All the necessary information to understand the recycling, his benefits and the importance of the work that DEGRAF realizes.

What is electronics waste (e-waste)?

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) waste or e-waste is any device powered by electrical energy which useful life has ended. The Basel Convention defines e-waste as any equipment or electronic component unable to complete the task for they were originally made. In this way, they become waste, creating electronic waste or "e-waste."

Rapid advances in technology and lower costs daily generates huge amounts of end-of-life electronic devises, per year, Chile has a growth estimates of 4% over the household waste. According to the Environmental Protection Agency U.S. (EPA), in 2007 more than 63 million computers in the U.S. were replaced or disposed and only 15% of them were recycled. In the top ten waste producers, the U.S. tops the list with 3 million tonnes followed by China with an estimated 2.3 million.

What are the most common problems with electronic waste?

Wastes of electronic devises generate some specific problems like:

• They are toxic

Some of the most dangerous substances contained in electronic equipment are arsenic, cadmium, phosphorus, selenium, lead, etc.. If these wastes are sent to landfills or are not properly treated during the dismantling process, toxic components are released, with serious consequences for those who worked with them and also contaminates the environment by contaminating water through groundwater or air when they are burned.

• They are often sent to third world countries

Unfortunately, for many "recyclers" is much more cost effective to send electronic waste to third world countries with lower environmental standards, voiding the costs of proper treatment and safe disposal of hazardous waste and making these countries recipients of our pollution. Also in these countries there are many people, even children, who work without any protection when they remove these waste components..

• Saturated landfills

Sending e-waste, which occupies a large volume, contributes to the rapid saturation of landfills, with the inconvenience that this action entails. Considering that a great amount of them can be recovered then recycling is the best option for disposal.

What's in this waste?

Recycling of equipment and electronic devices known as "urban mining" is a valuable source of raw materials. Once they are recovered, they can be taken back into the production cycle with a minimum energetic consumption and waste generation. Among the recovered materials are lead, tin, silicon, copper, gold, iron, aluminum, plastics, all present in large amount in computers or other electronics.

Electronic devices also contain many dangerous substances, for example, an old computer monitor contains a large amount of lead inside of the cathode ray tube (CRT), a mercury battery can contaminate 60.000 liters of water or the burning of plastics and PVC cable produce dioxins and furans, all these elements highly hazardous to humans.

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