The journey from a 1.44-megabyte floppy disk to a 532-gigabyte flash drive that is smaller than the thumb is almost 50 years long. With technological innovation today, we have faster connections and smaller devices. But, do you know many of the electronics of the past half-century are still around? Wondering how? Well, it is present underground, overseas, and in the atmosphere in the form of electronic waste. The popularity of new tech has made e-waste one of the fastest-growing waste streams globally. Here’s all you need to know about it.
What is E-Waste?
Any consumer or commercial electronic product that’s reached the end of its useful life is known as electronic waste or e-waste. In simpler terms, the term e-waste covers all types of electrical and electronic equipment and its parts that the owner has discarded as waste. When outdated electronics are not disposed of properly, they may have scary effects on the environment. E-waste is categorized into the following 8 categories.