Introduction to Electronics Recycling & Plastic Waste Management in India

Electronics waste, commonly known as e-scrap or e-waste, is the waste we generate from surplus, broken and obsolete electronic devices. Electronics contains various toxic and hazardous chemicals and materials that are released into the environment if we do not remove them properly. E-waste or electronics recycling is the process of recovering materials from old equipment to use in new products.

Repeated Replacement Electronics

With such a very short useful life, electronics transition to e-waste at a rapid pace. In fact, it was estimated that close to 500 million unused cell phones are accumulating in people's homes. Globally, a cell phone is sold annually to about 25% of the population, and every year millions of electronic devices such as mobile phones, TVs, computers, laptops, and tablets reach the end of their useful lives.

What happens to devices at the end of their useful lives

Unfortunately, the majority of these electronic products end up in landfills, and just 12.5% ​​of e-waste is recycled. According to a United Nations study, more than 41.8 million tons of e-waste were discarded worldwide, with only 10% –40% percent being done appropriately. Electronics are loaded with many valuable materials including copper, tin, iron, aluminum, fossil fuels, titanium, gold and silver. Many materials used in making these electronic devices can be recovered, reused, and recycled, including plastic, metal, and glass. In a report, Apple revealed that it recovered $ 40 million - 2,204 pounds of gold in 2015 from recycled iPhones, Macs and iPads.

Benefits of e-waste recycling

Recycling of e-waste and Plastic Waste Management in India enables us to recover various valuable metals and other materials from electronics, conserve natural resources (energy), reduce pollution, conserve landfill space, and create jobs. According to the EPA, recycling one million laptops can save energy equivalent to electricity that can run 3,657 American homes for a year. Recycle a million cell phones can recover 75 pounds of gold, 772 pounds of silver, 35,274 pounds of copper, and 33 pounds of palladium.

On the other end, e-waste recycling helps to cut production waste. According to the Electronics Takeback Coalition, it takes 1.5 tons of water, 530 lbs of fossil fuel, and 40 pounds of chemicals to build and monitor a single computer. 81% of the energy connected to the computer is used during production and not during operation.