Tech enthusiasts like ourselves tend to spend more on electronics and upgrade more often than the average consumer, but as tech has grown more mainstream than ever, and with product cycles accelerated on the mobile market, electronic waste is becoming an equally expanding issue.
There is a lack of consensus as to whether the term (e-waste) should apply to resale, reuse, and refurbishing industries, or only to product that cannot be used for its intended purpose. Informal processing of electronic waste in developing countries may cause serious health and pollution problems, though these countries are also most likely to reuse and repair electronics.
All electronic scrap components may contain contaminants such as lead, cadmium, beryllium, or brominated flame retardants. Even in developed countries recycling and disposal of e-waste may involve significant risk to workers and communities and great care must be taken to avoid unsafe exposure in recycling operations and leaching of material such as heavy metals from landfills and incinerator ashes.
This infographic puts e-waste figures in perspective...