What is E-Waste? Examples, Types

Definition

E-waste means Electronic and Electrical waste. E-waste is the scrapped electrical and electronic devices that complete their working life and are subjected to rejection, disposal, or recycling. Simply exposing damaged and unused devices that contain electrical or electronic circuits, and components is very harmful to the environment and humans. So these are waste devices are categorized as E-Waste. Nowadays, we know that the use of electrical and electronic devices and appliances is increasing day by day. In fact, from morning to evening, for almost every work we use them. As the uses are increased the wastage also increases. That is why they are categorized as a type of waste for further recycling or safe disposal.

E-Waste Examples

Here, the common examples of E-Waste are,

1. Scraped TVs
2. Monitors
3. Printers
4. DVD Players
5. Refrigerators
6. Washing Machine
7. Dishwashers
8. Fluorescent Lamps
9. Mobile Phones
10. Laptops
11. Computers
12. Medical Equipment
13. Drilling Machines
14. Coffee maker

E-Waste Types

The common types or categories or classifications of E-Waste are,

1. Small Household Appliances(such as hair dryers, and bread toasters)
2. Large Household Appliances(such as Air Conditioner and air Coolers)
3. Lighting Equipment(such as Tubelight, Bulbs, LEDs, etc)
4. Consumer equipment(such as Televisions, Radio, and Home Theaters)
5. Telecommunication Equipment(Mobile Phones, telephones, computers, etc)
6. Electronic gadgets(Watches, headphones, USB lights, Toys)
7. Display Devices(Monitors, Displays)
8. Medical Equipment(Digital Thermometer, ECG machines, etc)
9. Electrical and Electronic Tools(Had Drilling machine, saws)

Electronic Waste Disposal

As we know electronic waste disposal is very dangerous for the environment and living humans, and animals. A lead-acid battery is also an example of E-Waste. So simple disposal of a battery can pollute the environment as it contains chemicals. Most of the electrical and electronic devices are built with plastics. And we know plastic is very dangerous for us. The recycling of E-Waste can decrease pollution and the procurement of raw materials for the production of new electronic devices.

Electronic wastage comes from both domestic(houses, offices) and industrial. Industrial waste is more harmful as it contains more minerals and chemicals. Basically, in urban societies, almost 75% of the waste comes from industrial sectors. That is why nowadays, urban mining is trending day by day.

E-waste contains so many expensive metals. For example, computers, televisions, media players, and cell phones contain gold. So recycling that waste is very useful as it saves money during the manufacturing of new devices. 

You may notice some printed circuit boards use tantalum capacitors. These are used in computer PCB boards, Cell Phones, and telecommunication equipment. Generally, they soldered at the surface of the PCB board. So, they are easy to dismantle and reuse. The recycling of e-waste containing tantalum capacitors can recover a very high-cost metal tantalum.

Same as the other types of metals such as platinum can be found in Hard Drives, Fuel cells, Thermocouple sensors, switching contacts, etc. Silver can be found in computer chips, printed circuit boards, Relays, batteries, etc. There is some E-Waste that does not bring more profit when it is recycled. For example, a television card does not contain much more valuable metal content.

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