Electrical and electronic equipment production is one of the world’s fastest growing industry. At the same time this also means that in the coming decades the amount of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) or collectively termed as e-waste will continue to increase. E-waste includes useful materials that have post recycled economic value. Unfortunately, in the unregulated informal sector, both illicit exports and improper donation of electronic equipment from developing countries, in particular computers, the bulk of e-waste is recycled and contributes to substantial risk of toxic contamination to recyclers, who are mainly women and adolescents. Formal recycling centers with adequate worker protection recycle as little as 25 percent of e-waste. The health consequences of both direct exposures during recycling and indirect exposures by contact with the environment are potentially severe but poorly studied. There are policy frameworks which aim to protect vulnerable populations but are not implemented effectively. The electrical and electronic equipment comprise items with either a battery or a power cord. The created e-waste from discarded equipment are broadly divided into six main categories: temperature exchange equipment, more commonly referred to as refrigeration and freezing equipment; screens or monitors, typical gadgets include televisions, monitors, laptops, notebooks and tablets; lamps which includes fluorescent lamps, high-intensity discharge lamps and LED lamps; large equipment in the form of washing machines, clothes dryers, electric stoves, large printing machines, copying equipment and photovoltaic panels, dish washing gadget; small appliances comprising of vacuum cleaners, microwaves, ventilation equipment, toasters, electric kettles, electric shavers, scales, calculators, radio sets, video cameras, electrical and electronic toys, small electrical and electronic tools, small medical devices, small monitoring and control instruments, DVD players, music players and sporting and entertaining equipment; IT and communication equipment and accessories which includes mobile phones, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), pocket calculators, routers, personal computers, printers, telephones, TVs, batteries lead condensers etc. Due to multiple factors the overall amount of e-waste generated is rising exponentially. High demand and a high rate of obsolescence trigger regular and excessive purchases, decreasing durability and short innovation cycles and low recycling rates help e-waste to grow rapidly.
