ELECTRONIC WASTE: CHARACTERISTICS, TYPES AND CONSEQUENCES - ENVIRONMENT - 2024

The electronic waste, electronic waste or e - waste consists of all kinds of electrical and electronic equipment or components of these that are discarded for completing their useful life. This type of waste represents a growing problem in today's technological world.

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) estimates that annually 50 million electrical appliances become electronic waste in the world. Of this amount, 32% is produced by the US and China, which are the countries with the largest economies.

Electronic waste in Alabama (United States). Source: Curtis Palmer

Electronic scrap is characterized by including a wide variety of materials, including plastics and various metals. Among these we have household appliances (washing machines, blenders, irons, among others), lamps, lights, and sound equipment.

Likewise, electronic waste includes electrical tools and ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) equipment as well as their accessories and consumables.

There is a classification of WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) or in English WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronical Equippament). This includes seven categories among which we find temperature exchange devices, monitors and displays and large photovoltaic panels.

Electronic waste causes a high negative environmental impact, mainly linked to the heavy metals it releases into the environment. Likewise, the plastics that make up covers and other parts also represent a source of contamination.

Also, some devices such as air conditioners and refrigerators emit harmful gases to the environment such as greenhouse gases.

Heavy metals released by electronic waste such as lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury, cause serious health problems for humans. Dioxins released from plastics have the same effect, particularly when they are fired in landfills.

An alternative to reduce e-waste is reuse and recycling so that electronic devices can be re-powered or reusable parts can be removed. Moreover, these equipments can be recycled to obtain metals and plastics as raw materials.

There are metals whose extraction from their natural sources is expensive or causes great environmental impact, such as gold or iron. These can be recovered as well as elements that are rare such as the so-called "rare earths" that are used in the manufacture of mobiles.

Recycling methods depend on the type of electronic device and what is being recovered. It can range from disassembling and cutting parts by hand or with specialized robots, to undergoing cryogenesis with liquid nitrogen and pulverizing the equipment.

In the Hispanic world, important advances are made in the recycling of electronic waste, which is a growing problem both in Spain and in Latin America. In Spain almost one million tons of electronic waste is produced annually and only 22% is recycled.

For Latin America, Mexico ranks third in the production of electronic waste after the US and Brazil and Colombia fourth.

characteristics

Electronic waste. Source: George Hotelling from Canton, MI, United States

Definition

Electronic waste is all equipment that works with electrical energy or its components that is discarded due to the end of its useful life. Other names it receives are electronic waste or electronic scrap and the acronyms used in Spanish to identify them are RAEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment).

In the case of electronic components, it is common for equipment to be discarded while still being functional, simply to replace it with a new model. In this sense, the concept of useful life is defined by functionality and perceived obsolescence (perception of the user of an equipment as obsolete even though it is functional).

Origin

The application of electrical energy in engineering is based on the technological development generated by the second phase of the industrial revolution that began in 1870. Just as the basis of the first industrial revolution was steam, in the second it became energy electrical.

During the 20th century, the technological boom began with the invention and mass production of household electrical equipment. Later came the development of computing and the construction of personal computers, as well as mobile telephony.

These innovations drove the mass production and consumption of electronic devices as well as the promotion of a high replacement rate of the same.

The fundamental engine of the capitalist economic model is consumption and therefore equipment is designed to have a relatively short real or perceived useful life. In societies with high productivity and growing consumption, electronic equipment is being thrown away more and more frequently.

Devices that form it

What is known as electronic waste includes large household appliances such as refrigerators or refrigerators, washing machines, dryers and televisions. There are also computers, tablets, mobile phones and the entire range of small appliances.

The equipment and components of the lighting area are part of the electronic waste once discarded. For example LED lamps and luminaires of different types fall into this classification.

Another source of electronic waste is toys, since more and more work on electricity as well as vending machines of various kinds.

Currently the largest source of electronic waste are computers (including their peripherals) and cell phones.

Components

Electronic waste includes all kinds of electrical equipment and their component parts, which in many cases reach a high complexity. Therefore they contain from a large number of small interrelated parts to a great variety of raw materials used in their manufacture.

In general, in most of the equipment that makes up electronic waste, 50% is iron and steel and 20% plastic. The other components are made up of a wide variety of materials (plastics, glass, ceramics, other metals).

Heavy metals

Electronic equipment includes pieces with metals such as lead, copper, nickel, aluminum, cadmium, silver and chromium among others. Likewise, tantalum, tungsten, tin, gold and cobalt known as “conflict metals” (due to conflicts generated in the production areas to achieve their control).

A mobile phone incorporates numerous metals such as copper, gold, silver, iron, nickel, zinc, silver, rhodium, palladium, beryllium, and magnesium in its construction. Molybdenum, vanadium, cobalt, calcium carbonate, sodium carbonate, mica, talc, borates, kaolin, wollastonite, quartz, and feldspars are also present.

"Rare earths"

These are materials that are rare to find in nature in their pure form and that are part of mobile phones and televisions, such as lanthanum and samarium.

Plastics and their additives

Due to its versatility and resistance, plastic is a component present in all areas of design and construction. All electronic equipment has a significant proportion of different types of plastics.

Brominated flame retardants

They are substances that are applied to various equipment to reduce the chances of fire and are used in mobiles and computers.

Batteries and batteries

A key component in much of this equipment is batteries or cells, which once discarded become highly polluting elements.

Types

In Spain as of August 15, 2018, electrical and electronic equipment (and by extension its waste) are classified into 7 categories. According to the provisions of Royal Decree 110/2015 these new categories are:

1.- Temperature exchange devices

This includes the different types of air conditioners, condensers, dehumidifiers and refrigerators.

2.- Monitors and screens

It covers both LED and old cathode tube televisions, closed circuit monitors, computers and devices with screens larger than 100 cm².

3.- Lamps

These are discharge lamps (mercury), fluorescent lamps, sodium lamps and LED lamps.

4.- Large devices

Refers to electronic devices with external dimensions greater than 50 cm. e Includes medium to large appliances, including washers, dryers, electric ranges and ovens, stoves, microwave ovens, boilers and refrigerators

Also fans, sound players, musical instruments, toys, computer equipment and any other device that exceeds these dimensions and is not included in the other categories.

This category includes large electronic medical devices and power tools. In addition, this category includes the consumables that are used in these large equipment such as print cartridges.

5.- Small devices

In this case, we speak of electrical appliances that cover all the classes indicated in category 4, but with dimensions less than 50 cm. These include straighteners, blenders, juice extractors, electric coffee makers, razors and hair dryers.

It also includes electric clocks, recorders, DVD players, Blue-Ray, video game consoles, among others.

6.- Small IT and telecommunications equipment

This category includes any electrical equipment related to information and communication technologies whose dimensions do not exceed 50 cm. In this case we have computing (printers, scanners, laptops, tablets, mice, keyboards) and telecommunications (mobile phones, radio transmitters and others).

This category also includes GPS equipment, calculators and electric typewriters, among others.

7.- Large photovoltaic panels

Includes photovoltaic panels with silicon (not dangerous) and photovoltaic panels with cadmium tellurium (dangerous), with an external dimension greater than 50 cm.

Environmental impact and consequences

Agobogbloshie electronic trash can (Ghana). Source: Marlenenapoli

Electronic waste has a strong negative impact on the environment as the UN points out. In this sense, it is estimated that the world produced 48.5 million tons of this waste in 2018.

Environmental impact

The diversity of devices that make up electronic waste introduces a large number of polluting components into the environment. Among them, various heavy metals that pollute the soil, water and air, affecting wildlife.

These include lead, cadmium, selenium, arsenic, and mercury and other pollutants like plastics that can take hundreds of years to degrade.

On the other hand, the devices receive treatments with different substances that, after being discarded, end up in ecosystems with serious consequences. In this case, brominated flame retardants such as antimony trioxide can be highlighted, which is as toxic as arsenic.

Likewise, PBDE (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) stands out, which is capable of affecting the sexual development of various organisms.

Many of these substances are bioaccumulative (they become concentrated when they go from one link to another in the food chain). An example of this type of compound is PVC (polyvinyl chloride).

Landfill fires

It is very common that in garbage dumps, particularly in the third world, there are intentional or accidental fires. These events result in the electronic waste deposited being burned and pieces melt, and dangerous toxins are released into the environment.

Impact on health

The components of electronic waste represent a high risk for human health since, for example, plastics release dioxins that can be carcinogenic. On the other hand, inhalation of cadmium causes severe lung and kidney damage.

Lead is another common component in electrical equipment, as this metal accumulates in the body causing serious damage to the liver, kidneys, brain and bones. Mercury, used as a chelator in flat screen televisions, even in small amounts, affects the nervous system, immune system, lungs, kidneys and eyes.

For their part, the various brominated fire retardants can cause serious neurotoxic problems.

Economic impact

The mass of e-waste generated annually costs about 62.5 billion dollars. This estimate is only considering only the value of strategic minerals such as iron, copper and gold.

How are they recycled?

Ideal e-waste processing. Source: Fedaro

According to the studies carried out, only 20% of the electronic waste produced worldwide is recycled, However, some countries such as Nigeria have the business of importing electronic waste and recycling it and thus obtain an important source of foreign exchange.

However, extracting some metals from electronic waste is 13 times cheaper than doing it from their natural deposits. For example, a cathode tube from old televisions contains almost a pound of copper, 1/4 pound of aluminum, and about half a gram of gold.

Landfills and clean points

To achieve this, the first step is to recover discarded electronics. In many cases they must be extracted through a selection process in the landfills where they are dumped without any criteria.

For this reason, it is convenient to install Clean Points, which are areas destined to receive electronic devices for their proper processing. In various countries there are these clean points established by regional and municipal governments, especially in Europe.

In Spain there are a large number of points where discarded devices can be delivered, such as clean points, points of sale and greenShop. On the other hand, there are private companies that contribute in the process of reuse and recycling of electronic waste, such as Amazon and Apple.

In this sense, Apple promotes the GiveBack recycling program where customers participate directly. They can go to an Apple Store to deliver their iPhone to be discarded in exchange for a credit to acquire a new one.

Prosecution

Procedures for recycling and reuse of electronic waste vary depending on the objective pursued. This is a function of the type of equipment or parts to be processed and the class of materials or components to be recovered.

Recovery

The most common type of recovery is carried out in sheds where appliances are manually disassembled. In this area the components are selected and the reusable ones are separated from those destined for recycling.

The reusable ones once they are repaired and return to the circuit for their commercialization and use. For its part, the recycling process must be carried out in special areas because chemical substances are used to recover metals and other elements.

Sheds for the storage and recovery of materials should be areas covered with waterproof flooring and anti-spill systems.

Disassembly with high technology

An example of a high-tech process is Apple's robot line that was created in 2016. The company has an iPhone 6 mobile phone disassembling robot (named Liam).

The Liam is capable of disassembling a discarded mobile and separating reusable components at a rate of 60 devices per hour. In this sense, each dismantling line is made up of 29 Liam robots.

For 2018 Apple introduced a second robot to replace Liam called Daisy and is capable of disassembling 200 iPhones per hour.

Cryogenic method

Chandra Sekhar Tiwary (Rice University and Indian Institute of Sciences) proposed an innovative method to recycle materials from electronic waste. For this, electronic waste is subjected to temperatures of –120 ºC with liquid nitrogen and pulverized with impacts from a steel ball.

As a result of this procedure, the electronic waste is pulverized at the nano-particle level. These particles are subsequently introduced into water for a first phase of separation due to differences in density.

Inappropriate methods

Informal processes often use methods that are not safe for human health, nor are environmentally friendly to recycle parts of electronic equipment. For example, equipment to isolate metals is sometimes burned without taking the proper precautions, which causes the emission of toxic substances.

Electronic waste in Mexico

Discarded mobile phones. Source: MikroLogika

In Mexico, more than 29,000 million tons of electronic waste are produced per month, being the second producer of this type of waste in Latin America. The first producers of electronic waste in America are the US and Brazil.

Recycling

To address this situation, various recycling initiatives have been launched. For example, the “Reciclatrón” program that takes place in Mexico City. There are companies like Eco Point specialized in recovering cell phones or mobiles. Recicla Computadoras collects electronic waste at home for proper processing.

Electronic waste in Argentina

Argentina ranks third in the production of electronic scrap in Latin America. On the other hand, it is one of the 13 countries in the region where the UN finances projects that support the electronic waste recycling industry.

Recycling

In Argentina, there is the “E-Basura” project that is promoted by university students and professors from the Faculty of Informatics of the University of La Plata. Damaged or discarded computer equipment is received here, which is then restored by students and teachers.

The goal is to salvage the hardware and install free software and educational applications on the hard drive of new computers. The repowered equipment is donated to the most humble sectors of the Argentine population

Electronic waste in Colombia

On the other hand, Colombia is one of the destinations for electronic scrap generated in other countries, especially in the US. In Colombia only approximately 14% of all electronic waste generated is recycled.

This country ranks fourth in the production of electronic waste in Latin America, with an annual production of 287 thousand tons. However, it is also one of the Latin American countries that promotes the most recycling policies.

Recycling

In 2013, Law 1672 was enacted, which urges companies that sell electrical appliances to manage recycling. In addition, they must have collection points for discarded electronic devices.

The “Ecolecta” campaign establishes fixed and mobile points in shopping centers for citizens to deposit the devices to be discarded. Among them are cell phones, MP3 players, light appliances, scratched compact discs, USB sticks, batteries and energy saving light bulbs.

In 2018, a campaign called “El Gran Reciclatón”, “The largest cleaning in Colombia” was carried out, in which 104 municipalities collected about 5,000 kg of electronic waste.

Electronic waste Spain

Spain produces 930,000 tons of electronic waste per year and only recycles 21% and is below the European average (33%). This places it in fifth place in electronic scrap production in the European Union.

Recycling

However, Spain has developed an important network of electronic waste collection points distributed throughout the country. It covers the so-called clean points, points in the equipment sales companies and greenShop.

Since 2015, Royal Decree 110/2015 classifies electrical and electronic equipment according to the obligations derived from European regulation (Directive 2012/19 / EU, “WEEE Directive”). The objective is to overcome the deficiencies detected in the management of electronic waste.

However, a problem posed is the lack of awareness of a sector of consumers who deposit these wastes together with conventional garbage instead of the defined points.

There are also private initiatives in the field of circular economy business models such as the Black Market company. This company recovers, re-powers and markets electronic equipment for what has more than 130 workshops in Spain and France.

The RECYCLIA foundation, established in 2012, is the largest management entity of used “electrical and electronic waste (WEEE), batteries and lights” in the country. Its founders are four Environmental Foundations (Ecopilas, Ecofimática, Ecoasimelec and Ecolum)

This foundation has been dedicated to the collection and timely recycling of this waste, at the end of its useful life.

References

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