10 Interesting E-waste Facts That You Might Not Know

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In this tech-age, where the technology advancement is relentless, we have bounded ourselves to technology to an extent where the idea of living without it seems implausible. No doubt, with the continuous progression in the tech-world and invention of complex electronic devices, the life has become easier yet complicated.

Like everything else, the technology with all its benefits also has some demerits that can be quite hazardous and threatening to life. As after a certain time, the high-tech electronic devices that we use lose their lives and functionality. As a result, e-waste is generated which, however, can be reused or recycled. This is a plus point about the e-waste that it contains different precious materials that can be recycled in order to conserve natural resources rather than destroying them. However, the process of recycling can cause serious threats to not only our environment but to our health too as the e-scrap doesn’t only contain valuable materials like gold, silver, aluminum, copper, plastic and ferrous metals but it also has some perilous materials like lead and mercury. Therefore, recycling with proper safety measures is necessary.

The information about e-waste is very less and most of the people do not have proper education about it or about how to reuse or dump their old e-products. Nonetheless, here are 10 interesting facts about e-waste that you might not know:

Fact 1: By 2015, the e-waste recycling market will reach $14.7 billion, almost tripling in volume from today – ABI Research.

Fact 2:  At a global level, the production of disposed e-products is 20 to 50 million tons each year.

Fact 3: The volume of discarded e-products could increase by as much as 500% over the next 10 years in some developing countries – UNEP Report.

Fact 4: In the United States, electronic waste encompasses of 2% trash that is dumped in landfills and 70% of overall noxious waste that causes harm to the kidneys, nervous system and blood due to the presence of lead in those disposed electronic items.

Fact 5: The entire amount of municipal waste, in America alone, is augmented by only 1.2%, while the electronic disposal is increased by 8.6%.

Fact 6: Developing countries like India, China and Kenya receive massive quantity of dumped electronics because the low-rate working conditions and standards make processing and recycling of electronic waste more lucrative and cost-effective.

Fact 7: According to a research, 80% of all Asian offspring have high levels of lead due to handling of electronic waste without appropriate safety measures.

Fact 8: Only 15-20 percent of discarded e-products are re-processed, while the rest of the e-waste goes unswervingly into incinerators.

Fact 9: The electrical energy used by more than three thousand homes in the US is equal to the power that is saved by reprocessing 1 million PCs each year.

Fact 10: Contemporary electronic devices carry up to 60 various elements which include gold and silver as well. And Americans dispose their mobiles and other electronics containing gold/silver worth over $60 million each year.

The above stated facts might startle you but this is what happening to our world in the modern high-tech age and we didn’t even know about it.