Electronic Waste - What Is It?

Social IssuesEnvironment

  • Author Oliver Kwok
  • Published April 14, 2010
  • Word count 403

Humankind has changed and progressed a lot in the past few decades. With the progress, has come a change in the everyday life and times of a person. There are several concepts and aspects that have been brought into the world by our progress. A few years ago, we only had solid and liquid waste, and that could be processed and recycled or completely destroyed in a simple manner

However, with technology taking a front-seat in our lives, electronics became an integral part of our lives. Though electronics have many advantages over other machines that we use, one of the biggest drawbacks of electronics is that they have a small lifespan. One may either throw stop using electronics because they are obsolete, or because they got something else.

Electronic waste can be anything that is electronic and has been thrown away, like your television, your radio, your MP3 player, your electronic kitchen appliances, etc.

Electronic equipment contains lead, cadmium, brominated flame retardants and beryllium, which may cause some serious side effects for the human body and health. Also, electronic wastes may emit some kind of harmful radiation to the human body even after they are no longer in use.

Electronic waste is basically every device that we no longer use, like secondary computers, mobile phones, television sets, refrigerators, entertainment devices, etc. Also, devices that can be repaired but have been discarded because the owner does not want to use them any longer is considered as E-Waste.

Electronic waste raises serious moral and political questions all around of the world. Since there is little difference between e-waste and electronic donation, most people are of the thought that developed companies are committing a grave mistake by donating their e- waste, because sometimes the computers and other electronic devices that simply cannot be repaired or brought back to working order are sent to the developing countries, just because they have lax recycling rules and prohibitions.

Recycling E-Waste is a consistent and scheduled process. The process basically consists of manually dismantling the electronic product, and deciding which part is still in working condition and which one is not. This work is best done when a human does it, because they have the ability to better understand and recognize which parts are in working condition and which cannot be got to work. The parts are then recycled or sent ahead for further use, as the case may be.

Oliver Kwok is the author of Wireless Laptop Computers and also writes about Refurbished HP Laptop

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