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E-Waste
Consumer electronics – including TVs and other video equipment, computers, assorted peripherals, audio equipment, and phones – make up almost two percent of the municipal solid waste stream, as tracked in the Municipal Solid Waste Characterization Report. Although electronics comprise a small percentage of the total municipal solid waste stream, the quantity of electronic waste that we are generating is steadily increasing. In 2007, discarded TVs, computers, peripherals (including printers, scanners, faxes), mice, keyboards and cell phones totaled about 2.5 million tons.
Lead, mercury, cadmium and brominated flame retardants are among the substances of concern in electronics. These substances are included in the products for important performance characteristics, but can cause problems if the products are not properly managed at end of life. Lead is used in glass in TV and PC cathode ray tubes as well as solder and interconnects; older CRTs typically contain on average 4 lbs of lead (sometimes as much as 7 lbs in older CRTs), while newer CRTs contain closer to 2 lbs of lead. Mercury is used in small amount in bulbs to light flat panel computer monitors and notebooks. Brominated flame retardants are widely used in plastic cases and cables for fire retardancy; the more problematic ones have been phased out of newer products but remain in older products. Cadmium was widely used in ni-cad rechargeable batteries for laptops and other portables. Newer batteries (nickel-metal hydride and lithium ion) do not contain cadmium. In 2007, approximately 18 percent (414,000 tons) of discarded TVs and computer products were collected for recycling. Cell phones were recycled at a rate of approximately 10 percent. |
