What is the importance of e-waste recycling?

WHAT IS E-WASTE?

•          Over 41.8 million tons of e-waste was discarded worldwide in 2018.
•          Global e-waste is expected to grow by 8% per year.
•          Only 20% of global e-waste is formally recycled.
•          E-waste is a rich source of precious raw materials like gold, silver, copper and iron.
•          E-waste contains potentially harmful materials such as lead, cadmium, beryllium, or brominated flame retardants.
•          Reusing or recycling computers can generate 296 more jobs per year for every 10,000 tonnes of computer waste processed, when compared to disposal in landfills.
•          A large number of what is labelled as “e-waste” is actually not waste at all, but rather whole electronic equipment or parts that are readily marketable for reuse or can be recycled for materials recovery.

THE IMPORTANCE OF E-WASTE RECYCLING

Recycling E-waste enables us to recover the precious materials from electronics, reduce the pollution during manufacturing, conserving landfill space and creating jobs. The benefits and importance of recycling E-waste cannot be emphasized more.

 What is more important is to recycle e-waste correctly. Proper or formal e-waste recycling requires companies to adhere to health and safety rules and use pollution-control technologies.

 However, informal recycling workshops recover valuable materials by burning devices to melt away non-valuable materials, using mercury and acids to recover gold, and dismantling devices by hand. Moreover, e-waste toxins contaminate the air, soil and groundwater.

 In addition to its health hazards, informal recycling can pose security risks, because while formal recyclers require wiping devices clean of data, informal recycling does not.

TIPS FOR E-WASTE MANAGEMENT

•          Think Before You Buy

Since e-waste is an up-surging problem, many companies offer programs or solution to address the e-waste problem. You can choose to buy electronic products that are designed for efficient recyclability, reuse and recovery. But most importantly, you should avoid buying electronic products you don’t need.

•          Extend The Life Of Your Electronics

Proper e-waste management can be as simple as taking care of your electronics. Repairing or switching spare parts would allow you upgrade at a more frequent schedule and hence prolong the lifespan of your electronic equipment.

•          Donate Unused Electronics To Prevent E-Waste

In some countries like US, you get a tax deduction of up to 50% of the residual value for the coming year by donating the electronic assets. In some cases, the amount could be more than what you gain by selling the assets.

•          Sell

Electronics lose value rapidly as newer models come on the market. Instead of leaving them in corner and collecting dust, you can gain money by selling your electronic devices.

While many suggest to sell on eBay or Amazon, we would suggest you not to. Why? Because this may pose security risks. Find a trustworthy refurbish or second-hand equipment vendor and they would make sure your devices are clean of data.

•          Repair And Reuse

Another way to get rid of electronics disposal is through recycling companies. The recycling company would include detailed equipment research for NFF (No Fault Found) to be certain if the unit is actually damaged. If not, your old equipment will be repaired or upgraded there, and later be reused.

•          Recycle Broken Electronics

If your electronics are beyond repairing, that is the time to put them in the recycling process. Remember to find a qualified recycling vendor instead of dumping them in landfill. How to check if a recycling vendor is qualified? Depending on the region, responsible recycling vendors shall adhere to recognized industry standards, for example R2 certifications, ISO 14001:2015, OHSAS 18001/ISO 45001 standards and WEEELABEX.