114
process parameters. Figure  6.2 elaborates the composition of plastics. Plastics
account for nearly 20% of total waste electrical and electronic equipment plastics,
5% of flame-retarded and 15% non-flame-retarded plastics. More than 15 types of
plastics make up waste electrical and electronic equipments, namely, polyesters,
polyurethane, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, polyethylene, polyamide, polypropylene, polystyrene, styrene acrylonitrile, etc. (Vilaplana and Karlsson 2008).
Rubber
Glass
Wood
Concrete & ceramics
Non ferrous materials
Aluminium
Copper
Iron
circuit boards
Flame retarded plastics
Non-flame retarded plastics
Others
Fig. 6.2 The composition of waste electrical and electronic equipment
Table 6.1 Electronic-waste and its source of electronic instruments
S.
no Waste category
Source of Electronic-waste
1
IT and telecommunication
LAN, cell phones, printers, modems
2
Gadgets
MP3 players, DVD players, digital camera, computers
3
Major household products
Air conditioners, refrigerator, washing machine,
micro-oven
4
Minor household products
Video game consoles, electric kettles, television, grinder
5
Electrical and electronic
products
Transistors, diodes, integrated circuits, batteries,
transformers, resistors, wires
6
Monitoring instruments
Thermostat, microcontrollers, relays
7
Medical devices
Biomedical instruments, thermometer
8
Automated instruments
Automatic soap and water dispensers, etc.
J. Arun and K. P. Gopinath