On October 14, the world celebrates International e-waste Day Every year. In this blog – e Recycling Singapore we are going to talk about the three scary effects of electronic waste on the environment and human health. You must be aware of the fact that e-waste is also known as electronic waste and in recent years its after-effects have become pretty evident which is why it is being considered as some of the most devastating effects the environment could suffer in the coming years.
Electronic waste not just has adverse effects on the environment but also on human health as well as animal health. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that electronic waste can be considered as something similar to an overlooked epidemic as people are still unaware of its long-term impact on our daily lives. In recent years there has been a quick increase in the number of e-waste recycling centres that have been established in communities to protect humans and the planet and the main reason behind it is the impact it is already having on our environment.
3 scary effects of electronic waste
Before understanding what are the benefits of recycling e-waste it is very important to understand what are the adverse effects that we are talking about here and why it is so important to recycle e-waste or generate it as little as possible.
- The negative impact of electronic waste on the soil: The first adverse effect that we are going to talk about is the damaging effect it has on the soil of a region it has been disposed of. When the breakdown of the e-waste happens it releases toxic heavy metals and these heavy metals include lead, arsenic and cadmium. When these heavy metals are released into the soil they start leaching into the soil and thus influence the plants and trees that are growing from the soil in that particular region. As a result, these toxins can enter the human food supply which can even lead to birth defects as well as several other possible health complications that people could suffer.
- Electronic waste has a big adverse impact on the water: it is no big secret that people around the world lack awareness of, what is the proper way of disposing of electronic waste which is why it has become a common practice in which electronic waste is improperly disposed of by the residents or the businesses that are in a particular area due to which the toxins that are released by this electronic waste enter the groundwater. We all know that groundwater is the one that underlies the surface streams, ponds and lakes. The animals of the surroundings directly rely on these channels of water for their nourishment. Hence when these toxins enter the groundwater they can easily make these animals sick and cause an imbalance in the planetary ecosystem. The adverse effect that electronic waste has on the water supply does not stop here as it can easily impact humans that rely on the water which results in toxins like lead, barium, mercury and lithium which are also considered carcinogenic, can enter the human body as well.
- The adverse effect of electronic waste on the air: the negative after-effects that electronic waste has on our environment does not stop here as e-waste that is disposed of in the landfill is burnt by the incinerator on the site and in this process, they happen to release hydrocarbons in the atmosphere which participate in polluting the air that many animals and humans directly rely on. This process does not end here as these hydrocarbons contribute to the greenhouse effect as well, which many scientists think is leading to the contribution of global warming that is happening on the earth.
There are even people around the world who are desperate enough to sift through landfills to salvage e-waste for money whereas some people are unaware or are ignorant about the negative impact e-waste has on the environment and hence end up burning the unwanted parts like wires to extract copper which also results in air pollution as well.
If we try to conclude the discussion we had in this blog then you must have understood by now that the effect of electronic waste on the environment can be devastating in the coming years. Although it is a fact that the long-term effects of e-waste are still unknown to us, it certainly has some negative impact on soil, water and air quality which is impacting the living beings around the world. This is an important factor which needs to be taken into consideration to have a healthy planet. With this discussion in this blog – e recycling Singapore you must have understood that it is very important to understand the right manner to dispose of electronic waste and recycle it as much as possible.
