ABSTRACT
As technology innovation progresses and the innovation cycles become shorter, the production of electronic equipment increases and so its replacement, which makes electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) a rapidly growing stream. The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has estimated that 20-50 million tons of e-waste are generated worldwide annually, which has become a serious risk for living organisms and environment (UNEP 2005). The annual growth rate of waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) has been estimated at about 3% to 5% every year, which is approximately three times faster than the conventional solid waste streams (Eurostat 2012). This situation arises from the need of newer, faster, and more efficient technological equipment and more demanding applications. Therefore, older equipment becomes obsolete and is discarded, leading to the continuously growing e-waste stream. The severity of WEEE growth has been noted by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), which reports that 438 million new electronic products were sold while around 2 million tons of electronic products were ready for end-of-life management (USEPA 2011; Figure 10.1).
