CONTENTS

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Introduction Electronic Waste Issue Of E-Waste E-Waste Predictions Disposal Of E-Waste Importance Of Computer Recycling Recent Developments Facts Of E-Waste Conclusion Refrences

INTRODUCTION

Electronics has made life easier for us. But the omnipresence of electronics in modern life has a seamy underside. Certain materials used in electronic products are toxic and pose a threat to the environment. The situation is becoming serious with the increasing use of electronics.

Electronic waste, or e-waste, is the inevitable by-product of a technological revolution. Driven primarily by faster, smaller and cheaper microchip technology, society is experiencing an evolution in the capability of electronic appliances and personal electronics. For all its benefits, innovation brings with it the by product of rapid obsolescence.

According to the EPA, nationally, an estimated 5 to 7 million tons of computers, televisions, stereos, cell phones, electronic appliances and toys, and other electronic gadgets become obsolete every year. According to various reports, electronics comprise approximately 1-4 percent of the municipal solid waste stream. The electronic waste problem will continue to grow at an accelerated rate.

Alarm bells have started ringing. And to grapple with the situation, the industry is resorting to 'green electronics.' Green electronics focuses on elimination of harmful elements and components, and recycling of electronic products at the end of life. Among the harmful elements are lead, cadmium, mercury and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE).

ELECTRONIC WASTE

Electronic waste, or e-waste, is the inevitable by-product of a technological revolution. Driven primarily by faster, smaller and cheaper microchip technology, society is experiencing an evolution in the capability of electronic appliances and personal electronics. For all its benefits, innovation brings with it the byproduct of rapid obsolescence.

According to the EPA, nationally, an estimated 5 to 7 million tons of computers, televisions, stereos, cell phones, electronic appliances and toys, and other electronic gadgets become obsolete every year. According to various reports, electronics comprise approximately 1-4 percent of the municipal solid waste stream. The electronic waste problem will continue to grow at an accelerated rate. Electronic, or e-waste, refers to electronic products being discarded by consumers. These include: Televisions and computer monitors Computers and computer peripherals Audio and stereo equipment

 VCRs and DVD players Telephones, cellular phones and other wireless devices Computer monitors and older television picture tubes contain an average of four pounds of lead. In addition to lead, electronics can contain chromium, cadmium, mercury, beryllium, nickel, and zinc. When electronics are not disposed of or recycled properly, these toxic materials can present problems. Safely recycling outdated electronics can promote the safe management of hazardous components and allows for the recovery and reuse of valuable materials.

ISSUE OF E-WASTE
Most homes in Arkansas have at least one television and a computer, as well as several other consumer electronics devices. Most Arkansas businesses and industries rely on electronics in their work. From banking to the traffic signals on city streets, electronic equipment makes our world comfortable and productive. But what happens to all of these electronics when they break down or no longer serve the users' needs?

They become part of the fastest growing component of our daily solid waste stream - electronic waste, commonly referred to as e-waste. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, about year. By 2004, as many as 315 million obsolete computers 1.5 million computers currently enter the waste stream each could be disposed of in landfills; by 2005, most people will trade in their computers for newer models every two years. Plus, with High Definition Televisions entering the market, many consumers will purchase new televisions just to have the latest electronic gadget. European research shows that electronics waste is growing at three times the rate of other municipal waste.

Typically, electronics are discarded with household garbage. However hazardous elements lead, mercury and cadmium for example found in electronics can be dangerous when they are compacted at landfills. Televisions and CRT (cathode ray tube) monitors contain an average of four pounds of lead and could contain double that amount depending on size and make. Mercury from electronics has been cited as a leading source of mercury in municipal waste. The largest source of cadmium in municipal waste is rechargeable nickel-cadmium (NiCd) batteries, commonly found in laptops, cell phones and cameras. In addition, brominated flame-retardants are commonly added to plastics used in electronics. If improperly handled, these toxins can be released into the environment, posing a threat to human health.

Hazards in E-Waste Although it is hardly well known, E-waste contains a witches brew of toxic substances such as lead and cadmium in circuit boards; lead oxide and cadmium in monitor cathode ray tubes (CRTs); mercury in switches and flat screen monitors; cadmium in computer batteries; polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in older capacitors and transformers; and brominated flame retardants on printed circuit boards, plastic casings, cables and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) cable insulation that release highly toxic dioxins and furans when burned to retrieve copper from the wires.

Due to the hazards involved, disposing and recycling E waste has serious legal and environmental implications. When computer waste is land filled or incinerated, it poses significant contamination problems. Landfills leach toxins into groundwater and incinerators emit toxic air pollutants including dioxins. Likewise, the recycling of computers has serious occupational and environmental implications, particularly when the recycling industry is often marginally profitable at best and often cannot afford to take the necessary precautions to protect the environment and worker health.

Leadthe negative effects of lead are well established and recognized. It was first banned from gasoline in the 1970s. Lead causes damage to the central and peripheral nervous systems, blood systems, kidney and reproductive system in humans.

CadmiumCadmium compounds are toxic with a possible risk of irreversible effects on human health, and accumulate in the human body, particularly the kidneys.

MercuryMercury can cause damage to various organs including the brain and kidneys, as well as the fetus. Mercury, used in flat panel displays, will likely increase as Their use replaces cathode ray tubes.28

Hexavalent Chromium/Chromium VI Chromium VI is still used as corrosion protection of untreated and galvanized steel plates and as a decorative or hardener for steel housings. It easily passes through cell membranes and is then absorbed producing various toxic effects in contaminated cells. Chromium VI can cause damage to DNA and is extremely toxic in the environment.29 Plastics including PVC Plastics make up 13.8 pounds of an average computer. The largest volume of plastics (26%) used in electronics has been poly-vinyl-chloride (PVC).

BariumBarium is a soft silvery-white metal that is used in computers in the front panel of a CRT, to protect users from radiation. Studies have shown that short-term exposure to barium has caused brain swelling, muscle weakness, damage to the heart, liver, and spleen.

BerylliumBeryllium is a steel-grey metal that is extremely lightweight, hard, a good conductor of electricity and heat, and is non-magnetic.

Tonersone of the ubiquitous computer peripheral scraps and post consumer Ewaste is the plastic printer cartridge containing black and color toners

Phosphor and additivesPhosphor is an inorganic chemical compound that is applied as a coat on the interior of the CRT faceplate.

E-WASTE PREDICTIONS

It is estimated that 130 million cell phones will be discarded this year alone. Counting batteries and chargers as well as the phones themselves, the estimated waste amounts to 65000 tones a year. A report from the Silicon Valley toxic coalition predicts that 500 million computers will become obsolete by 2007, resulting in 2.87 million tones of plastic and 717 thousand tones of lead. The world watch institute reported that more than 2.9 million tons of electronic waste was land filled in 1997. Toxics link, a Delhi based organization says that India generate $1.5 billion worth of e- waste annually. In other words, manufactures and assemblers produce around 1050 tones of electronic scrap in a single year 40 million computers were obsolete in 2001 Only about 10% were recycled Electronics are a rapidly growing part of the waste stream Toxic components can present hazards

 315 Million PCs will become obsolete in 2004. 130 Million Mobile phones will be disposed of in 2005. Similar waste flows for Pads, MP3 players, computer game equipment. 20 to 50 Million tons of e-waste per year world-wide.

Figure: Estimated E-Waste by Continent (1000 t/a)

DISPOSAL OF E-WASTE
Just beneath the glamorous surface of the benefits and the wealth created by the information technology revolution looms a darker reality. Vast resource consumption and Waste generations are increasing at alarming rates. The electronics industry is the worlds largest and fastest growing manufacturing industry, and as a consequence of this growth, combined with rapid product obsolescence, discarded electronics or Ewaste, is now the fastest growing waste stream in the industrialized world. The growing quantity of E-waste is beginning to reach disastrous proportions and industrialized countries all over the world are just now beginning to grapple with the problem. After initially turning a blind eye to the problem, governments of all sizes have been forced to respond as E-waste begins to seriously inundate solid waste disposal facilities and programs: e-waste can be disposed in three ways: 1.incineration, 2.land filling 3.recycling

INCINERATION Incineration entails destroying the e-waste including computers and other electronic devices and components by burning. But this waste contributes significantly to heavy metals and halogen Ted substances. Because of the variety of different substances found together in electro scrap, incineration is particularly dangerous. The introduction of waste from electrical and electronic equipment into incinerators results in high concentrations of metals, including heavy metals, in the slag, fly ash, flue gas and filter cake. More than 90 per cent of cadmium and lead put to an incinerator is found in the fly ash and more than 70 per cent of the mercury in the filter cake. Some producers send their electro scrap to cement kilns for use as an alternative to fuel. Smelting can present dangers similar to incineration.
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LANDFILLING Land filling involves disposing the e-waste by burying it, especially as a method of filling in and reclaiming excavated pits. But it has Landfills leak. Even the best 'stateof-the-art' landfills don't remain completely tight throughout their lifetimes and a certain amount of chemical and metal leaching will occur. The situation is worse for older or uncontrolled dump sites.

Mercury leaches when certain electronic devices, such as circuit breakers, are destroyed. The same is true for PCBs from condensers. When brominated flameretarded plastic or cadmium-containing plastics are land filled, both PBDE and cadmium may leach into the soil and ground water. It has been found that significant amounts of lead ions are dissolved from broken lead containing glass, such as the cone glass of cathode ray tubes, when mixed with acid waters.

RECYCLING Recycling of hazardous products has little environmental benefit it simply moves the hazards into secondary products that eventually have to be disposed of. Unless the goal is to redesign the product to use non-hazardous materials, such recycling is a false solution Environmental problems during recycling are not linked to halogenated substances only. Hazardous emissions to the air also result from the recycling of ewaste containing heavy metals, such as lead and cadmium. These-emissions could be significantly reduced by pretreatment operations. Another problem with heavy metals and halogenated substances in untreated waste occurs during the shredding process.

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Since most waste is shredded without proper disassembly, hazardous substances, such as PCBs contained in capacitors, may be dispersed into the recovered metals and the shredder waste.

Re-useRe-use constitutes direct second-hand use, or use after slight modifications are made to the original functioning equipmentmemory upgrades, etc. Re-use makes up a small percentage (about 3% in 1998) of the computers that have been discarded by their users.

These computers are later sold in very small numbers at some recycling stores or are given to schools, or non-profit organizations. School districts that used to accept older computers though, now demand more recent generation computers for training students.

Foreign markets, on the other hand, have such cheap labor forces that they can buy working and non-working old computers, repair them at very little cost, and resell

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them for a profit. While there are no figures available, the amount of computers being exported for reuse is increasingly significant. While extending the usable life of a computer is a good thing, these older units obviously have a limited life span and will end up as waste sooner or later. Thus, these used computers will also end up as E-waste on foreign shores, often in countries that are least able to deal with them.

The Recycled Materials Most of the activity in Guiyu involves physical dismantling by hammer, chisel, screw driver and bare hand. The most high-tech piece of dismantling equipment witnessed was an electric drill. The immediate objective of most of the operations involve dismantlingthe rapid separation of primary materials. The following materials were observed being separated for further recycling: Material containing copper: Including printer and other motors, wires and cables, CRT yokes. Steel: Including internal computer frames, power supply housings, printer parts, etc. Valuable reusable processors and chips: for resale Other chips and connectors containing gold: for acid processing Solder: (lead/tin base) for resale Plastic: Including housings of computers, printers, faxes, phones, monitors, keyboards, etc. Aluminum: Printer parts, etc. Printer Toner: From spent toner cartridges

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 Circuit Boards: These come from many applications including computers, phones, disc drives, printers, monitors, etc. These boards were subject to further separation in other facilities as follows:

IMPORTANCE OF COMPUTER RECYCLING

The electronic computer equipment is a complicated assembly of more than 1000 materials, many of which are highly toxic. These include chlorinated and brominated substances, toxic gases, toxic metals, photo-active and biologically active materials, acids, plastics and plastic additives.

When computer waste is land filled or incinerated, the toxic materials and emissions contaminate the water resources and air. So recycling of electronic components has also assumed importance.

The e-toxic components in computers include: Computer circuit boards containing heavy metals like lead and cadmium Computer batteries containing cadmium Cathode ray tubes with lead oxide and barium
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 Brominated flame-retardants used on PCBs, cables and plastic casing Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) coated copper cables and plastic computer casings that release highly toxic dioxins and furans when burnt to recover valuable metals Mercury switches Mercury in flat screens Polychlorinated biphenyls present in older capacitors and transformers It is estimated that one billion pounds of lead are contained in obsolete computers in the US alone. Two computers become obsolete for every three purchased. For the year 2005, this ratio is estimated at 1:1. That means we have to recycle computers as fast. It is estimated that one billion pounds of lead are contained in obsolete computers in the US alone. Two computers become obsolete for every three purchased. For the year 2005, this ratio is estimated at 1:1. That means we have to recycle computers as fast.

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ROLE OF SOCIETY AND COMPANIES

Role of society The society plays a pivotal role in addressing the problem of e-waste. We just have to keep these things in mind: 1. Identify durable products: When shopping for electronic and electrical equipment, review the products for re pair history and consumer reliability ratings. 2. Repair instead of replace: Repairing an electronic or electrical item may be cheaper than replacing it. 3. Buy upgradeable gear: Some products can be upgraded by replacing a single component instead of the complete unit. This saves money and reduces waste.

Role of companies Companies need to stick to: 1. Material innovation: Reduce the amount of material used and develop materials that have less environmental impact and more value at the end of life. 2. Recyclable designs: Design equipments that is easier to upgrade or recycle.

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RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Currently, three proposals are under consideration that will significantly affect the design, manufacture and disposal of all forms of electrical and electronic equipment: 1.Directive on waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). The WEEE directive aims at preventing generation of waste equipment and seeks collection of end-of-life equipment for reuse, recycling and other forms of recovery. It also seeks to improve the environmental performance of all economic operators involved in the life cycle of electrical and electronic equipment, particularly those who are directly involved in the treatment of waste equipment. The proposal covers all the electronic equipment used by consumers and currently not treated before going to incinerators or landfills. 2.Directive on restriction of use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (ROHs). Originally part of the WEEE directive, the phaseout of hazardous substances has now been made into a separate directive. 3.It seeks to harmonize national measures on restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment and introduces a substitution requirement for those sub stances in electrical and electronic equipment which pose major environ mental problems during the disposal and recycling of such waste. 4.Working paper for an electrical and electronic equipment directive (EEE). This working paper from the European Commission's Enterprise Directorate General contains the initial draft for a directive that harmonizes the requirements concerning the design of electrical and electronic equipment. 5.It aims at ensuring that the overall impact of electrical and electronic equipment on the environment during their life cycle is minimised and specifies provisions for the design and manufacture of electrical and electronic equipment to do this.

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EXTENDED PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITY

But it's more than recycling. It's also about sustainability. Extended Product Responsibility (EPR) challenges each of us to reduce the life cycle environmental effects of products. It is a challenge that consumers, governments and the private sector must accept. Some manufacturers and retailers already have accepted that challenge. Sony Electronics recently announced that it is setting up a take back and recycling program for Sony products in Minnesota. IBM offers a computer recycling service for consumers and small businesses. Gateway Country stores give discounts for new personal computers to individuals who donate working 386-class or better computers of any brand to Goodwill. Dell Computer Corporation is manufacturing a line of computers that are completely recyclable. Hewlett Packard has added design improvements that help with disassembly. One campaign, "Take It Back" has been developed by several organizations to support EPR. Their objective is to encourage manufacturers assume financial responsibility for their products when they become obsolete. If this were the case, organizers believe that manufacturers would have an incentive to reduce cost by designing products that are reusable, repairable, upgradeable, and recyclable and so on. Recently, Massachusetts has formed the Product Stewardship Institute. The Institute, which is housed at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, will assist Massachusetts and other states in promoting environmentally sound product management and design through coordinated, multi-stakeholder stewardship agreements negotiated with industry. Currently, there are no electronic products recycling programs in South Carolina. The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control and the Recycling Market Development Advisory Council are currently working with the Product Stewardship Institute on this issue.
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FACTS OF E-WASTE
1. 80 to 85 percent of electronic products were discarded in landfills or incinerators, which can release certain toxics into the air. 2. E-waste represents 2 percent of America's trash in landfills, but it equals 70 percent of overall toxic waste. The extreme amount of lead in electronics alone causes damage in the central and peripheral nervous systems, the blood and the kidneys. 3. 20 to 50 million metric tons of e-waste are disposed worldwide every year. 4. Cell phones and other electronic items contain high amounts of precious metals like gold or silver. Americans dump phones containing over $60 million in gold/silver every year. 5. Only 12.5 percent of e-waste is currently recycled. 6. For every 1 million cell phones that are recycled, 35,274 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold, and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered. 7. Recycling 1 million laptops saves the energy equivalent to the electricity used by 3,657 U.S. homes in a year. 8. E-waste is still the fastest growing municipal waste stream in America, according to the EPA. 9. A large number of what is labeled 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. 10. It takes 539 pounds of fossil fuel, 48 pounds of chemicals, and 1.5 tons of water to manufacture one computer and monitor.

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11. Electronic items that are considered to be hazardous include, but are not limited to: Televisions and computer monitors that contain cathode ray tubes LCD desktop monitors Laptop computers with LCD displays LCD televisions Plasma televisions Portable DVD players with LCD screens.

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USEFUL CONTACTS
EIA Consumer Education Initiative (CEI) The Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA), a trade association for the electronic industry, has developed the Consumer Education Initiative web site to help households and small businesses find environmentally responsible options for donating and recycling electronics in their community. This web site also provides information on what member companies are doing to incorporate environmental attributes into electronic products.

International Association of Electronics Recyclers (IAER) IAER has an online directory of electronic recyclers. This database is ideal for large organizations that are looking for a company to handle used electronics. The IAER web site also has information on electronics recycling news and industry events.

National Recycling Coalition (NRC) NRC is a non-profit group dedicated to advancing recycling and source reduction. NRC's Electronics Recycling Initiative web site contains information on procurement and other electronics recycling issues.

EPA's Product Stewardship Program EPA's Product Stewardship program encourages environmentally sustainable management of a variety of products, including electronics. Visit the program's web site for information about electronics stewardship projects that are occurring across the country.

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Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) Arkansas's environmental agency offers technical and educational assistance. Contact the Solid Waste Management Division, Recycling Branch for assistance with recycling information and educational opportunities. This web site also contains contact information for the state's 16 Regional Solid Waste Management Districts.

The Wireless Foundation This organization collects and distributes cellular phones for neighborhood crime prevention, domestic safety and education programs. Click on "Donate a phone" in the left column and follow text instructions to find drop-off locations.

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CONCLUSION
Companies go after newer products without actually looking after the impacts they have on the environment. So, green electronics deals with creating awareness about the electronic wastes that are being introduced very rapidly. It focuses on disposal, recycling, designing products that are less hazardous, etc. The knowledge of green electronics is essential for a good electronics engineer for good future.

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REFRENCES
1. www.gsmworld.com 2. http://ericsson.com 3. http://iec.org

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