electronic waste
Obsolete device refuse
Electronic waste refers to discarded electrical and electronic devices—computers, phones, televisions, appliances.
Often shortened to e-waste.
The category raises environmental concerns because electronics contain toxic materials like lead and mercury, and because rapid obsolescence generates enormous volumes: The city opened a new facility for electronic waste recycling.
Much e-waste from wealthy countries ends up in developing nations, where it's processed under hazardous conditions.
- batteriesPortable energy storage units
- cablesHeavy ropes or wires
- computersProgrammable electronic devices
- circuit boardsElectronic component substrates
- cadmiumElement forty-eight
dismantling · urban mining · smartphones · gold · rare earth elements · toxic chemicals · refurbishing · soil contamination · shredding · data destruction · copper · televisions · monitors · planned obsolescence · printers · silver · keyboards · recycling center
- pollutionair pollution, water pollution, soil pollution, smog, noise pollution
- wastetrash, garbage, rubbish, refuse, debris
- wastefulnesssquandering, extravagance, profligacy, dissipation, overspending
- salvagesalvage, salvage operations, salvage operation, salvor, marine salvage
- Modern Debrismicroplastics, plastic bags, plastic debris, bottle caps, styrofoam
- waste typespollution, landfills, single-use plastic, excess packaging, spoilage
electronic wastebiodegradable waste
Trash that decomposes naturally
organic waste · yard waste · compost · green waste · leaf litter
electronic wastesustainable materials
Resources with minimal environmental impact
eco-friendly products · green technology · recycled materials · renewable resources · clean technology