. million.
computers.will.become.obsolete.in.the.United.States.alone.between.1997.and.
2007.and.that.610.million.computers.are.to.be.discarded.in.Japan.by.the.end.
of. December. 2010.. It. is. estimated. that. in. China. 5. million. new. computers.
and.10.million.new.televisions.are.purchased.every.year.since.2003.(Hicks.
et.al..2005).and.around.1.11.million.tonnes.e-waste.is.generated.every.year.
coming. mainly. from. electrical. and. electronic. manufacturing. and. produc-
tion.processes,.end-of-life.of.household.appliances,.information.technology.
products,.and.import.from.other.countries.(Xuefeng.et.al..2006)..In.Canada.
a.quantity.of.140,000.tonnes.of.e-waste.is.expected.to.be.managed..The.same.
scenario.applies.to.other.developed.countries.as.well.
E-waste. problem. in. developing. countries. is. in. transition. and. is. not. so.
severe.given.the.amount.of.waste.generated.by.these.countries.and.given.
much.longer.half-life.of.electronic.goods,.which.is.needed.because.of.the.
inancial. constraints. or. lower. affordability. on. the. part. of. both. the. local.
community.and.the.nation.as.a.whole..However,.the.major.e-waste.problem.
 
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