Electronics have become an integral, almost mundane, part of our everyday lives. The convenience they bring is great, but there is a downside to their presence.
The other day, one of the students I work with took apart a plug-in air freshener for a project he was working on. The whole office was surprised to find circuitry components and a little printed wiring board. While it might not fall under one of the many e-waste laws in effect globally, that wiring board brings with it many of the issues electronics have, especially when the air freshener’s useful life is over.
Taking a step back, electronic waste, or e-waste, is a catchall term that describes any piece of electrical or electronic equipment that is no longer useful to the current owner and is thrown away.
