“I dropped my phone in the compost bin to see if it would biodegrade. After months of waiting, the only thing decomposed was my patience.”

As per the complex mix of materials, assessing the biodegradability of e-waste is not straightforward. Different components of electronic devices have varying levels of biodegradability.

Metals: Precious metals like gold, silver, copper, and palladium found in circuit boards and chips do not biodegrade, even over thousands of years. Aluminum cases also persist indefinitely.

Plastics: The plastic casings of electronics are generally made of PVC, ABS, or HIPS – plastics that take several decades or longer to decompose. The insulating plastic around wires contains PVC along with brominated flame retardants.

Circuit boards: The fiberglass and plastic composites that makeup circuit boards are not biodegradable. The solder contains heavy metals like lead, tin, and chromium which do not break down over time.

Batteries: Common alkaline and lithium-ion batteries contain heavy metals like mercury, cadmium, lead, nickel, and cobalt which do not degrade naturally.

Cathode ray tubes: CRTs or television and monitor screens contain lead and phosphors which spread toxins if not disposed of properly.

“The exponential growth of electronic waste teaches us the hard lesson that while technology may advance in leaps and bounds, responsible disposal limps slowly behind.” – Kwabena Osei-Opare, Ghanaian journalist

The fact that e-waste does not biodegrade has significant ramifications for environmental health:

1. Landfill accumulation: With 50 million tons of e-waste generated globally each year, disposal in landfills takes up significant land area since the materials persist indefinitely. It also results in toxic chemicals leaching into the soil, air, and water.

2. Incineration hazards: While incineration helps reduce waste volume, burning e-waste produces cancer-causing dioxins, furans, and other toxic emissions from the chlorinated substances and metals present. This affects the health of plant and animal life in the vicinity.

3. Resource loss: Improper disposal results in the loss of precious metals that could have been recovered and reused, leading to unnecessary mining and refining of virgin materials. For example, a million cell phones can contain about 35,000 pounds of copper.

4. Marine and terrestrial toxicity: When e-waste ends up in oceans and other habitats through dumping, it introduces hazardous substances like mercury, lead, and polychlorinated biphenyls into the food chain, impacting ecosystems.

5. Climate impact: Certain greenhouse gases like hydrofluorocarbons used in refrigerators and cooling equipment are released when e-waste is poorly managed, exacerbating global warming.

The ways to mitigate the hazards and manage e-waste are:-

– Separate collection of electronics for recycling, rather than disposal in landfills.

– Proper extraction and refinement of precious metals, plastics, glass, and nonferrous metals.

– Safe destruction of hazardous ingredients like mercury before disposal. 

– Refurbishment and reuse of working electronic equipment for extending product lifespan.

– Mandating that manufacturers recover and recycle used electronics.

– Consumers reducing their technology consumption and recycling responsibly.

– Policy development for managing e-waste at state and national levels.

While e-waste being non-biodegradable poses problems, following sustainable and non-toxic management practices can limit its environmental impact. But it also points to the need for electronic designs that use safer, greener materials that are biodegradable and easily recycled or reused.

Sources:- sciencedirect, genevaenvironmentnetwork, All about circuits, mint