Electronic and Electric wastesare the wastes generated when electronic and electrical equipment is of no further use to a company or an individual. There are several chemicals present in the equipment which need to be disposed of properly so that there is no harm to people as well as the environment. There are various methods of treatment such as disposal in landfills, the combustion process in waste incinerators in addition to recycling and refurbishment techniques.
Types of electronic & electric wastes from households:
- Small household appliances like hairdryers, coffee makers, irons and toasters, etc.
- Large household appliances like dishwashers, washing machines, refrigerators, etc.
- Consumer equipment like electric toothbrushes, stereo equipment, televisions, etc.
- Telecommunications and information technology equipment like personal computers, mobile phones, printers, laptops, scanners, photocopiers, etc.
- Lightning equipment like fluorescent lamps.
- Electric tools like screwdrivers, saws, handheld drills, etc.
- Automatic dispensers.
Disposal of Electric and Electronic waste:
- Landfill sites – Waste generated is deposited in landfill sites. By using this method, the groundwater gets contaminated due to seepage of different chemicals from electric and electronic waste. Sometimes, water is also converted into a toxic form, which is very harmful to people to drink. Moreover, places to dump waste are getting scarce day by day, and the aesthetic beauty of the place is also damaged where dumping takes place. Take the example of a major landfill, when we enter the National capital of Delhi, it destroys the aesthetic beauty of Delhi.
- Incinerators – It is a waste disposing equipment in which combustion takes place at a very high temperature, and waste is reduced to 99% by volume. The ash so formed is collected in ash collection pit which is then transferred to landfill. Only 1% of waste is left as residue, so it is a much better method than landfill disposal directly where the whole of waste is dumped. The advanced electronic waste incinerator is used these days which do not produce any kind of emissions while functioning.
- Electronic and Electric equipment waste recycling – Some kinds of electronic as well as electric wastes can be recycled like plastic recycling and refinement of various precious metals. There are small specialist recyclers and large shredder operators who perform this process. Some wastes can be refurbished and repaired also.
While working on some electrical equipment, like mixer-grinder, kitchen waste, solid as well as liquid, is produced, that can be treated with the help of kitchen waste incinerator. Kitchen waste incinerators are very readily used in developed countries as well as in some developing countries like India.
So, for the proper treatment of your wastes, incineration is the best process for electronic and electrical wastes because amount to be disposed of in landfill is reduced to a greater extent. The main point is to buy those incinerators, which produce a very negligible amount of pollution, thus protecting the environment, as the gases which are released during the process of incinerators are toxic. By the use of incinerators for various types of waste treatment, the problem of scarcity of land can be solved to a major extent.
