Recently, Delhi's civic body tied up with a private firm to collect and dispose of E-Wastes while Bihar Government authorised 142 E -Waste collection points in various districts. So, what is this E Waste, and why is it important to collect and dispose it of?

What is E-Waste?

Electronic waste can be broadly described as discarded, surplus, obsolete, broken, electrical or electronic devices. It includes all such waste from electronic and electrical appliances that have reached their end-of-life period or are unfit for their original intended use and are meant for recovery, recycling or disposal. It could be a computer and its accessories like monitors, printers, keyboards, central processing units; typewriters, mobile phones and chargers, remotes, compact discs, headphones, batteries, LCD/Plasma TVs, air conditioners, refrigerators and other household appliances.