Meaning of e-waste (what is it, concept and definition)

What is E-waste:

E-waste means waste, trash, or electronic junk. It can also be designated under the WEEE acronym, corresponding to the name of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment. E-waste , as such, is an English abbreviation for the expression electronic waste , which translates into Spanish 'electronic waste'.

In this sense, e-waste refers to all electronic devices or devices whose deterioration, disuse or obsolescence determine the end of their useful life, since they are no longer capable of fulfilling the task for which they were created.

One factor that contributes to the disproportionate increase in e-wastes in the world is the dynamics of constant technological development imposed by the industry, the most immediate consequence of which is the continuous production of devices that displace their predecessors. This occurs, above all, in hyperconsumer societies in the most developed countries, the main producers of technological scrap in the world.

The e-waste are comprises all kinds of technological waste, composed mainly of electronic devices powered by electricity, such as computers, cell phones, televisions, refrigerators, cameras, etc.

However, due to the materials with which they have been made, highly toxic and polluting, this type of waste requires a special type of treatment, since otherwise it can be harmful to the environment and risky to human health. In electronic waste we find substances such as mercury, harmful to the brain and nervous system; lead, harmful to the circulatory system and the brain; cadmium, which affects fertility; and chromium, which causes kidney and bone problems.

When improperly discarded, this type of waste represents a serious danger to the environment and human health, since they run the risk of breaking or reacting with other substances that promote the release of toxic agents that can even be fatal. In this way, they can be harmful to both people who handle them incorrectly and unprotected, and to those who are indirectly affected as a result of the environmental pollution they cause. Hence, there are already countries that have laws to regulate the management of electronic waste, and others that are advancing bills for their control.