E-Waste Market Size Continues to Grow

The modernization and digitization have proved to be worthy for the entire world and humanity but it has also given us a menace in the form of e-waste. With the increasing use of electronic devices and electrical equipment, the collection of e-waste is also mounting.
E-waste or electronic waste is a term used for those electronic equipment that has reached its end of life in the hand of its current user. These devices when disassembled or destroyed are either taken for reuse or slated for hazardous disposal. Some of the electronic waste can be recycled and they are called as a "commodity" while those which cannot be reused is categorized as "waste".

E-Waste Market Size

The global market of electronic waste is estimated to be $7.2 billion in 2004 and it is predicted to increase at average annual growth rate of 8.8% till 2009 to $11 billion.

• Due to the rising demand of high value engineered plastics, the recycled plastics sector will register the maximum revenue growth. It will grow at 10.2% AAGR.
• The recycled metals market will continue to be dominated by the growth in metals mined from end of life electronic waste, growing at an AAGR of 8.1%.
• Recycled glass is low valued hence the recycled glass market continues to be stagnant. Glass cullets sold into the marketplace will continue to command modest prices.
• The cathode ray tube recovered from the old CRTs are vastly used in the new CRTs. The market demand for recovered cathode ray tube feedstock is growing and getting stronger. Due to this higher value glass-to-glass recycling the market will grow at an AAGR of 7.5%.

Reasons for Increasing E-Waste

Due to the increasing areas of information society and the dependency of businesses on computer and Internet, the e-waste has been mounting. Perhaps e-waste is the fastest growing segment of the municipal solid waste stream. E-waste has been mounting rapidly with the rise of the information society. In developed countries, e-waste constitutes 1% of solid waste but it is expected to grow to 2% by 2010. In developing countries, the percentage of e-waste out of solid waste ranges from 0.01% to 1%. But in recent future, the developing countries including, China will be the fastest growing segment of the e-waste market. Over the next five years, the electronic waste in developing countries has the potential to triple the amount at current.
The rising mount of electronic waste isn't going to be cut recently. Computer sales are growing at a rate of 10% worldwide and sale of DVD players are doubling every year. Along with that the rate of obsolescence of electronic equipment is increasing. The life-cycle of the electrical and electronic equipment are shortening. The life period of a television set is reduced to 10 years while that of a computer remains only 2-3 years. All the above mentioned facts are equally responsible for the rising e-waste. In spite of such horrendous situation manufacturers and governments have not kept pace with electronic waste policy and practice. Eventually a high percentage of electronics are ending up in the waste stream releasing harmful toxins into the environment.

Pattrick is working as an industry analyst in the electronics and electrical industry for last fifteen years. He is working on a blog where you can get a lot of information on electronics industry, news, innovations, tradeshows, etc. http://myelectronicsblog.blogspot.com/ He is associated with one of the best electronics and electrical industry marketplaces http://www.digitivity.com/

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New technologies are now arising, polymers are helping easier management of e-wastes!

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Former Vice President Al Gore has issued a powerful challenge to America. Take action at http://www.wecansolveit.org.

Mr. Gore issued his challenge on July 17, 2008 at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC.
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Passenger Cars Contribute to Environmental Pollution

Automobile pollution is the amount of emissions produced by different automobiles running on roads. Increasing levels of air pollution from these automobiles especially passenger cars have become a real threat to the Indian populace as well as the environment.

In India, commercial vehicles and passenger cars are believed to contribute maximum to environmental pollution. Today, as the awareness of people regarding environmental pollution is consistently increasing, they are gathering up ways and measures to control pollution especially that from passenger cars.

Indian car manufacturers like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, and Honda are continuously working on greener technologies to help keep the environment clean and give a green world to their valued customers as well as the others in the country who don't even own cars.

Common Car Pollutants

The key component responsible for car pollution is the combustion engine. Getting the combustion engine in a car going requires a mixture of air and fuel to be burnt within the engine's cylinders. The petrol used in this mixture is composed of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxide. The unburnt quantity of these gases in the combustion engine emit out as pollutants.

Car pollution is increased further if the car is not tuned and maintained properly. The car should be regularly checked and maintained in order to keep the emission levels at minimum.

Key car pollutants that have a negative effect on the environment are:

• Carbon Monoxide: Carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas produced in the internal combustion engine. More of this poisonous gas is produced if the air to fuel ratio is low. The key factor responsible for increased production of carbon dioxide is irregular maintenance of car engine. It is also said that cars produce about 90% of the total carbon monoxide content that majorly contributes to environmental pollution.
• Nitrogen Oxide: Nitrogen reacts with oxygen atoms when there is high pressure and high temperature. Both these atoms react together to form nitrogen oxide that is one of the most harmful gases for both the environment as well as human. These are also believed to contribute to acid rain formation and about 72% to global warming.
• Hydrocarbon: These are composed of hydrogen and water and are produced during combustion. Composed of different molecular weight substances, these often pose a great risk to human as well as the environment.

Long Term Solutions

Modern cars use catalytic convertors to reduce emissions from passenger cars. At present, the situation is gradually taken care of by these convertors but long term solutions will have to be conceived to have a safer environment.
Innovative new technologies are paving the way for alternative sources of fuels that produce lower emissions. The recent trend includes the usage of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). For the future, car manufacturers are also eyeing water and air as possible sources of energy to drive cars.

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Are We Aware Of The Impact Of Ewaste On Our Health And Environment?

As swanky electronic gazettes have become the new lifestyle status symbols of the modern society, more and more people have started taking to adapting and flaunting latest technology equipments. The usage of mobiles, laptops, mp3 players, computer, LCD TVs and home equipments with advanced technologies have become common. With new upgrades in technology everyday, old equipments are fast phasing out because of obsolence. This obsolete, non-working, non-repairable but durable equipments obviously find there way into the garbage.

According to N.M. Taphani, Regional Officer, Pollution Control Board, this Electronic Waste is highly dangerous for environment and hence should not be disposed with the regular garbage. Electrical and electronic equipment are made up of a multitude of components, some containing toxic substances which can have an adverse impact on human health and the environment if not handled properly. They should be segregated and disposed as per the norms However, according to him the disposal of all domestic waste is the responsibility of Municipal Corporation or civic authorities. Hence, they have not been taking any action on the matter. The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) of the Government of India has developed a special guide for issues and problems created by eWaste. However, the workgroup for this divison are currently functional only in Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi.

Vendors in the business of used computers says, they often come across non-working computer parts whose repairing may cost more than a new one. They usually throw such parts like display cards, network cards or mother boards of old computers into the nearest dustbin alongwith other garbage. According to Dealers of home equipments, used Television and Electronic equipments are purchased by dealers as buyback. This second hand equipments if working are usually resold to small vendors from nearby villages otherwise they are sold to scrap dealers in town. These scrap dealers in turn use some of the useful material from the equipments and throw away the rest of then things in garbage. According to Mobile phone showroom owners, when they come across non-repairable phones, they keep the working parts of the phone into their inventory and throw away the stripped phone. There are many people who change handphones almost every 6-8 months as the one he is using either gets outdated or becomes non-repairable due to extensive usage. They normally sell the old phones for peanuts to second hand vendors. Environmentalist Dr. Vinod Pandya say the toxins and chemicals released by disposing this waste creates dangerously harmful effects to human body. According to him, the quantity of eWaste is drastically increasing in our environment and if it is not controlled using specified methods, it will create unpredictable harm to the environment. According to an Assistant Engineer working in the Solid Waste Management department of the civic authorities, they do not collect Industrial Waste and Bio-medical Waste in their garbage. The rest of the waste collected is send to the Porcessing Plant. At processing plant they segregate solid wastes received during garbage collection, however, he is confident that they are not receivng any eWaste with the garbage. He believes that there are many Rag Tickers who pick up this waste material from dustbins and hence, these waste do not reach the Processing plant.

Sove of the eWaste generated due to common human activities are as follows :

1 Breaking, Recycling or disposing Releasing of toxins into the soil, air and groundwater Of Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)

2 Burning of wires Induces formation of dioxins

3 Burning of Printed Circuit Boards Induces alarmingly high formation of dioxins

4 Destroying Circuit Breakers Creates Leaching of Mercury

5 Breaking or CRT Glass Leaching of Lead

Nischal Sanghavi, B.E.(Electronics), MBA, Businessman and Freelance writer for The Times of India.

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Know How to Make Your Own Biofuel - Save Money Using It

With the dependence on traditional fossil fuels through this years, the world is so much crippled that there is an impending oil crisis that will not only affect governments and businesses but on a deeper and more profound level, citizens. With this, the advent of revolutionizing alternative sources such as plants has become one of the last hopes we have, not only to save us from economic downfall but also to the plagues that traditional fossil fuels have caused the environment.

If you think the idea to make your own biofuel is too ambitious confined only to oil companies who have the logistics and enough funding and far from being done on your own, you are wrong. The FuelPod2 was invented to make everything in the process easier. This device though might at first be costly for you a beginner who is just trying it out to make your own biofuel.

Simple steps with just the simple ingredients and utensils with the right kind of vision are just what you need to make your own biofuel right in the comfort of your home while you don't have your sophisticated Fuelpod2 just yet. Yes, right inside your home. All you need is your waste vegetable oil as your main actor, the appropriate amount of lye to create a perfect chemical reaction producing the biofuel, alcohol needed during the heating and mixing proper to separate the glycerine from the final biodiesel fuel extract, and water of course for the final washing.

So, why know how to make your own biodiesel?
It's simple: Because the benefits are outstanding. The most important benefit is that you will reduce pollution of our planet, and if we start using more biofuel and less petrol our planet will be cleaner for our kids. The second benefit is the money that you can save. If you get a guide and learn how to make your own biodiesel you will spend 0$ on gas for your car. You will run your car on biodiesel and your engine will not be affected by running on biofuel.

These guides will show you exactly how to make your car run on biodiesel and how to make biodiesel in your own house. Don't you want to save at least 90% on gas costs?

Get 0$ Gas without modifying your car or your engine and without investing any money on your car.

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How Does Mining Affect the Environment

As most of us are aware, mining is one of the most environmentally unfriendly industries. Mining can seriously affect land, air, and even water systems. The greatest challenge confronting the mining industry today is to find ways of extracting and processing mineral and metal with minimum damage to our ecosystem.

The adverse environmental impacts of mining operation start with mineral exploration, continues throughout the extraction and subsequent processing and at times persist even after the entire operations are over. Mining can cause serious land degradation, large-scale denudation of forest cover, weakening of biodiversity, pollution of air, water and soil. The fall out can extend well beyond the mining area and lead to many social, economic and political disturbances. To mitigate the adverse impacts of mining and restore the mining-affected areas, it is imperative to conduct proper research and find ways and means to protect the environment.

Tips on Saving Electricity

Finally the summer heat has struck! It is time for us to use Electricity judiciously to meet energy requirement of one and all.

During the months of May and June, schools and colleges have vacations. The kids are at home and their moms are busy baking cakes and other baked items for their kids. I take this opportunity to introduce you to some simple ways to optimize energy consumption while using an electric oven.

Tips while using Electric Oven:

· Prefer the use of Microwave ovens over conventional ovens, because they are 33 to 66% more efficient than convection or conventional ovens.
· Turn ON the oven only when you are done with the preparation and are ready to keep the dish in the oven.
· If the food is frozen, it will take much time and energy to get heated up. So, defrost the frozen food before keeping into the oven.
· Minimize pre-heat time as per the requirement of food to be cooked and avoid energy wastage. The recipes having a longer cooking time generally do not require pre-heating.
· Keep the oven racks clear and stagger the food on tray to allow good circulation of hot air.
· Try to cook with a full oven. The energy required to cook multiple dishes together is less than cooking one dish at a time repeatedly.
· If there are multiple loadings, keep the trays ready to minimize change time.
· Do not open the door of the oven to check if the food is done. Every time you open the oven door, the oven temperature is lowered by around 25 to 75o F.
· Select ovens with a window that allows you to check the food without opening the door.
· Timers too can be used effectively to optimize the electricity consumption.
· Use of glass or ceramic pans reduces the energy requirement. The food gets cooked quickly with these pans as compared to conventional utensils.
· Turn OFF the oven a little before the food is ready. This completely utilizes the heat available inside.
· Use leftover heat in the oven to keep the food warm. Ovens retain heat for up to 30 minutes after they have been turned off.
· Inspect the seal around the oven. If it is damaged or perished replace it.
· Turn off the appliance from the plug point switch as a safety precaution and to avoid any 'stand by power' loss.

Use electricity responsibly and save energy so as to be environmentally friendly as well as economically friendly!

Author - HirenB. I am a technical/content writer and I've written many more articles regarding various topics such as health related issues, relationships, Internet marketing, gemstones, etc.

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Facts About Biodegradable Products

Biodegradable materials are supposed to be environmentally friendly but sometimes this expectation isn't entirely true.
What Is Biodegradable?
In order for a product to be classified as a biodegradable product, it must be able to be broken down into its constituent natural elements and be absorbed by the environment. Real biodegradable material will often break down into:

• Simple organisms
• Carbon
• Hydrogen
• Bacteria
• Fungi
• Oxygen - Carbon dioxide Co2 and water H2O

Because a product is advertised as biodegradable it doesn't necessarily mean that it is good for the environment. No guidelines exist with which to aid buyers of products which are advertised as biodegradable. These products may actually be biodegradable since they eventually break down into their natural elements but it doesn't necessarily mean that they are safe for the environment.



Being Biodegradable Isn't Always Safe
Different biodegradable elements tend to break down into natural elements over a certain period of time. Some of them break down into natural elements which may be harmful to the health of both flora and fauna alike. One such element is nonylphenolethoxylate otherwise known as NDE; this element is a constituent part of many cleaning supplies we use today. The natural elements that make up NDE include carbon, hydrogen as well as oxygen, thus most people assume that when it is broken down it should break down into these same elements. However this is not the case, NDE actually breaks down to become a harmful benzene compound that is damaging to female reproductive organs.
How Long It Takes Is another Factor
Something else that is of importance and considerable concern is the period that a product takes to break down into its constituent parts. Something like a loaf of bread is totally biodegradable. It can actually break down into simple sugars in a mere matter of days. Paper on the other hand may take up to 5 months to degrade into its proper constituent elements.
One other problem is the disposal methods that are used to get rid of the products we wish to dispose of. A natural compost pile makes it easy for normal food to degrade easily. If waste on the other hand is placed among other forms of garbage natural and unnatural alike, it may take months to or even years to decompose. Researchers have found apple cores that were more than two decades old in garbage landfills. If you seek out better ways to dispose of biodegradable material, you can help speed up the degrading process and make the resultant products safer.
This is are average indicators of the period of time that it takes to breakdown a biodegradable product completely

• Paper: 2-5 weeks
• Banana peel: 3-5 weeks
• Orange peels: 6 months
• Cotton rags 1-5 months
• Cigarette butts: 1-12 years
• Plastic or cardboard milk carton: 5 years

Returning To Nature
Any products that come from nature such as plants, minerals and animals will eventually return to their natural states over time. Products that are man-made such as petrochemical products cannot be broken down by microorganisms into natural elements. They will simply remain non-degradable and will continue to litter the earth for centuries.

Undertaking E-Waste Management For a Greener Tomorrow

The problem of e-waste management warrants greater attention in India due to the increasing volumes of e-waste dumps, particularly computer waste, by developed countries. Of late, a number of SMEs have also woken up to the gravity of the situation. In order to dispose the e-waste dumps, these SMEs are implementing environment friendly e-waste management technologies for minimising the waste volume.

India, one of the leading countries in the global IT and telecom domain, generates huge volumes of electronic waste (e-waste) every year. According to industry estimates, electronic equipment manufacturers and assemblers in India generate around 1250 tonnes of electronic waste annually.

As formal waste recycling and disposal technology is still in a nascent stage in India, it has aggravated the problem of toxic pollutants that are disposed in open environment. Kurian Joseph, Associate Professor, Center for Environmental Studies, Anna University, says, "In India, waste recycling and disposal have been performed through informal techniques, which has given rise to serious environmental hazards."

United against e-waste generation

Speaking about the initiatives taken by the government to alleviate the problem of e-waste generation in the country, Prof. Joseph says, "A recent legislation passed by the government mandates e-waste generators to collaborate with licensed waste management firms to bring down wastage volume and recycle it safely."

In addition, a slew of small and mid-sized firms are seen entering into tie-ups with various international firms to exploit green technologies for reducing e-waste. K Vijaya Lakshmi, VP of Development Alternatives, shares, "A Bengaluru-based NGO has recently brought together several SME sector firms to initiate community programmes aimed at e-waste management".

Innovations leading the way

Innovations such as green data centres and virtualisation can play a significant role in e-waste management. In addition, these technologies can optimise the use of space and power in the IT and telecom sector. Furthermore, manufactures should strive for waste minimisation by using non-hazardous materials during their production process itself rather than managing the wastes later.

"Along with implementing green technologies, both SMEs and bigger firms should ensure proper waste handling across their supply chains, and waste recycling should only be performed by licensed firms", says Dr Lakshmi.

Dr Lakshmi also emphasised that waste management is the responsibility of both consumers and Manufacturers, who should reduce the use of hazardous substances and dispose waste properly.

David Parks is a well known author and has written articles on SME finance Guide, B2B Portal, B2B Products, suppliers, Manufactures and many other subjects.

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