The electronics industry is the world’s largest and fastest growing industry. This growth, combined with rapidly increasing product obsolescence and consumer choices, has brought in a new kind of waste – electronic waste or e-waste. E-waste is now the fastest growing fraction of the municipal solid waste stream because people are upgrading their mobile phones, computers, televisions, audio equipment and printers more frequently than ever before. It is estimated that in developed countries e-waste makes up five percent of all municipal solid waste which is almost the same amount as plastic packaging, but it is much more hazardous. The South African Government states in its National Waste Management Strategy (2011) that there is an increased complexity in the waste streams that are sent to landfills and that hazardous waste is found to be mixed with general waste. The limited understanding of the different complex waste streams and unavailability of accurate information complicates the scenario to determine the actual amount of e-waste generated in South Africa. The study aimed to provide qualitative data on e-waste collected, handeld and disposed of in South Africa.
展开▼
