You may not have come across articles on electronic waste recycling as often as possible. But, an undeniable fact is you have seen several electronic wastes around you.
Many people do away with their electronics once it’s spoilt or broken, and that’s the end. They allow it to waste away. Well, the fact is bad electronics can get recycled via e-waste recycling or electronic waste recycling. In this article, we will explain the basics and answer your answers too!
Electronic waste recycling—What is it?
We are glad you asked! First off, before we go on to answer your question, let’s define some key terms such as e-waste. What is e-waste? E-waste simply stands for electronic waste. That’s it. All those electronic trash gotten from former functional electronic devices are all e-wastes. Some people call it e-scraps too.
Thing is, people, don’t know how to dispose these things properly. They assume it’s just like other normal wastes. No, it’s not! Electronic wastes have the potential to release hazardous or toxic chemicals into the atmosphere when they are not disposed of properly. And, this could affect our environment.
Electronic waste recycling solves this problem by taking these wastes, and reprocessing them so they can be reused in a new electronic product.
Types of electronic waste
Electronic wastes can come from home appliances such as electric cookers, heaters, microwaves, air conditioning, fans, etc. They could also come from tech gadgets such as laptops, mobile phones, monitors, printers, scanners, keypads, etc.
Electronic waste recycling: What can be recycled?
Thanks for coming this far. We assume you’ve already developed an interest in electronic waste recycling. Now, the question is; are all components of an electronic recyclable? Well, we will highlight the components that can be recycled.
Metal
Metals recovered from electronic equipment can be recycled. When properly recycled, steel products can be gotten from it.
Glass
Glass can be retrieved and recycled too. Especially those gotten from Cathode Ray Tubes. However, there’s a caveat, CRTs contain lead. And, lead poses an environmental threat to humans and animals. Health is threatened.
Plastic
Plastic is one of the most recoverable items in an electronic. They can be recovered and used to manufacture other products such as vineyard stakes, insulators, plastic casings, etc.
Mercury
Equipment that contains mercury can be retrieved and recycled. Some electronic waste recycling industries exist that specialize in eliminating mercury and using them to produce equipment that has mercury embedded in it such as dental amalgams, fluorescent lighting, etc.
Circuit boards
A major affair of electronic waste recycling is retrieving circuit boards and giving them to specialized companies that will smelt them.
Hard disk
The aluminum ingots in hard disks can be retrieved and produced and used in the automobile industry.
Batteries
Oh, batteries, they are very important to recycle. Cadmium, steel, cobalt, and nickel can be recovered from batteries and used to make new products such as stainless steel, etc
Do you have some electronic trash you have stacked in a corner of your living room? Why not consider electronic waste recycling today?!