Electronic waste (e-waste) or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (
WEEE) is the term used to describe old, end-of-life or discarded appliances using electricity. It includes computers, consumer electronics, fridges etc which have been disposed of by their original users. While there is no generally accepted definition of e-waste, often it is associated with relatively expensive and essentially durable products used for data processing, telecommunications or entertainment in private households and businesses. But the ever increasing digitalisation of products blurs such a distinction from former electrical appliance such as a kettle, a boiler or an oven; which all do or will soon contain electronic circuits and ultimately become e-waste.
On this website "e-waste" is used as a generic term embracing all types of waste containing electrically powered components. E-waste contains both valuable as well as harmful materials which require special handling and recycling methods. This website covers all categories of e-waste but emphasizes categories which contain problematic, scarce and valuable or otherwise interesting materials. Examples: Computers,
LCD /
CRT Screens, Cooling Appliances, Mobile Phones, etc. containing precious metals, brominated flame retardant (BFR) plastics, CFC foams and many other substances.
