E-waste

E-waste, otherwise referred to as waste electronical and electronic equipment (WEEE), is mainly composed of non-ferrous metals (nickel, copper, lead, etc. E-waste typically encompasses everyday large appliances (professional/household) and small devices e.g., mobile phones, tables, etc. According to the UN, the world generated a massive 57.4 million tons of e-waste in 2021. Unfortunately, only 18% of e-waste is properly collected and recycled. This means that a plethora of valuable materials such as silver, copper, gold, platinum, and others are incinerated or landfilled. E-waste recycling enables the recovery of these valuable materials, alleviates our dependency on extracting new resources and reduces the dangers that improper disposal poses to the environment and human health.