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| ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC
WASTE (e-Waste): |
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| WHAT IS E-WASTE? |
Electrical and electronic
waste (e-Waste) or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
is the term used to describe old, end-of-life or discarded appliances
using electricity. It includes computers, consumer electronics,
fridges, etc which have been disposed of by their original users.
e-Waste contains both valuable recyclable materials as well as hazardous
materials which require special handling and recycling methods.
e-Waste contains a variety of recyclable materials like metals,
glass, and plastics. All of these materials can be reused to create
new products, which decreases the need to mine the earth for raw
resources.
e-Waste may be:
• collected for repair and upgrading, i.e. refurbished as
a second-hand product, for use by another consumer or
• collected for recycling, i.e. dismantled to recover metals,
plastics, and glass and other materials, to be re-used to create
new products
The hazardous substances contained in e-waste need to be correctly
handled to prevent health and environmental risks.
If you have old electric and electronic equipment you don't have
to store it anymore in your backyard or dump it somewhere. Visit
www.ewasa.org
for a list of collection points in the different provinces where
you can take your equipment. Most of the collection points are at
major shopping centres to make it as convenient as possible to get
rid of your e-waste. |
WHAT TO COLLECT: |
Large Household Appliances
- Washing machines
- Dryers
- Refrigerators
- Air-conditioners
- Stoves, ovens
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Small Household Appliances
- Hair dryers
- Kettles
- Vacuum cleaners
- Coffee Machines
- Irons, Toasters
- Microwaves
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Office Equipment
- PCs, Laptops
- Keyboards, mouse
- Ink cartridges
- Scanners, Copiers, Printers
- Projectors
- Screens
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Telecommunications Equipment
- Fax Machines
- Modems
- Mobiles phones
- Telephones
- Head sets
- Cables
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Electric and
Electronic Tools
- Drills
- Electric saws
- Sewing Machines
- Lawn Mowers
(Except: large stationary
tools/machines) |
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Entertainment
& Consumer Electronics
- Televisions
- VCR/DVD/CD players
- Hi-Fi sets
- Loudspeakers
- Radios
- Cameras
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Lighting Equipment
- Fluorescent tubes
- CFLs
- Sodium lamps
(Except: Bulbs, Halogen Bulbs) |
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- Medical Instruments and Equipment
- Surveillance and Control Equipment
- Automatic Issuing Machines (ATMs)
- Safety equipment
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| UNACCEPTABLE ITEMS: |
| Radioactive materials |
| TIPS FOR HOUSEHOLDERS/COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY/COLLECTORS: |
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Due to the hazardous materials contained
in e-waste, dismantling of equipment should be left to the experts.
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Handle CFLs and florescent tubes with care
to prevent breakage
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Handle TV screens and computer screens with
care, since the glass contains lead in the case of Cathode Ray
Tubes and mercury containing backlight lamps for LCD screens
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Take batteries and
mercury containing lamps such as CFLs and florescent tubes to
collection points at Woolworths, Makro and Pick n Pay (special
containers at the store’s entrance normally). See www.reclite.co.za
for a list of collection points
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| FACTS AND FIGURES: |
The management
of e-waste is in its infancy in South Africa. The following graph
sets out projections for baseline e-waste volumes for 2008-2012,
and includes all new units sold into the market. The tonnages figures
are informed estimates, and cannot be scientifically exact. |
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E-waste
projections
(Source: eWASA: e-Waste
Assessment South Africa, Nov 2008) |
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| FOR INFO ON HOW, WHO, WHY AND WHERE: |
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| Artwork used with kind permission of e-Waste
Association of SA, UniRoss South Africa, Reclite |
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