THE FUTURE OF EWASTE
Future change in the amount of e-waste product being collected for reuse or recycling after reaching end of life discard status cannot be forecast with certainty. The rapid advancements and creation of new technology mean for the rapid increase of electronic waste. Experts predict an increase to 50 billion devices in the IoT (Internet of Things) by the year 2020!
Recycling electronic waste can be done in many different ways, little research has been done regarding the newest materials within the end-of-life technology and with respect to how they behave in traditional recycling processes. It is likely that some of these new materials and additives within electrical equipment may present ‘new’ dangers.
Three Important Trends
-
Downsizing – making electronic devices smaller
-
Life Extension – turnover cycles of devices are expanding
-
Sharing Economy
The sharing economy is an important trend, within major cities the idea of sharing is becoming popular. This sharing economy doesn’t mean sharing a smart phone with someone but rather sharing large appliances, power tools and other appliances that are not often needed on a day to day basis.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
​
Japan is a small country, but its efforts in electronic waste recycling has been astounding and have attracted attention from many developed countries globally.
With a population of more than 127 million, Japan recycles more than 2 million tons of electronic waste annually while America only recycles about 679,000 tons annually with a population over 1 Billion.
The recycling of electronic waste products also promises to reduce environmental pollution by conserving virgin resources, which are required for the manufacturing of high-tech consumer products as well as for aerospace, automotive and other industries. As the demand for these limited resources continues to rise, industry will be left with little choice but to capture recycled materials for manufacturing and to meet the demand for their new products. (K. Morgan)