E Waste Management

E Waste Management
E–Waste Management in Pakistan
Zaigham Abbas Technical Officer (Chemicals) Ministry of Environment Government of Pakistan
Regional Workshop on WEEE/E–Waste Management, 6 – 9 July 2010, Osaka, Japan
1
INTRODUCTION OF ORGANIZATION
Ministry of Environment is responsible for National Environment Policy, Planning and International Environment Coordination.
2
PAKISTAN: STATUS OF ENVIRONMENT
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Constitution of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Council (PEPC) headed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan is the highest forum responsible for
strategic policy decision in environment and sustainable development Establishment of Federal & Provincial Environmental Protection Agencies
(EPA), Enacted the Pakistan Environmental...show more content...
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Management of Mercury & Mercury containing Waste Project (2009–10).
11

Electronic Waste in Pakistan
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In Pakistan, the computers and other obsolete electronic goods are imported under the pretext of 'second–hand equipment. A small percentage of the
items imported are usable. In practice, after removing the working machines and usable parts, the bulk of the consignment is sent to the recycling
industry Hundreds of workers, including teenage children, earn their livelihoods by dismantling the electronic scrap and extracting valuable
components E–waste has Environmental repercussions of the various highly toxic elements like lead, cadmium, barium, mercury and chromium which
are released during the dismantling of these used computers. There is no proper system to recycle and dispose e–waste in Pakistan, which is a serious
issue.
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Electronic Waste in Pakistan
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The circuit boards originate from all over the world, including the US, Kuwait, Australia, Japan and the UK. Only 2 percent of the computers can be
reused; for the remaining computers, all of the metals and plastics are taken out to be re–sold, according to Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition and Basel
Action Network. All of the work is done by hand and no protective equipment is used Sorting is done and only 15 to 40 per cent of these computers
can be used and the rest is recycled. The go–downs working condition
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e-waste Essay
Electronic and electrical equipment is essential part of busy world. It substitutes hard human work and makes it faster. Most of people have a
computer at home or at work. In recent years changing of electronic equipment becomes faster due to obsolescence and advance (Deathe et al. 2008,
322). The problem of e–waste threatens the future environment of the modern society. E–waste or electronic waste means electrical and electronic
equipment, which is not suitable for use and fills the dumps. Electronic equipment, such as mobile phones, computers, and televisions consist of
hazardous materials, which pollute the environment and impact on human's health. Obtaining of 1.6 billion pounds of lead and four times more
pounds of plastic from...show more content...
Reusing is not suitable approach because not all old computers can be used by a second consumer. Recycling and remanufacturing are recently proposed
solutions which could be developed in the future to control e–waste.
One of the known solutions to e–waste is recycling. Recycling is "the process of changing waste materials such as newspapers and bottles so that
they can be used again" (Macmillan 2007). According to Bakar (2007, 1370) recycling has several parts of feasibility, the main aspects are
dismantling and stages of separating. There are some recycling programs which help consumers to choose a convenient way to recycle their
electronic equipment (Marquardt 2005). For instance, consumers can find programs on www.eiae.org (ibid. 2005). For recycling it is essential to
have adequate raw materials for appreciable result with qualitative secondary products (Deathe et al. 2008, 324). Products of recycling are different
things from refurbishing metals of electronic equipment. After recycling producers have two types of material. One of them of low grade and could
be used in secondary market, other could be mixed with virgin material ( Bakar 2007,1371). Kahhat et al.(2008, 957) report that many countries
already have experience in recycling, such as Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and the United States. As countries have different approaches for this
solution, in South Korea consumers need to pay fee when buy new

Electronic Waste
Don't Be Haste to E–Waste
Electronic–waste (e–waste) has emerged as a critical global environmental health issue in both developed and developing nations. The Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) refers to e–waste as "electronic products that are discarded by consumers." More specifically, e–waste is a generic term that
encompasses various forms of electrical and electronic equipment that may be old, might have reached end–of–life and most importantly cease to be of
any value to their present owners. These electronics include computers, printers, television sets, mobile phones, video game consoles, and VCR and
DVD players, among other products. As the demand for newer, more effective and efficient technology increases, the life span of...show more content...
As a matter of fact, throughout the course of my own life, I have owned a total of eleven phones. From phones breaking, to wanting newer models, I,
like most people in the US, did not think twice about the consequences that result from such carelessness. In fact, the average cell phone can contain up
to or more than forty elements from the periodic table (UNEP 2009), which when disposed of cause harm to the environment. Overall, current
consumption patterns are unsustainable and inequitable. Change is needed to fix this disaster.
Therefore, in order to reduce the amount of e–waste in present day, it is up to individual consumers to begin to realize that their actions have
consequences to them. However it is not just up to consumers to be responsible, but it is also up to producers to provide some extended responsibility.
That is, people seldom have any incentive to do good in that environmentally conscious owners who want to do the right thing in disposing of their
outdate electronics usually must reach into their own pockets to make sure that these machines either find new homes or are recycled properly.
Therefore, companies should engage in what Leonard calls, "Producer Takeback," in which a product and waste management system is created to take
responsibility for the safe management of their products when they are no longer useful or discarded. Since the companies have made the product, it
should be their responsibility to

Essay about E-Waste
E–waste is the term which relates to all types of electronics, which can evolve into waste in the near future. (STEP) Although E–waste is a general
term, it can be assumed to cover all types of items which use electricity. Today, electronic waste becomes a very formidable and significant problem
around the world. Environmental protection agency contends the idea, that there are 4 most common ways of solving electronic waste problem:
landfilling, incinerating, reusing and recycling. This essay will firstly discuss key reasons of e–waste to be a comprehensive problem. This paper will
argue, that there are 4 most conventional approaches to solve electronic waste problem and to prove that recycling is the most benefit one....show more
content...
It will take a lot of energy and resources to mine them again.(Environment protection agency,2000) Thus, it is very perilous to environment and
economically unprofitable not to manage electronic waste. There are 4 most common ways of solving electronic waste problem: landfilling,
incinerating, reusing and recycling.(European environment agency,2002) The most wide spread of them is landfilling, the process of burying
electronic waste. There is only one advantage of this approach – it costs significantly less than other ways. That is why landfilling is very popular
among countries like Poland, Greece, Cyprus, Malta and USA. The EPA report on management of electronic waste in USA mention that 1422.1 tons
are landfilled over of 1824.8 produced.
Although landfilling is significantly cheap, it has rather serious negative impact to environment. European Environment agency discusses the idea, that
it is impossible to predict precise influence of landfilling to environment. Then it mentions that electronic waste can store for a long time being
buried.Furthermore conditions of landfills are distinctive from conditions of natural lands. Therefore, hazardous elements like Cadmium or Mercury
can spread and cause a serious havoc

Solutions to E- waste problem Essay
In the last decades, technology became more sophisticated in creating modern devices. Consequently, in our disposable age most apparatus turn into
aged ones in a couple of years or even months. This is one of the reasons why electronic devices become waste. E–waste is discarded, surplus, obsolete,
or broken electronic devices or apparatuses. Most environment protection organizations maintain that e–waste induces health and pollution problems.
The primary reason for this view is that almost all of the electric devices contain hazardous substances which are toxic and are not biodegradable.
There are mercury, lead, and chromium in parts like circuit boards, batteries, and color cathode tubes. These toxic components can easily enter the
...show more content...
Although recycle companies require fixed fee, they provide following services: taking back, transporting, tracking and reporting programs. In addition,
reporting program includes a final report. In this final report there is information about the values of materials. Eddy current separators (ECSs) and the
Titech X–Tract Separator and Finder are extensively used in recycling industry. These machines sort the shreds; therefore, the recycling stages go
faster. However, ECSs do not recognize stainless steel whereas X–Tract and Finder identify it (Krikke 2008). Finally, recyclers are responsible for
reusing or for selling recycled materials. One example of this is DMC The Electronics Recycling Company, which has the purchasers for every sort of
materials except batteries.
Another solution is for manufactures to adopt the responsibility. Michael McCarthy (2010) claims that this solution was proposed by The European
Union in 2002. Thus, the manufacturers must follow some rules. The rules are to minimize hazardous substances in electronic equipment, take back
and recycle the end– of– life electronics and use the recycled– content materials. Firstly, it will be better if manufacturers minimize the use of certain
materials like plastic as it takes a very long time to degrade. Moreover, by minimizing the number of materials, the cost of the final product will
decline. Secondly, there will

Our E-Waste Problem
The article "Our E–Waste Problem is Ridiculous, and Gadget Makers Aren't Helping" by Christina Bonnington clarifies the damaging effect of
dumping electronic fragments into landfills and how recycling is healthier besides the diverse types of companies that are eco–friendly. When
customers change to a new phone or get an upgrade 70–80 percent of the ancient phones ends up in landfills. Throughout the years technology has
gotten better it has become firmer to disassemble. Next Bonnington Shares the recycling process, and how certain companies determines if it's worth
reselling, if the electronic is not worth reselling it's shredded so the materials inside can be recycled such as steel, copper, etc. It also can be tough to
get this material out

Essay about E-waste Management
While technology has revolutionized the way people live, it has not come without a direct environmental cost. Toxic waste or electronic waste
(e–waste), produced by obsolete electronic products, is growing at an alarming rate, and poses a severe environmental threat. In light of challenges
underlined by this new kind of waste, sound management is imperative. Although, America and Asia are economically very different from each other,
ironically they do not differ much when it comes to the `mismanagement' of e–waste: unsafe disposition practices, lax legislation, and inadequate
recycling.
Disposal of e–waste is one of the major problems faced in America. Despite being financially sound, America has no proper infrastructure built for safe
According to HP, "these extra [charges] would not be placed on companies outside the California border, therefore, giving outside retailers and
companies a competitive advantage." In addition, the report added that according to some environmentalists, this Act does not provide any "incentives
[for the manufacturers] to improve their designs for the environment."
Likewise, inconsistencies also exist in the legal standards of Asia. The domestic legislations concerning e–waste disposal continues to be difficult to
enforce in developing countries of Asia in the absence of international cooperation and assistance, technical and financial means, and an adequate
infrastructure. For instance, according to a report by Multinational Monitor, "China has banned the import of e–waste and yet the US refuses to honor
that ban by preventing exports to them."
Yet another concern for America is inadequate recycling of e–waste. According to a recent study, "In the US, only one in nine, retired computers was
recycled in 2001." The US imputed the cause to the high cost of recycling that incurs from collecting, sorting, transporting, and processing e–waste. On
the other hand, however, some manufacturers have devised new

E-waste Essay example
Over the past decade there was a prominent development observed in the sphere of high technologies production, so the scale of electronics market
becomes wider and spins up from day to day. "According to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), consumers were expected to purchase 500
million units of consumer electronics in the US in 2008. US households spend about $1407 per year on hardware." (Electronics Takeback coalition,
2010) Accordingly, there is a clear tendency of rapid substitution of electronic appliances observed, as every other day producers offer consumers more
efficient and powerful gadgets instead of their predecessors. Consequently, high rate in electronics upgrading results in shortening of their lifespan and
following...show more content...
Now consumers are not supplied with enough opportunities for a proper disposal of e–waste, i.e. recycling management is not sufficiently developed.
Consequently, instead of being recycled a growing number of end–of–life electronics with a variety of hazardous components such as lead, mercury set
in their structure is turned out to be simply dumped in landfills or incinerated, which substantially exposes the whole environment to a serious problem
of contamination with toxins. For example, 'milligrams of mercury that are used in LCDs structure, can be so toxic that as little as one gram of
airborne mercury deposited per year to a 20–acre lake is enough to maintain mercury contamination at a level where the fish are unsafe to eat'.
(Takeback coalition, 2009) Besides, such placement of toxic e–waste in landfills leads to expansion of different human health problems such as
'elevated risks of cancer and developmental and neurological disorders'. (Binns, 2006) Mercury can serve as a glare example as even in a small dosage
it is very toxic and may bring about brain and kidney damage. In 2000 the National Academy of Sciences stated in its report that as mercury is able to
be passed through breast milk, each year there are approximately

Speech On Electronic Waste
E–waste, as known as electronic waste, is the fastest growing waste on the planet. Any discard with a cord or battery is considered electronic
waste. People have been creating effective electronic gadgets and appliances to improve the quality of lives. However, once the equipment is used
and old, the amount of waste increases. The waste problem cannot be ignored since the Earth is having more environmental issues. For instance,
from my personal experience in working at a manufacturing factory, the smell of the processing metal gave me a hard time. I was wondering why
other workers do not wear a masks until they answered, "We are used to it, and have no choice; that is our job." That response accorded me a clearer
understanding of how helpless employees can be. Similarly, in the area with much electronic waste, citizens who live near landfills have to be negatively
affected by the polluted environment.
E–waste is created and destroyed by people. Although some may not realize how much waste they have made in the environment, the ones who suffer
under the electronic contamination are humans themselves. In the United States (U.S.), which is the main producer of e–waste, everyone should be
responsible for the appropriate disposal of used electronics because e–waste can cause health issues for humans and the environment, but recycling
e–waste could lead to more job opportunities and future profits for society.
Main Producer of E–Waste and Where Waste Ends
The U.S. is one of the

Essay on E-Waste Recycling
When Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the stage to deliver a candid commencement speech at Stanford this past June, a plane flew over the stadium with a
banner that read: "Steve –– don't be a mini player –– recycle all e–waste."
This was the latest stunt by the Computer Take–Back Campaign (CTBC), an environmental crusade supported by activist groups who have criticized
Apple for lagging behind the rest of the computer industry in its recycling efforts.
The plane's banner referred to Apple's recent announcement that it will now accept iPods for free recycling at all of its stores in exchange for 10
percent off the purchase of a new iPod. Until June, organizations like the CTBC and the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC) roundly denounced
The CTBC claims that e–waste accounts for approximately 40 percent of these three toxins that end up landfills, noting that "just 1/70th of a teaspoon
of mercury can contaminate 20 acres of a lake, making the fish unfit to eat."
Unfortunately, the EPA estimates that only 10 percent of e
–waste is recycled annually. Even more upsetting, though, are the conditions in which some
of these materials are recycled. While some firms operate under strict environmental regulations with adequate protocols to protect workers' health,
many do not.
E–Waste Goes Global
In 2002, the Basel Action Network (BAN) along with the SVTC released a groundbreaking, heartrending investigation called Exporting Harm: The
High–Tech Trashing of Asia [PDF].
BAN found that 50 to 80 percent of e–waste collected in the western U.S. for recycling is actually exported to countries like China, India, and Pakistan.
The investigative team witnessed the toxic dumping of lead–laden cathode ray tubes in open fields and rivers not far from populated areas, the open
burning of plastics and wires, and exposure to toxic solders from circuit boards. They also documented hundreds of thousands of migrant workers
(men, women and children), who were forced to break apart and process obsolete computers, completely unaware of the health and

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