Why is it important to recycle E-waste?

Electronic waste, simply known as e-waste, is an increasing threat to human health as well as the environment as a whole. Dated mobile phones, computers, discarded industrial electronic equipment, etc. are some of the examples of our ever-increasing e-waste pile.

Annually, the world generates 20-50 million MT of e-waste with India alone generating a staggering 3 million MT of electronic waste.

This growing issue garnered attention due to its serious effects. From the government to the industries as well as the consumers are taking efforts to control the effects by resorting to reuse and recycling.

So, why is electronic waste recycling imperative?

·         Extraction of Raw materials

Electronic waste contains a vast amount of raw materials. Precious metals like gold, silver are recovered from proper recycling of e-waste. Here’s a fact, globally, only 10%-15% of gold from e-waste is recovered successfully while the rest is lost. Also, according to United Nations, precious metals discovered in e-waste are estimated to be 40 to 50 times richer than ores mined from earth.

·         Accumulating Solid Waste

The growing solid waste has made it difficult to manage it effectively. Consumers’ use of electronic devices has decreased to the rapid advancement in technology causing rapid generation of solid waste.

·         Heavy Toxic Materials

One of the biggest threats of accumulating e-waste is that it contains heavy toxic metals like mercury, cadmium, lead, etc. If not recycled properly before dumping, these material s seep into the environment and damage it.

·         Movement of e-waste

Countries globally are transporting e-waste and dumping them into other countries. The countries where the waste ends up have cheap labor with no advanced recycling techniques. Without proper recycling, the local population is exposed to toxic waste which has caused health risks and is a growing concern.

Follow the mantra – Reduce. Re-use. Recycle. – for a better Earth, a better future.

Electronic waste recycling – Why is it worrying?

Electronic waste or simply known as E-waste, is a growing cause of concern around the world today. The electronics that we dump carelessly have an adverse effect the environment as well as on human life alike. Disposing e-waste without recycling properly is leading to pollution of drinking water and negative impact on the ecosystems globally.

Electronic components is filled with all kinds of harmful toxic heavy metals like lead, mercury, cadmium and chemicals like brominated flame retardants. Usage of PVC plastic is frequent too.

A significant amount of the discarded e- waste is dumped at landfills without proper treatment wherein these hazardous materials seep into our environment.

People throw away tons of electronic devices instead of fixing and re-using them.

An estimated 20 million tons of e-waste is being produced annually with America alone generating close to 3.4m tons of e-waste every year. Of the total disposed e-waste, only about 40% is being recycled properly while the remaining only ends up piling on the landfills for years.

A major problem also being, that the number of recyclers for electronic waste recycling is not enough, especially, in developing countries.

Reduce. Re-use. Recycle. – is the mantra everybody should swear by these days.

Electronic waste recycling is not just an option anymore. Individuals and organizations alike should take the threatening causes to our earth seriously and take preventive measures accordingly. Societies and businesses should connect to their nearest e-waste recycling companies and take note of their WEEE recycling services provided.

 A healthy future is a better future!

WEEE Recycling

Introduction to WEEE Recycling:

WEEE Recycling simply means Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Recycling. Outdated industrial equipment as well as household electronic products like refrigerators, televisions are non-biodegradable and contain harmful materials which can cause serious threats to individuals’ health as well as the environment. If not recycled properly, they end up occupying the landfills for decades, even centuries.

To minimize the harsh environmental effects, it is imperative to dispose and recycle discarded electronic equipment safely.

Recycling Challenges:

A report by the United Nations University revealed that, of the 41.8 million metric tons of electronics discarded by the world in 2014, only 16 percent of it was recycled by the government or commercial establishments.

Remaining electronic junk was either collected by people or private enterprises, to resell them in the secondary market or simply thrown away or incinerated or piled upon landfills for years.

Obsolete electric devices contain a large quantity of precious metals which are lost if not recycled properly.

Minimize E-waste:

WEEE Recycling is the need of the hour. The growing environmental concerns certainly make it imperative to tackle the increasing amount of electronic junk produced by the society every day. Hence, individuals and organizations alike should adopt preventive measures and follow them religiously for a long term positive effect. Proper disposal of e-waste helps in recovering rare metals and also conserves earth’s energy.

·         .Prolong the life of your electronic devices by taking proper care. Avoid unnecessary buying of electric products.

·         .Make an effort to buy products that are Eco-friendly.

·         Resell or donate electronics to those who need them.

·         Reuse of discarded electronics is vital. Such devices should be used up to an optimal level before recycling them efficiently.

·        Obsolete electronic junk should be recycled properly to get effective results. Get in touch with certified recycling organizations that provide e-waste bins and install them in your housing society or at offices.

Reusing and Recycling WEEE

ECORECO is specializing in WEEE recycling and disposing of computer waste. These are collected and isolated on site before being despatched to professional WEEE recyclers for processing into new electrical products.

We recycle for schools, community groups and businesses with the aim of putting something positive back into the local community and surrounding region. to deal with the increasing problem of mercury bearing waste, we have now expanded operations to offer Battery and WEEE recycling services on a national basis.

Commercial Computer recycling and WEEE Recycling is our specialist area – we can remove electronic waste from commercial properties all over the capital, disposing of them in a compliant and professional manner that helps stem the flow of electronic devices that are ending up in landfill.

We can also rid your office of the smaller gadgets and electronics that you’re not sure how to recycle. From cameras and smartphones to tablet devices and projectors, we can ensure that every bit of electronic waste is removed and disposed of in the proper manner and we always do proper WEEE Recycling and fully up-to-date on all related legislation.

We have an in-house WEEE Recycling facility, where we can repair and refurbish much of the equipment, instead of simply discarding it.

Why use our WEEE Recycling Service?

There are many companies throughout the India that provide a WEEE recycling service. Below are some of the benefits of choosing us to take care of your WEEE collection and recycling 

requirements:

No minimum collection quantity - Unlike many waste management companies, we do not impose a minimum collection quantity. So whether you have a single computer monitor, a dozen end-of-life computers or several lorry loads of mixed WEEE Recycling items, we can provide a collection and recycling service to meet your exact requirements.

Secure Data Protection -  We fully understand the importance of data protection, so ensure that all data storage devices such as hard drives and portable storage devices are securely destroyed in controlled environments. As well as duty of care transfer notes we also provide a certificate of destruction will all of our WEEE Recycling collections.

Best environmental practice - We ensure that best environmental practices are adhered to at all times throughout the collection, reuse, recycling and disposal of all of our waste electrical and electronic equipment collections.

Cost effective recycling solutions - As a business we fully understand the importance of providing cost effective solutions to your waste management and recycling requirements. We therefore ensure that when providing a quote we offer the most cost effective solution, without compromising on environmental best practice.

Fast collections - We can provide fast collections of redundant electrical goods throughout the India. Most collections can be made within 24 hours of placing an order. If however you require an even quicker collection, we can arrange a same day WEEE Recycling collection service.

Recycle your E-waste

E-Waste

You have bought a new computer, you have to decide what you will do with your old computer. Computers should not be land filled as it has toxic substances that will leach into the soil and water supplies.

Instead, there are 10 ways you can recycle your E-waste, where you either earn some money, or let someone less fortunate use your computer.

First and foremost, you have to learn to buy less as the more you buy the more waste you have to get rid of. Before buying anything, stop and ask yourself if it is really necessary so that you don’t end up buying electronic items you don’t need.

Make it a point to organize whatever gadgets you have. Organize your wires, connectors, DVDs and gadgets so that you know what you have, and so that you don’t end up buying something you already have and will eventually want to get rid of.

If there is something you don’t need, donate it as soon as possible so that someone else less fortunate can use it. If your stuff is not even worth donating, don’t fret. You can give them away for free on sites like FreeCycle.

Most stores today have a buy back program where the store will buy back your old electronic item when you buy something new from them.

If you have electronic products that are not exactly waste, you could sell them on sites various sites. However make sure that you don’t waste time in selling your goods as their value reduces with the introduction of later models into the market.

Instead of investing in a server, and an additional electronic piece of equipment, its better to use the services of Dropbox and Microsoft’s mesh to back up your files. Use the cloud to help expand your business as required.

If you receive lots of memory sticks and gadgets in conferences that you don’t actually have a use of, don’t let them go to waste. Instead, fill them in an e-bag and distribute them to people who have a use for them.

Scientific projects need a lot of processing power to send and receive lots of data like analysis of DNA of cures for diseases and reports from space telescopes. So why not sign up your computer for one of these projects where you just have to permanently leave it in a spare room to automatically send and receive data.

Though you may not have a need for an old computer, your grand aunt will love using it to browse the web and learn more about what the wide world web has to offer.

While your computer may be practically useless, you can use your CRT monitor as a second television. Just get an external TV tuner and plug an aerial cable in one end and the VGA lead from your monitor to the other. The result, a great TV!

You may discover additional means of E-waste Recycling!