ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY

E-Waste

It wouldn’t be an understatement to describe e-waste as one of the greatest threats to our

environment today – some consider Australia’s situation to be in crisis. According to a study by a group
of UN organizations, electronic waste is due to increase by a third in the next five years. That’s
essentially a line of 40-tonne vehicles one after the other taking up 75% of the equator. A frightening
prospect, that’s for sure.

WASTE ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT

(WEEE) REGULATION

It is a directive that designates safe and responsible collection, recycling and recovery procedures for all
types of electronic waste.

If improperly disposed, electronic waste like old computers, mobile phones and kitchen appliances can
pose environmental and health risks from exposure to lead, mercury and other heavy metals. The WEEE
regulation aims to reduce these risks by providing a safe way to get rid of these materials. Eventually,
WEEE will phase out dangerous materials in exchange for safer alternatives.

Philippines: Ban on Disposal of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) in Solid Waste
Disposal Facilities, House Bill No. 2682, 2013

as known as
E-waste and Cellular Phones Recycling Act of 2010

Main Subjects

• Electronic waste

• E-waste

• WEEE

Official Title
an Act Prohibiting the Disposal of Electronic Equipment at Solid Waste Management Facilities

Extracted Summary
"No person shall knowingly dispose of any electronic equipment in mixed solid waste."
3Rs

3Rs refers to three terms often used when talking about waste: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Reducing is
cutting back on the amount of trash we make, reusing is finding a new way to use trash so that we don't
have to throw it out, and recycling is using trash to remake new goods that can be sold again.

RoHS

RoHS, also known as Lead-Free, stands for Restriction of Hazardous Substances. RoHS, also known as
Directive 2002/95/EC, originated in the European Union and restricts the use of six hazardous materials
found in electrical and electronic products. All applicable products in the EU market after July 1, 2006,
must pass RoHS compliance. RoHS impacts the entire electronics industry and many electrical products
as well.

The definition and aim of the RoHS directive are quite simple. The RoHS directive aims to restrict certain
dangerous substances commonly used in electronic and electronic equipment. Any RoHS compliant
component is tested for the presence of Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Mercury (Hg), Hexavalent chromium
(Hex-Cr), Polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), and Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE).

For Cadmium and Hexavalent chromium, there must be less than 0.01% of the substance by weight at
raw homogeneous materials level. For Lead, PBB, and PBDE, there must be no more than 0.1% of the
material, when calculated by weight at raw homogeneous materials. Any RoHS compliant component
must have 100 ppm or less of mercury and the mercury must not have been intentionally added to the
component. In the EU, some military and medical equipment are exempt from RoHS compliance.