E- Waste Management

Waste

Unwanted or useless substances, including rubbish, refuse, garbage, and toxins expelled from living organisms.

Basel Convention

An international treaty aimed at reducing hazardous waste transfers between nations and ensuring sound management of hazardous waste.

Solid wastes

Wastes in solid forms, such as plastics, papers, and metals, arising from domestic, commercial, and industrial activities.

Liquid wastes

Wastes in liquid form, including domestic washings, chemicals, and wastewater from industries.

Bio-degradable waste

Waste that can be broken down naturally, such as food scraps and paper.

Non-biodegradable waste

Waste that cannot be broken down naturally, including plastics and certain chemicals.

Hazardous waste

Substances unsafe for commercial, agricultural, or industrial use, exhibiting properties like ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, and toxicity.

Non-hazardous waste

Substances considered safe for use and that usually create disposal problems.

E-waste

Discarded electrical or electronic devices that are no longer wanted or no longer work.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)

The responsibility of producers to manage the disposal and end-of-life phase of their products.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

A technique used to assess the environmental impacts of a product throughout its life cycle, from raw material extraction to disposal.

Recycling

The process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects.

Resource recovery

The process of reclaiming materials from waste in order to reuse them.

Landfilling

The disposal of waste in a designated area where it is buried, leading to long-term environmental impacts.

Incineration

The combustion of waste materials to reduce their volume and generate energy, but potentially releasing pollutants.

PCBs (Polychlorinated Biphenyls)

Chemical compounds used in various industrial applications, considered hazardous due to their toxic properties.

Biomagnification

The process by which the concentration of toxic substances increases in organisms at each successive level of the food chain.

Hydrometallurgy

A method for extracting metals from ores or waste using aqueous solutions.

Pyrometallurgy

A process that involves high temperatures to extract metals from their ores.

E-waste recycling

The process of reclaiming materials from discarded electronic devices, including the recovery of valuable metals.

Toxic constituents in E-waste

Hazardous materials such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and brominated flame retardants found in electronic waste.

Environmental degradation

The deterioration of the environment through the depletion of resources, pollution, and the destruction of ecosystems.

E-waste management

Strategies implemented to reduce the environmental and health impacts of electronic waste through proper handling, recycling, and disposal.

Reclamation

The process of recovering materials and resources from waste.

Data sanitization

The process of ensuring that sensitive data is completely wiped out and cannot be retrieved from electronic devices.