e-Waste Management Scenarios in Malaysia

e-Waste, or electronic waste, disposal that is uncontrolled can be harmful to human health and the environment because e-waste contains toxic substances and heavy metals. However, if the waste is properly managed, it can become a business opportunity that produces high returns because e-waste also contains valuable materials, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. The government of Malaysia wants to ensure the safe, effective, and economically beneficial management of e-waste in Malaysia. Management approaches have included law enforcement and regulation and the promotion of e-waste recovery activities. e-Waste of no commercial value must be disposed of at sites/premises licensed by the Department of Environment (DOE), Malaysia. To date, 18 full recovery facilities and 128 partial recovery facilities that use various available technologies have been designated for the segregation, dismantling, and treatment of e-waste. However, there are issues faced by the recovery facilities in achieving the goal of converting e-waste into a source material. The issues include the e-waste supply, the importation of e-waste derived products and coding, and finally the need to develop the criteria for e-waste processing technologies to ensure the safety and the sustainability of the facilities. 1. Introduction A number of countries have developed their own definition of e-waste, but the most widely accepted definition is from a European Union (EU) directive that defines e-waste as “electrical or electronic equipment waste that includes all components, subassemblies, and consumables that are part of the product at the time it is discarded” [1]. Basel Convention states that e-waste encompasses a broad and growing range of electronic devices that have been discarded and includes large household devices, such as refrigerators and air conditioners, cell phones, personal stereos, consumer electronics, and computers. On the other hand, Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) describes e-waste as any appliance using an electric power supply that has reached its end-of-life [2]. In 2012, the total e-waste generated in Malaysia was approximately 10–15% of the total generated scheduled waste, and its value is expected to increase when the collection of household e-waste is fully implemented. A major reason for the rapid generation of e-waste is the high rate of obsolescence in the electronics market. Most electronic goods have very short lifespans and are routinely replaced every two years by either discarding or exporting to developing countries as