Chapter 20 Electronic Waste

Rapid growth in electronic equipment consumption has generated large quantities of electronic waste containing hazardous substances and high-value metals, creating both environmental risks and resource recovery opportunities. This study aimed to quantify global electronic waste generation, characterize its material and value composition, and evaluate the economic and environmental drivers for metal recovery using current management and recycling practices. Reported generation data for major regions in 2005 were compiled and normalized on a per capita basis, while detailed compositional datasets for multiple electronic scrap categories were analyzed to determine metal contents (mass percent and mg/kg) and value distributions using contemporary metal prices. In 2005, electronic waste generation reached 7.0 × 10⁶ t in the European Union, 6.6 × 10⁶ t in the United States, 3.1 × 10⁶ t in Japan, and 0.5 × 10⁶ t in China, corresponding to 15–24 kg per capita per year. Recycling performance was highly variable, with 88% of large household appliances, 26% of office and communication equipment, and only 4% of entertainment electronics recycled in the United Kingdom; approximately 10–20% of electronic waste was exported to non-OECD regions. Compositional analysis showed copper contents up to 26.8 mass% and gold contents up to 9000 mg/kg in selected fractions, with copper and precious metals contributing more than 80% of total scrap value in most samples. These findings demonstrate that efficient recovery of copper, gold, silver, and palladium from electronic waste is economically justified and remains a primary driver for implementing advanced disassembly, pyrometallurgical, and hydrometallurgical recycling routes.