E-Waste Recycling for Extraction of Precious Metals
E-Waste Recycling for Extraction of Precious Metals (Nickel, Tin & Zinc), Gold, Silver, Palladium, Plastic, Glass and Copper. Electronic Waste (E-Waste, E-scrap) Recycling & Disposal
Electronic waste recycling is the reprocessing of electrical and electronic equipment of different types which have been discarded so as to reuse it. The electronic wastes include household appliances such as TV, air conditioners, computers, mobile phones, laptops, DVDs, oven, microwave, fans, heaters, toasters and others. Recycling of electronic waste is an upcoming trend which growing immensely as there is a severe need to protect human and environmental health. Electronic wastes have a very high impact on environment, the pollution due to the increasing electronic wastes as led to the recycling of electronic waste on a larger scale.
Electrical and electronic waste contains many valuable and recoverable materials such as aluminum, ferrous metals, copper, gold and silver. For maximum energy and natural resources conservation, electronic waste treatment and recycling have become a major priority for many countries. Electronic waste also contains toxic and hazardous materials including mercury, lead, cadmium, chromium, antimony and many other chemicals and recycling can prevent them from posing an environmental hazard.
Why E-waste Recycling is Important?
- Recycling the e-waste helps to manage solid waste effectively.
- Actually, old electronic devices contain toxic substances such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and chromium. And these are tremendously harmful to the environment. Therefore, proper processing of e-waste is essential.
- E-waste contains a huge amount of precious metals.
- Nowadays, e-waste contributes to more than 70% of the environmental pollution. And only recycling of e-waste can reduce environmental pollution.
- E-waste recycling provides proper handling and management of toxic chemical substances like mercury, lead and cadmium contained in the e-waste stream.
- E-waste recycling saves unnecessary dumps and landfills.
- Reduces consumption of energy by minimizing product development lifecycle
- Reduces or stop pollution caused by informal processing of e-waste
Global E-Waste Management Market
Global E-Waste Management Market is expected to garner $49.4 billion by 2020, registering a CAGR of 23.5% during the forecast period 2014 – 2020. It is one of the fastest growing waste streams in emerging as well as developed regions. The reduced life spans of electrical, electronic and consumer electronic devices are generating large E-Waste, which is growing rapidly every year. The growth of E-Waste market is supplemented by the growing need for upgrading to the latest technologies. A desire towards the adoption of new technologically advanced devices leads to generation of millions of tons of E-Waste across various regions.
Electrical and electronic waste management technologies and recycling market comprise one of the fastest growing waste streams in emerging as well as developed regions. Rapid technology innovations and ever-shortening product life cycles are among the factors contributing to the rapid growth of electrical and electronic waste. Electrical and electronic waste is an inherently complex problem to manage because of its duality as both a valuable commodity and source of hazardous waste.
Electronic Waste Recycling Market
Electronic waste has been emerging as one of the major threats for the ecosystem, as e-waste contaminates air, soil, and water. E-waste contains highly toxic materials, including mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, and other toxic substances.
Based on the type of material processed in electronics recycling, the global electronic recycling market can be broadly classified as steel, copper, plastic resin, and others (including glass, silver, zinc, aluminum). Based on the various recycling methods, the electronic recycling market can be segmented as glass recycler, metal recycler, plastic recycler, and printed circuit board recycler. The different level of value chain addition in the electronic waste treatment market includes e-waste sources, collection process, waste recycling, and sale of recovered material.
Global E-Waste Management Market Segmentation
The rising disposable income in developing countries coupled with consumer’s inclination toward technologically advanced gadgets have resulted in the significant sales of electronic devices across the globe, thereby driving the e-waste management market.
Top Factors Impacting Global E-Waste Management Market
The prominent players in the Electronic Waste Recycling market are – Polymers, Inc. (California), Electronic Recyclers International, Inc. (U.S.), Sims Metal Management Ltd. (Australia), Aurubis AG (Germany), Boliden AB (Sweden), Stena Technoworld AB (Sweden), Tetronics (International) Ltd. (U.K.), Enviro-Hub Holdings Ltd. (Singapore), Global Electric Electronic Processing Inc. (Canada), Umicore S.A. (Belgium) among others.
E-Waste Recycling Market in India
With increasing disposable incomes and discarding of obsolete products, E-Waste generation is expected to increase over the coming years. Consumer electronic products such as refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, mobile phones, laptops, PCs, televisions, etc., are main sources of e-waste generation in the country. Increased enterprise IT spending, investment in high-end technology, and rapid industrialization are the key factors contributing to growing spending by public, private as well as government organizations towards E-Waste management.
India’s E-Waste market has been divided into various segments including IT and Telecom, Large Household Appliances and Consumer Electronics. Some of the key products generating most of the E-Waste in the country include PCs, mobile phones, refrigerators, washing machines, laptops, televisions, etc. Attero, Ecoreco, SIMS Recycling, Earth Sense Recycle, and TSS-AMM are the major E-Waste recycling and management players operating in the country. These players are focusing on increasing consumer awareness, while also working towards bridging the gap between the organized and unorganized E-Waste management market in India.
India will consume $400 billion worth of electronic goods by 2020 generating a huge growth in end of life products, known as electronic or E-Waste. Electronic Waste creates opportunities for jobs and reducing the country’s dependency on imports of metals for manufacturing phones and computers by retaining recycled metals in the country. On the hand the processing of this E-Waste poses huge environmental and health hazards.
Recycling of electronic waste includes two methods as the traditional manual disassembly method and automated process. The automated process is majorly preferred, it consists of 6 steps which are- picking shed, disassembly, first size reduction process, second size reduction process, over band magnet, non-metallic and metallic components separation and water separation.
In India, companies such as Attero, E-Parisaraa, Ecoreco, SIMS Recycling, and TSS-AMM are among the major E-Waste management players.
The electronics recycling business is becoming increasingly important as volumes of e-waste continue to grow, setting the stage for the growth of that industry. The huge growth of consumer electronics has led to an ever-expanding surge of end-of-life electronics that must be recycled. More than just trash, this material can be an environmental and health hazard.
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