E-waste is a term used to cover almost all types of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) that has or could enter the waste stream. Although e-waste is a general term, it can be considered to cover TVs, computers, mobile phones, white goods (e.g. fridges, washing machines, dryers etc), home entertainment and stereo systems, toys, toasters, kettles � almost any household or business item with circuitry or electrical components with power or battery supply.
Why is e-waste growing?
E-waste is growing exponentially simply because the markets in which these products are produced are also growing rapidly as many parts of the world cross over to the other side of the �Digital Divide�. For example, between 2000 and 2005, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) notes a 22% growth in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in China (1). Furthermore, China was the 6th largest ICT market in 2006, after the US, Japan, Germany, UK and France (2). This is astounding when one considers that just ten years ago, under 1% of China�s population owned a computer (3).
Computers are only one part of the e-waste stream though, as we see that in the EU in 2005, fridges and other cooling and freezing appliances, combined with large household appliances, accounted for 44% of total e-waste, according to UNU�s Study supporting the 2008 Review of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive (4).
Rapid product innovations and replacement, especially in ICT and office equipment, combined with the migration from analogue to digital technologies and to flat-screen TVs and monitors, for example, are fuelling the increase. Additionally, economies of scale have given way to lower prices for many electrical goods, which has increased global demand for many products that eventually end up as e-waste.
