Hazardous Waste Program Electronic waste, e-waste and e-scrap
are all terms used to describe unwanted electronic products.
According to the Consumer Electronics Association, Americans own
approximately 24 electronic products per household. With a
constant supply of newer, faster electronic products on the
market, older models are continually replaced. As a result,
electronics have become one of the fastest growing waste
streams. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated that
of the 2.25 million tons of televisions, cell phones and
computer products that were disposed in 2007, approximately 80
percent ended up in landfills. All the gold, copper, silver,
leaded glass and other recyclable materials used in those
products was buried instead of being recovered and reused.
E-scrap includes more than just televisions, cell phones and
computer products. The terms also includes DVD players, VCRs,
video cameras, digital cameras, gaming consoles, stereos,
answering machines, photocopiers/scanners and printers.