In this article, I would like to cover the topic of electronic waste management.  Why is it so critical compared to the rest of waste handling procedures and what makes it special?  The electronic wastes are extremely dangerous to be disposed off in public places or bins where organic wastes are dumped.  Certain electronic products such as Lithium ion batteries for example, are hazardous depending on their chemical condition and the active chemical substances that are contained within.  Several countries in Asia it is it is not uncommon to find lead acid batteries disposed off in public bins, which should be carefully collected and recycled. 

Discarded computer parts, television circuits, copier parts, cell phone batteries if disposed carelessly could cause contamination of ground soil.  In addition, if these are dumped in large quantities and left unattended for a long time, they are likely to end up as land fills.    As these hazardous chemicals interact with ground water, this seriously affects the water filtration process.  Substances such as lead or mercury could lead to poisoning the drinking water and causing serious health issues for humans or animals that consume it.   Samples tested from various parts of the world reveal a horror story as most of the samples have tested positive for excessive lead contents. 

This is primarily caused due to inefficient recycling habits and careless disposal of electronic wastes in rivers or dried up lake basins.    What could be done to improve the disposal of electronic wastes?  Regulatory norms prohibit their disposal in public, yet this end up in drains severely clogging them and later on finding a permanent resting place in river or ocean beds.   In United States alone, an estimate from a research group tells us that approximately 70% of the heavy metals in landfills comes from electronics and United Nations estimated the electronic wastes in 2007 is about 50 million metric tons.  These mind boggling numbers are yet to trigger any action among public due to lack of awareness.   

The sand story does not end there as these electronic wastes are dumped in developing countries where the waste disposal mechanism is in a pathetic state. And there is no governing regulation that prohibits such imports of waste substances.  China, India, Ghana are countries that experience a heavy inflow of electronic wastes.  A careful scan of the chemical elements would reveal that almost all elements of the periodic table could be seen in different permutations and combinations in these electronic wastes.

It is surprising to see why isn?t this the full responsibility of the manufacturers who are responsible for the design of a product.  It would be easier to design the recycling system for a product, as the manufacturers are fully aware of the composition and the technology needed to effectively recycle without causing any detrimental effects on the eco-system.   Finally, this boils down to how serious is public in realizing the effects of waste disposal and it is high time that the educational systems across the world start including some field work for students as a means of engaging them in proper environmental care.   It is the collective responsibility of all nations to develop stringent norms for electronic waste disposal. 

Image 1 : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_waste#/media/File:Button_cells_and_9v_cells_(3).png

Image 2:
Image 1 : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_waste#/media/