E-waste is defined as all obsolete or outdated computers, televisions, cell phones, printers, PDAs, and thousands of other devices commonly used in offices, homes, and by people on the go. The global technological revolution is fueling the rapidly increasing e-waste recycling problem. The demand to effectively and safely recycle the obsolete electronics is pushed by the same demands our society imposes to manufacture the new, smaller, faster more efficient software.
The environmentally safe disposal of e-waste has rampantly become a problematic issue over the past decade. Technological advances and legislation on all levels has vaulted e-waste recycling into an evolving multi-billion dollar a year industry.
The environmental concerns regarding e-waste stem from the many compounds that are known to have adverse impacts on the health of the environment all living beings. The following hazardous elements and compounds can be found in everyday e-waste:
- Lead in cathode ray tubes and solder
- Mercury in switches and housing
- Arsenic in older cathode ray tubes
- Antimony trioxide as flame retardant
- Polybrominated flame retardants in plastic casings, cables, and circuit boards
- Selenium in circuit boards as power to supply rectifier
- Cadmium in circuit boards and semiconductors
- Chromium in steel as corrosion protection
- Cobalt in steel for structural strength and magnetivity
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