With electronic devices at this time we can carry out various activities easily, but the growing amount of electronic waste is almost impossible to decompose naturally
Time Line of Electric and Electronics (Brief History)
Since the Ancient Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus explains the static electricity phenomenon in the fur that is rubbed in a kind of transparent hard resin produced by extinct conifers in the tertiary period, usually yellowish (600 BC). The ancient text of Egypt (1 BC) that tells a kind of electric fish and identifies it as “Thunder of Nile” (2750 BC), namely Electric Catfish Malapterus Electricus. About two and a half millennium later, naturalists and physicians from Greek, Roman and Arabic discovered the power of torporification originating from electric catfish, while in South America also identified electrical eel,Electrophorus Electricus, they study and include various types of fish that can create electricity with static electricity phenomena. In 1938 at Khanjut Rabu, Iraq was found an artifact suspected of a kind of electric device known as “Bagdad Battery” based on the estimated construction of the calendar was made around 150 BC - 233 AD
In 1600 British scientists William Gilbert created the word “Electricus” after a careful experiment, he also explained the magnet of the earth. In 1660 German scientists Otto von Guericke discovered a device that created static electricity, this was the first electricity generator. In 1800 Italian physicists Alessandro Volta discovered a battery. Since that time various physicists and scientists from German, Francis, America and most Europe countries studied various advanced electricity phenomena and some created various equipment/components that use electricity. Along with various discoveries in other fields the source of electricity has become increasingly diverse as well as the use of electricity is very rapid and includes various aspect of life in the 21st century.
With electricity and electronics at this time we can be easy to carry out various activities, ranging from shaving hair hair and fur, fishing, cooking rice, making bolts, ironing, washing clothes, communicating, composing scripts, work from home and various daily jobs Other days, to heavy work that may not even be done by humans, added again with the progress of the fields of robotics, wireless, and AI, where at this time it is possible that various domestic/office work things become automatic such as the application of Internet of Thing for example, where The refrigerator in your home can order through an online store automatically a variety of food ingredients whose stock has been running out, or doors that automatically open through facial/voice recognition or other use of biometric have become common.
For various needs that use the electrical devices, various components are needed, let’s say for example chips, sensors, semi conductor, memory, CPU/processor, storage media, resistors, batteries and more, and we may find it difficult to identify them one by one alone. These components are made from materials (i.e. metals) that are not much found on the upper surface of the earth, to get it requires mining efforts from the stomach of the earth. After being extracted from the surface of the earth, it is purified and processed, a variety of basic ingredients that are useful for the purpose of making electricity components, for example, copper, tin, gold, aluminum, lithium and so forth. As information on mining carried out not careful and without the rules of protection and arbitrarily can provide impacts that are detrimental in the form of environmental damage that affects the quality of supporting factors of living things, such as pollution (soil, water and air), erosion and flood.
The rapid advancement of technology due to innovation based on the demands of the needs and as a result of the motivation of business/political competition from day to day causes many various electronic devices that become old school, for example the case of mobile phones, when millions of the world’s population use 2G mobile phones that are very familiar with text communication features and Sound, mobile technology developed reaching 3G, the shift caused millions of people to change new cellphones because of the trend of new communication needs that utilize data traffic (internet) as well as to 4G and 5G. The needs of upgrades and technology updates mostly require additional hard equipment or even new devices, which cause old equipment to be obsolete unused and may be discarded into waste even though there are those who store it as a collection. It should also be noted that maybe some of us upgrade the device that we have is not because of the main function but as a fashion or for lifestyle only.
New electric equipment or devices are also sometimes needed not only as an upgrade but as a substitute for electrical equipment that is indeed damaged, as well as electrical equipment that becomes waste not only because it is obsolete but partly due to damage. The accumulation of electronic waste in various parts of the world is not a little thing, because it is in the form of hardware that requires space, unlike organic waste that can be decomposed by microorganisms, electronic waste is almost impossible to decompose naturally. Try to imagine if for example the entire population of the world replaced its cellphone to 5G simultaneously, how many generation 4G mobile phones and below that suddenly become outdated even though they are still functioning and all of them will become waste. Even though the reality is not the case, the replacement is indeed gradual so that the cellphones that are considered obsolete by some people in some regions are still very much needed by others in other regions. Likewise with other electronic equipment such as computers, laptops, TVs and so on. Then the sale and purchase of electronic waste is common in various regions, and this is indeed economically beneficial in addition to fulfilling the demand for ethical equipment (if the waste is intended is an outdated electronic device) can also reduce the source of environmental pollution.
Introduction to Electronic Waste
Furthermore, the important point here is electronic waste, and we may now agree that electronic waste or e-waste describes the discharged electrical or electronic devices. Used electronics intended for; Repair, reuse, resale, recycle rescue through material recovery, or disposal is also considered an e-waste. E-waste careless processing in developing countries can cause harmful human health effects and pollution. Electronic components, such as CPUs, contain harmful materials such as lead, cadmium, beryllium, or bromination inhibitors. Recycling and disposal of electronic waste can involve a significant risk to the health of workers and their communities. Electronic waste or E-Waste is made when electronic products are discarded after the end of its use. The expansion of technology that is fast and driven by a consumptive community produces a large amount of electronic waste.
When we visit developed countries it seems we have the opportunity to how they manage electronic waste there, that is the plus value of your pelsiran, besides buying up your iPhone, MacBook, Xbox and PS you might be able to get information on how to handle these items when they have become becoming waste.
In the United States, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classifies electronic waste into ten categories:
- Large household appliances, including cooling and freezing equipment
- small household appliances
- IT equipment, including monitor
- Consumer Electronics, including television
- Lights and Luminary
- Toys
- Greetings
- medical devices
- Monitoring and control instruments and
- Automatic Dispensers
Including used electronics that are destined to be reused, resold, rescue, recycled, or disposal and reuse (electronic devices that are still functioning and can be repaired) and secondary raw materials (copper, steel, plastic, or similar). The term “waste” is reserved for residues or materials discharged by the buyer rather than recycled, including residues from reuse and recycling, because many electronic components are often mixed (which are still good, can be recycled, and cannot be received again). The cathode ray tube monitor (CRT) is considered one of the most difficult types to be recycled. CRT has a relatively high concentration of lead and phosphorus, both of which are needed for the monitor display. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) includes CRT monitors discharged in the category of “dangerous household waste”.
The EU and its member countries operate the system through the European Waste Catalog (EWC) - European Council Guidelines, which are interpreted into the “Member State Law”. In the UK, this is in the form of a list of Wastes Directives. However, the list (and EWC) provides a broad definition (EWC code 16 02 13) of what is a dangerous electronic waste, which is need “Waste Operator” to use dangerous waste regulations (Appendix 1A, Appendix 1b) for subtle definitions. Constituent materials in waste also require assessment through a combination of Appendix II and Appendix III, once again allowing operators to further determine whether the waste is dangerous or not.
The debate continues about the difference between the definition of electronic waste as a “commodity” or as “waste”. Some exporters are accused of deliberately leaving equipment that is difficult to restore, obsolete, or cannot be repaired mixed in many functioning equipment. Protectionists can expand the definition of electronic “waste” to protect the domestic market.
The high value of computer electronic waste recycles (laptops that are still functioning and can be reused, desktops, and components such as RAM) can help pay transportation costs for a large amount of materials that are less valuable such as display devices, which have less ( or negative) value. The 2011 report, “Ghana E-Waste Assessment”, found that 215,000 tons of electronic waste imported to Ghana, 30% was still new and 70% used (used). From the products used, this study concluded that 15% of the import of electronic waste originated from electrical waste discharged (damaged). This is in contrast to the claim which states that 80% of imports to Ghana are burned in primitive conditions.
Bitcoin and Electronic Waste
Bitcoin mining also contributes to a higher amount in electronic waste, because it has become an increasingly popular form of currency in global trade. According to Alex de Vries and Christian Stoll, Bitcoin transactions averaged 272 grams of electronic waste and have produced around 112.5 million grams of waste in 2020 alone. Another estimate shows that the Bitcoin network discarded as many “small ITs and telecommunications equipment produced by countries such as the Netherlands,” with a total of 30.7 metric kilotons every year. In addition, the level at which Bitcoin removes its waste beyond the main financial organization such as a visa, which produces 40 grams of waste for every 100,000 transactions.
The main point of concern is the change of rapid technology in the Bitcoin industry that produces high electronic waste. This can be associated with the principle of proof of Bitcoin used by Bitcoin where miners receive currencies as a gift to be the first to break the hash code that brings the blockchain. Thus, miners are encouraged to compete with each other to break the hash code first. However, calculating this hash requires a massive computing power, basically, encouraging miners to get a rig with the highest possible processing power. In an effort to achieve this, miners increase processing power in their RIG by buying a more advanced computer chip.
According to Koomey’s law, the efficiency in computer chips multiplied every 1.5 years, which means that miners are given incentives to buy new chips to compensate for competing miners even though older chips are still functioning. In some cases, miners even throw their chips earlier than this time for profitability. However, this leads to a significant buildup in waste, because the integrated integrated circuit is an outdated application (ASIC -APPLICATION -SPECIFIC INTEGRATED CIRCUITS). Most of the computer chips currently used by miners are ASIC chips, whose function is to mine bitcoin, making it useless for cryptocurrency or other operations in other technologies. Therefore, the outdated ASIC chip can only be discarded because they cannot be reused.
E-Waste Bitcoin problems are increasingly exacerbated by the fact that many countries and companies do not have recycling programs for ASIC chips. Developing recycled infrastructure for Bitcoin mining may prove to be useful, though, because Heat Sink Aluminum and Metal Selongs in ASIC chips can be recycled for new technology. Most of these responsibilities fall to Bitmain, a leading Bitcoin producer, which currently does not have an infrastructure to recycle waste from Bitcoin mining. Without such a program, many Bitcoin waste ended in a landfill together with 83.6% of the total global of E-Waste.
Impact of Electronic Waste on the Environment
A new study about the increase in electronic waste pollution in the United States revealed that the average computer screen has five to eight pounds or more lead that represents 40 percent of all leads in the AKHI disposal site. All of these poisons are persistent Bioacumulative (PBT) poisons that create environmental and health risks when the computer is burned, put into a landfill or melt. Emissions of smoke, gas, and particulate material into the air, removal of liquid waste into the water and drainage system, and the disposal of harmful waste contributes to environmental degradation. The process of demolition and disposal of electronic waste in developing countries causes a number of environmental impacts as illustrated in the graph. Fluid and release into the atmosphere end in the body of water then groundwater, soil, and air and then in land and sea animals, in plants eaten by animals and humans, and in drinking water.
The Agbogbloshie area in Ghana, which is occupied by around 40,000 people, gives examples of how electronic waste contamination can cover the daily life of almost all residents. This area is one of the largest disposal and processing locations of informal E-Waste in Africa, around 215,000 tons of used consumer electronics, especially from Western Europe, imported every year. Because this region has many overlapping functions between industrial, commercial, and housing zones, Pure Earth (previously Blacksmith Institute) has placed the Agbogbloshie ranking as one of the 10 worst poisonous threats in the world (Blacksmith Institute 2013).
One study of environmental effects in Guiyu, China found the following:
- Dioxins Airborne - One type found is 100 times of the previous level
- The level of carcinogens in duck ponds and rice fields exceeds international standards for agricultural areas and cadmium, copper, nickel, and lead levels in rice fields above international standards
- Heavy metal is found on the dust of the road - lead more than 300 times the dust and copper more than 100 times the control of rural roads
Researchers such as Brett Robinson, a professor of land and physics at Lincoln University in New Zealand, warned that the wind pattern in Southeast China channeled toxic particles released by open burning throughout the Mutiara Sungai Delta region, home for 45 million people. In this way, toxic chemicals from electronic waste entering the “agricultural crop” one of the most significant routes for heavy metal exposure to humans. These chemicals cannot be biodegraded - they survive in the environment for a long time, increasing the risk of exposure.
In the Chachoengsao agricultural district, in the east of Bangkok, local villagers have lost their main water sources due to the disposal of electronic waste. Cassava fields were changed at the end of 2017, when the nearby Chinese-managed factory began to carry foreign electronic waste goods such as crushed computers, circuit boards and cables to be recycled to mine electronics for valuable metal components such as copper, silver and gold. But these items also contain tin, cadmium and mercury, which are very poisonous if wrongly handled during processing. Besides feeling fainted from dangerous smoke emitted during processing, a local claim the factory also pollutes the water. “When it rains, water passes through a pile of waste and passes through our house and enters the land and water system. Water tests conducted in the province by the Earth’s Environmental Group and the local government both find toxic, manganese, tin, nickel and in some arsenic cases and in some cases “Cadmium.” The community was observed when they used water from shallow wells, there were some development of skin diseases or there was a foul odor, “said Penhom Saetang founder of Earth.” This is proof, that it is true, as suspected by the community, there are problems that occur in their water sources. "
Electronic Waste Capital
Guiyu in the Guangdong region in China is a large -magnitude -massive electronic waste processing community. This is often referred to as “the capital of E-Waste world.” Traditionally, Guiyu is an agricultural community; However, in the mid-1990s he changed into an electronic waste recycling center involving more than 75% of local households and an additional 100,000 migrant workers. Thousands of individual workshops employ workers to cut the cable, pull the chip from the circuit board, grind the plastic computer boxm particles, and dip boards in acid immersion to dissolve precious metals. Others work to remove insulation from all cables in an effort to save a small amount of copper wire. Uncontrolled combustion, demolition, and disposal have caused a number of environmental problems such as groundwater contamination, atmospheric pollution, and water pollution either by direct disposal or from surface runoff (especially near coastal areas), as well as health problems including occupational safety and health effects Among those who are directly involved and indirect, because the method of processing waste applied.
Six of the many villages in Guiyu specialized in the demolition of the circuit board, seven in plastic and metal that were reprocessed, and two in the demolition of wire and cables. Greenpeace, environmental groups, take samples of dust, land, river sediments, and ground water in Guiyu. They found a very high level of toxic heavy metals and organic contaminants in both places. Lai Yun, a campaigner for the group, found “more than 10 poisonous metals, such as lead, mercury, and cadmium.”
Guiyu is just an example of a digital disposal site but similar places can be found throughout the world in Nigeria, Ghana, and India.
Substances contained in electronic waste
Some computer components can be reused in assembling new computer products, while others are reduced to metals that can be reused in varied application such as construction, flatware, and jewelry. Substances found in large quantities include epoxy resin, fiberglass, PCB, PVC (polyvinyl chloride), plastic thermoseting, lead, tin, copper, silicone, beryllium, carbon, iron, and aluminum. Elements found in small amounts including cadmium, mercury, and thallium. The elements found in the number of traces including Americium, Antimone, Arsenic, Barium, Bismuth, Boron, Kobalt, Europe, Gerium, Germanium, Gold, Indium, Lithium, Manganese, Nickel, Niobium, Paladium, Platinum, Rhodium, Route , Silver, Tantalum, Terbium, Thorium, Titanium, Vanadium, and Yttrium. Almost all electronics contain tin and tin (as solder) and copper (such as cables and print circuit board tracks), although the use of leading leaders is now spreading quickly.
E-Waste legislative framework
The European Union (EU) has discussed the problem of electronic waste by introducing two pieces of law. First, the direction of electrical and electronic equipment (Weee Directive) came into force in 2003. The main purpose of this direction is to regulate and motivate electronic waste recycling and reused in member countries at that time. This was revised in 2008, began in 2014. Furthermore, the EU has also implemented directions to restrictions on the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment from 2003. These documents were also revised in 2012. When it came to countries Balkan Barat, North Macedonia has adopted laws on batteries and accumulators in 2010, followed by laws on the management of electrical and electronic equipment in 2012. Serbia has regulated the management of special waste flows, including electronic waste, with national waste management strategies strategies National (2010-2019). Montenegro has adopted concession actions regarding electronic waste with ambitions to collect 4 kg of waste every year per person until 2020. The Albanian legal framework is based on the design of waste from electrical and electronic equipment from 2011 which focuses on electrical and electronic design equipment. In contrast, Bosnia and Herzegovina are still losing laws governing electronic waste.
In October 2019, 78 countries globally established both policies, laws, or special regulations to regulate electronic waste. However, there is no clear indication that countries follow the regulations. Regions like Asia and Africa have policies that are not legally binding and more precisely programmed. Therefore, this has a challenge that electronic waste management policies have not been fully developed globally by countries.
Solving The E-Waste Problem (StEP) Initiative
Solving E-Waste problems is a membership organization that is part of the UN University and was created to develop solutions to overcome problems related to electronic waste. Some of the most prominent players in the field of production, reuse and recycling of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), government agencies and NGOs and UN organizations count themselves among its members. Step encourages the collaboration of all stakeholders connected to E-Waste, emphasizing a holistic, scientific approach but applies to the problem.
Recycling Business
Attero, the largest electronic recycling company in India
Attero is India’s top e-recycler that operates globally, following them quoted from their site (Attero.in):
Earth is home to 8.7 million species and more than 7 billion human life. Revolution in technology by humans has made electronic products and listsrik as a necessity. But like all things made man or naturally end, the shelf life of this e-goods is much lower and contributes to 2.5 million tons of electronic waste every year. At the level given in 2030, this electronic waste is expected to swell to 74.7 million tons of worry, which will definitely swallow this planet and expose all living creatures by some harmful toxic metals, and describe us all to unknown dangers.
But what if waste can be treated responsibly to redesign the future? Attero sees opportunities and potential in recycling unwanted electronic waste at this time to become a sustainable resource for tomorrow. Revolving its technology to provide world power with zero waste through circular economy. And since then, no one looked back, but only trailblazing to save the planet.
It is not in vain until it is wasted.
This is an unwavering belief and an ongoing effort to rethink, redesign, restore and reuse resources from electronics at the end of the Li-ion battery life in an environmentally friendly way, that at this time ATTERO is the largest electronic asset management company in India.
ATTERO company supported by World Bank, whose clients include Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor, also plans to prepare your first public offering in about one year and register in India or the United States in three years In the future, Nitin Gupta said in an interview.
The purpose of the attero is to increase the annual lithium-ion battery waste processing capacity to 300,000 tons in 2027 from 11,000 tons now, he said, meets 15% of the world demand for lithium, cobalt and graphite, from less than 0.1% today.
By recycling the battery like that, Mr. Gupta says they not only solve electronic waste problems, but also to:
Significant players in the material supply chain by selling environmentally friendly metals without mining the earth
He said half of the cost of electric vehicles was a lithium-ion battery, at least 35% of the costs then came from cobalt, nickel, lithium, graphite, and manganese.
Attero extraction rate is around 98% and uses chemical methods instead of the more expensive smelting process by melting certain metals, said Mr. Gupta. Some of the ingredients he extracted were channeled to Tesla Inc. through the mining group Swiss Glencore PLC.
He said the ATTERO Poland factory would operate in the fourth quarter of 2022, at Ohio in the third quarter of 2023 and in Indonesia in the first quarter of 2024.
His rivals include Li-Cycle Holdings and Redwood material, but can also face competition from established car makers such as Nissan planning their own battery recycling operations.
Source
Twitter.com, Wikipedia.org, Attero.in, Thehindu.com, Tiktok.com
