The way we use semiconductors in our daily lives, be it a simple mobile phone to a complex computer, electronic chips are used everywhere. We virtually cannot live without it in today’s world. But, if we are using it, then at some point, we will throw it too. Such waste is also called electronic waste.
As electronics are nothing but semiconductors, their disposal too plays a very important role in our environment. If not disposed of properly, it poses potential threats to our environment. In this post, we will see how silicon chips are disposed of.
What is considered e-waste?
It is actually easy to identify what an e-waste is. Generally, any item that uses electronic semiconductors in it like silicon or germanium is called an electronic item.
These metals are used in embedded chips in various electronic, electrical, and instrumentation items. There are various types of domestic items like mobile, TVs, computers, radios, refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines, printers, etc using electronic components.
Apart from them, various electrical items like batteries, wiring equipment, UPS, inverters, chargers, etc also use electronic chips. In short, any item which uses an electronic chip is called an electronic item. Such items when disposed of or not in use are called e-waste.
When chips are disposed of and not in use for a long time, it means they are exposed to an open environment for a long time. And as circuit boards contain various harmful chemicals like lead, mercury, phosphor, chromium, and cadmium, they will start to accumulate harmful gases in the air.
This will make it difficult to inhale, and also these chemicals can mix with nearby water or soil. If this water and soil are used for some purpose, then it will pollute them. So, these toxins must be properly disposed of from the environment, otherwise, they will pose hazards to human health as well as the environment.
What are the chip disposal methods?
The main ways of silicon chip disposal methods are listed here.
- Support recycle program
- Single waste dump area
- Giving disposal work to authorized service providers and distributors
- Using level sensors in dustbins
- Sorting, dismantling, and shredding
- Landfilling
- Hazardous material pre-treatment
Support recycle program
One of the most efficient methods of waste prevention is to take back the waste and recycle, rather than dump it. It is difficult to recycle silicon chips, but not impossible. If the old chip is still performing better, then the person who took it back can again sell it.
If it is not functioning, then there are various industrial methods like direct ionic vaporization, polishing, solder removal, or other recycling methods that ensure that the silicon chip gains back its original form. The recycling technology is still evolving and in the coming days, will gain a more fuller form.
Single waste dump area
E-waste should be given a dedicated area in the city for dumping. It should not be mixed with the normal garbage. If all the waste is collected and disposed of in a far area away from the city, people will be less exposed to this electronic waste.
The land selected for disposal should be such that it is far from nutritious soil or consumable water or any other natural resource which is being used by humans. Also, instead of scattering the waste here and there, a single central point ensures proper waste management and less environmental pollution.
Giving disposal work to authorized service providers and distributors
E-waste is a sensitive material and giving work to unauthorized, untrained, or illegal persons can cause an issue in its safe disposal. They will either not do it properly, or resell it illegally to some other people, or rather use it themselves without letting anyone know.
So, there will be no proper record of this disposal and the e-waste will then become dangerous for pollution. For this reason, it is required to give this work to a proper channel and distributor for safe disposal.
Using level sensors in dustbins
If we use ultrasonic level transmitters for the garbage bin without touching the garbage, then the exact level of the bin will be transmitted to central authorities and they can notify the dump collectors or even the people of where to dump off their e-waste. This reduces the burden on other bins and brings proper waste management.
Sorting, dismantling, and shredding
Silicon chip waste is not like you will only see electronic chips as waste. The waste will be mostly in the form of proper electronic items. So, in the garbage area, the waste must be sorted according to its size, risk factor, and component structure.
Then, it must be dismantled and broken into small parts. This helps in better recognizing the waste and also dumping it properly, rather than dumping the full-size waste.
Landfilling
Just like nuclear waste where it is dumped in large dug pits and covered with cement, e-waste too is dumped in large dug pits and covered with soil. The soil should be infertile or waste type, thus preventing further spillage of chemicals through nutritious soil. The soil is mostly covered with clay or plastic with a leachate basin.
Hazardous material pre-treatment
This is an effective way of treating e-waste. The hazardous chemicals from e-waste like mercury, lead, cadmium, etc. must be identified and disposed of separately by treating them first through various industrial processes.
This ensures a safe environment for e-waste disposal. Such waste can be identified and separated either by magnetic separation (pull metals from other types of garbage) or water separation.
In this way, we saw how to dispose of silicon chips.