Short for
electronic waste. The term e-waste is applied to all waste
caused by discarding electronic
devices, especially
consumer electronics. E-waste is a major
concern in areas of
personal computing and
wireless devices that are quickly discarded by
consumers. The lifespan of these electronics are short-lived due to rapid
technological advances and lower costs to purchase
each year. Consumers generally buy new instead of reusing because their
electronic device quickly becomes
obsolete or it may be cheaper to purchase new.
Inkjet printers are one example of a common
e-waste problem as consumers believe they can save money to purchase a new
printer with ink than to buy ink refill for their old one.
