Introduction
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It is estimated that 75% of electronic items are stored due to uncertainty of how to manage them. This electronic "junk" lies unattended in houses, offices, warehouses etc. and is normally mixed with household wastes, which are finally disposed off at landfills. This necessitates implementable management measures. Management of e-waste should begin at the point of generation, where keen attention is paid to waste minimization techniques and sustainable product design. |
Waste Minimization Techniques
Waste Minimization techniques can be categorized under four main sub-headings:
By reducing both the quantity of hazardous materials used in the process and the amount of excess raw materials in stock, the quantity of waste generated can be reduced. This can be done in two ways i.e. establishing material-purchase control procedures and inventory tracking system. Procedures should require that all materials be approved prior to purchase, for example, with respect to whether alternative non-hazardous materials can substitute hazardous constituents, if present. |
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Another requirement is the establishment of a strict inventory tracking system to ensure that materials are ordered only on an "as-needed" basis and that only the amount needed for a specific period of time is ordered.
- Production-process Modification
This includes :
- Improved efficiency of operating and maintenance procedures.
- The removal/reduction of hazardous processing material or substitution with less/non-hazardous materials.
- Process-equipment modification (installation and use of more efficient processing equipment to reduce waste generation).
- Volume Reduction
Volume reduction includes those techniques that remove the hazardous portion of a waste from a non-hazardous portion. These techniques are usually to reduce the volume, and thus the cost of disposing of a waste material. The techniques that can be used to reduce waste-stream volume can be divided into 2 general categories: source segregation and waste concentration. Segregation of wastes is in many cases a simple and economical technique for waste reduction. Wastes containing different types of metals can be treated separately so that the metal value in the sludge can be recovered. Concentration of a waste stream may increase the likelihood that the material can be recycled or reused. Methods include gravity and vacuum filtration, ultra filtration, reverse osmosis, freeze vaporization etc.
- Recovery and Reuse
This technique could eliminate waste disposal costs, reduce raw material costs and provide income from a salable waste. Waste can be recovered on-site, at an off-site recovery facility, or through inter industry exchange. A number of physical and chemical techniques are available to reclaim a waste material such as reverse osmosis, electrolysis, condensation, electrolytic recovery, filtration, centrifugation etc. However recycling of hazardous products has little environmental benefit if it simply moves the hazards into secondary products that eventually have to be disposed of. Unless the goal is to redesign the product to use non-hazardous materials, such recycling is a futile solution.
Sustainable Product Design
Rethink the product design: Efforts should be made to design a product with fewer amounts of hazardous materials.
Use of renewable materials and energy: Bio-based plastics are plastics made with plant-based chemicals or plant-produced polymers rather than from petrochemicals. Use of non-renewable materials that are safer: Because many of the materials used are non-renewable, designers could ensure the product is built for re-use, repair and/or upgradeability. |