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E-Waste

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Recycling Mobile Phones - MobileMuster. Lesson Objective In this module students explore the concept of landfill and gain an understanding of the environmental benefits of mobile phone recycling. They will develop the understanding and skills necessary to act responsibly and create texts that inform and persuade others to take action for sustainable futures. Australian Curriculum Content Description Lesson Outline 1. 2. 3. A. B. C. D. E. F.

G. H. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Resources 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Support Material Extension Activities Access Hero Creator and students can create their own mobile phone recycling hero Download and print the PDF document. Calculator - MobileMuster. Search. E-waste Recycling: Your Questions Answered. What is electronic waste? Electronic waste, or 'e-waste' can include all electronic and electronic products that are no longer wanted or useful. Computers and computer equipment including printers, scanners, keyboards, mice and monitors as well as televisions are the most common form of e-waste. Other e-waste can include DVD and CD players, stereo and sound systems, photocopiers, faxes, digital cameras, game consoles and mobile phones. Other types of e-waste include: Where can e-waste be taken by householders for recycling? Televisions and computers Televisions and computers can be taken to recycling locations in metropolitan and regional South Australia: drop-off special events are occasionally held under the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme.

Please don't: Please don't dump your unwanted items in the street or local community areas such as parks, reserves and roadsides. What can be recycled from e-waste? Much of what's used to make computers can be recycled, yet more than 1.5 million are dumped in Australian landfill each year. Their re-usable materials include ferrous (iron-based) and non-ferrous metals, glass and various types of plastic. So exactly what can be recycled from a computer? Almost 99% of the components that make up a PC can be recycled. By recycling we can avoid serious toxins, chemicals and heavy metals from going to landfill and polluting our environment. Find an e-waste collection near you. Read our e-waste fact sheet. Material use and re-use: Metal: 100% Recyclable Non-ferrous metals, mainly aluminium and copper can all be re-smelted and re-manufactured.

Glass: 99% Recyclable The best option is "glass to glass", where shards are processed to make material for new tubes or lead-based glass products, or for use in ceramics Alternatively, lead is extracted by smelting and re-used in lead products, and glass in road base. E-waste Recycling: Your Questions Answered. E-waste Recycling: Your Questions Answered. E Waste. Tools. Tools. Where Does Your E-Waste Go? - e-Stewards. Discarded, broken or obsolete electronics all go somewhere. As the founder of the Basel Action Network, Jim Puckett says, “Remember that when you throw something ‘away,’ it doesn’t just disappear. There’s no magical place or hidey hole called ‘away’.”

“Away” is a place that can be a local landfill, a village in China or a slum in Ghana. But it is always a place we should care about. The Trash Can You want your broken electronics gone. The Closet and Drawer & Friends and Family Many thousands of tons of old electronics, games, stereos, computers, and cell phones are sitting at home in garages, closets, and drawers. Unfortunately, the re-use value of electronics diminishes very rapidly, For this reason, it is far better to hand it over as soon as possible to an e-Stewards certified recycler so they can refurbish your device and maybe even give you money for it.

Non e-Stewards Electronics Recyclers Taking your electronics to any e-waste recycler seems like a good idea. Where does e-waste end up? According to the US EPA, more than 4.6 million tonnes of e-waste ended up in US landfills in 2000. Toxic chemicals in electronics products can leach into the land over time or are released into the atmosphere, impacting nearby communities and the environment. In many European countries, regulations have been introduced to prevent electronic waste being dumped in landfills due to its hazardous content. However, the practice still continues in many countries. In Hong Kong for example, it is estimated that 10-20 percent of discarded computers go to landfill. This releases heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury into the air and ashes. Mercury released into the atmosphere can bio accumulate in the foodchain, particularly in fish - the major route of exposure for the general public.

Reuse A good way to increase a product's lifespan. Recycle In developed countries, electronics recycling takes place in purpose-built recycling plants under controlled conditions. Export. The e-waste problem. Background - 23 May, 2005 The amount of electronic products discarded globally has skyrocketed recently, with 20-50 million tonnes generated every year. If such a huge figure is hard to imagine, think of it like this - if the estimated amount of e-waste generated every year would be put into containers on a train it would go once around the world!

Close up of a huge pile of computer keyboards waiting to be scrapped. These are likely to have been thrown away in Europe, US or Japan and then dumped in China because it is cheaper to dump this hazardous waste in China than dispose of it properly. Electronic waste (e-waste) now makes up five percent of all municipal solid waste worldwide, nearly the same amount as all plastic packaging, but it is much more hazardous. E-waste is now the fastest growing component of the municipal solid waste stream because people are upgrading their mobile phones, computers, televisions, audio equipment and printers more frequently than ever before.