AP Environmental Science

## Learning Outcomes

- Define **electronic waste (e-waste)** clearly for AP Environmental Science
- Distinguish between used electronics, discarded electronics, and **waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)**
- Identify common examples of e-waste in the municipal solid waste stream
- Explain why e-waste is an environmental concern even though not all electronics are legally hazardous waste
- Describe how improper disposal and informal recycling release pollutants into air, soil, water, and dust
- Recognise the main strategies used to reduce e-waste, including reuse, refurbishment, and formal recycling

## AP Environmental Science Syllabus

For the AP Environmental Science, you are expected to understand electronic waste as part of solid waste disposal, with a focus on the following syllabus points:

- Know that **e-waste** is discarded electrical or electronic equipment at or near the end of its useful life
- Identify common examples of e-waste, such as phones, computers, televisions, monitors, printers, cables, and some appliances
- Explain the difference between used electronics intended for reuse and electronics that have become waste
- Understand that e-waste is part of the municipal solid waste stream but may contain hazardous substances such as **lead**, **mercury**, and **cadmium**
- Explain how landfill disposal, open burning, acid stripping, and informal recycling can cause soil, water, and air pollution
- Understand that not all e-waste is automatically classified as hazardous waste under U.S. federal law
- Identify why e-waste is also a resource-rich waste stream because it contains valuable materials such as copper, gold, and rare earth elements
- Know the main reduction strategies, including reuse, refurbishment, special collection programs, and certified recycling

## Test Your Knowledge

_Attempt these questions before reading this article. If you find some difficult or cannot remember the answers, look more closely at that area during your revision._

1. What makes an old electronic device become **e-waste** rather than just a used product?
2. What is the difference between **EEE** and **WEEE**?
3. Name three hazardous substances commonly associated with e-waste.
4. Why can informal recycling of electronics be dangerous for both the environments and human health?
5. Is every discarded electronic item automatically hazardous waste under U.S. federal law?

## Introduction

Electronic waste is one of the most testable parts of solid waste disposal because it links several APES ideas at once: municipal solid waste, hazardous substances, recycling, human health, and pollution pathways. Students often think e-waste is just “old gadgets,” but the exam expects a more precise definition.

E-waste matters because discarded electronics are not ordinary trash. Many devices contain useful materials that can be recovered, but they may also contain toxic substances that can pollute land, water, and air if they are dumped, burned, or dismantled carelessly. That makes e-waste a strong example of how one waste stream can be both economically valuable and environmentally risky.

> **Key Term: electronic waste (e-waste)**
> Discarded electrical or electronic products, especially items at or near the end of their useful life that are being disposed of, recycled, or otherwise managed as waste.

### What counts as electronic waste

The safest exam definition is simple: e-waste means discarded electronics. You can think of it as “any discarded product with a plug or battery.” That plain-language rule is useful in multiple-choice questions because it captures the core idea without getting trapped in legal detail.

Common examples include:

- computers and monitors
- mobile phones and tablets
- televisions
- printers and scanners
- cables, chargers, and peripherals
- game consoles and stereos
- some household appliances

This places e-waste inside the broader **solid waste** stream. Solid waste is any discarded material that is not a liquid or gas, and e-waste is one specific category within that stream.

> **Key Term: solid waste**
> Any discarded material that is not a liquid or gas.

A useful APES point is scale. E-waste makes up a noticeable share of global municipal solid waste, and it has grown because people replace devices more often than in the past. A phone, laptop, or television may still physically work, but consumers upgrade it anyway. That means technological turnover speeds up waste production.

Students should also know that the list of examples is illustrative, not exhaustive. An AP exam question may use a familiar consumer device such as a phone or laptop, but the principle is broader: if an electrical or electronic item is discarded, it can enter the e-waste stream.

> **Test Tip:** If a question asks which item is most likely to become e-waste, choose the discarded product with a plug, circuit, screen, or battery rather than an ordinary non-electronic household item.

### Used electronics, EEE, and WEEE: the distinction students miss

The biggest confusion in this topic is the difference between an old electronic product and an electronic product that is actually waste. APES rewards that distinction.

A used laptop being donated for direct reuse is not best described in the same way as a broken laptop sent for disposal. Age alone does not make an item e-waste. The key change is that the item has been discarded or is being managed as waste.

International terminology helps here:

> **Key Term: electrical and electronic equipment (EEE)**
> Electrical or electronic products that are still functioning as products in use, or are being managed as usable equipment.
>
> **Key Term: waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)**
> Electrical or electronic equipment that has become waste, including its components and attached parts when it is discarded.

EEE means the device is still a product. WEEE means it has crossed the line into waste. That is why reuse, repair, and refurbishment matter so much. If a device is genuinely being sent for direct reuse or repair, it is not automatically classed the same as a discarded waste item.

This matters on the exam because AP questions often reward process language. “Discarded,” “destined for disposal,” “sent to landfill,” or “burned for scrap recovery” all signal e-waste. “Donated for reuse,” “refurbished,” or “repaired for resale” suggest that the item may still be functioning as a product rather than entering the waste stream immediately.

A second common mistake is assuming every second-hand electronic is e-waste. That is too broad. A used monitor sold to another user is still equipment. A cracked monitor dumped behind a warehouse is e-waste.

This distinction also explains why e-waste definitions sometimes sound slightly different. U.S. agencies may refer to used electronics nearing the end of useful life, while international systems often use EEE and WEEE. The underlying idea is the same: the shift from product to waste is the critical point.

### Why e-waste is an environmental problem

E-waste is a pollution issue because many electronic products contain toxic substances. These can move out of devices and into the environments if the devices are dumped or dismantled badly.

Common hazardous substances include:

- **lead**
- **mercury**
- **cadmium**
- sometimes **arsenic**
- brominated flame retardants in some components
  > **Key Term: heavy metals**
  > Metallic elements such as lead, mercury, and cadmium that can be toxic to organisms even at low concentrations.

These substances matter because electronics are complex products. A phone or computer is not a single material. It combines metals, plastics, glass, circuit boards, coatings, batteries, and solders. When these materials are broken apart carelessly, toxic substances can escape.

There are several major pollution pathways.

First, landfilling can create **leachate** problems. If devices containing lead or mercury are buried and exposed to water, those substances can leach out and contaminate soil or groundwater.

> **Key Term: leachate**
> Polluted liquid formed when water moves through waste and dissolves or carries harmful substances.

Second, open burning of plastics and wires causes air pollution. Burning may be used to recover copper from cables or reduce the volume of worthless material, but it releases toxic smoke and particulates.

Third, crude acid stripping can contaminate soil and water. In informal recycling, acids may be used to dissolve unwanted material and expose valuable metals. The waste liquids are often not contained safely.

Fourth, contaminated dust can spread through homes, workshops, and nearby communities. This is especially harmful for workers and children who inhale or ingest that dust.

The human-health effects match these pathways. Exposure has been linked to developmental problems, reproductive problems, and damage to the nervous system, especially where heavy metals are involved. APES questions may ask you to connect environmental contamination with human populations living near disposal or salvage sites.

> **Test Tip:** When explaining e-waste impacts in FRQs, pair one environmental effect with one human-health effect. For example: “lead can leach into groundwater, contaminating drinking water and increasing neurological risk in nearby communities.”

### Hazardous waste, universal waste, and why legal categories can mislead students

Students often overstate this topic by saying “all e-waste is hazardous waste.” That is not accurate enough.

> **Key Term: hazardous waste**
> Waste that poses a danger to human health or the environment and requires special handling because of properties such as toxicity, ignitability, corrosiveness, or reactivity.

Many electronic devices contain hazardous substances, but not every discarded electronic item is automatically regulated as hazardous waste under federal law in the same way. Legal classification depends on the specific item and how it is managed.

That distinction is useful because APES values precision. A stronger statement is: e-waste often contains hazardous substances, so improper disposal can create hazardous pollution.

Students may also see the phrase **universal waste** and confuse it with nonhazardous waste. That is incorrect.

> **Key Term: universal waste**
> A streamlined waste-management category used for certain common hazardous wastes, such as batteries, lamps, pesticides, aerosol cans, and mercury-containing equipment.

Universal waste is still tied to hazardous materials. It simply has special management rules for common items. Electronics as a whole are not one broad federal universal-waste category, although some parts of electronics, such as batteries or mercury-containing components, may fall under other rules.

For APES, the most useful takeaway is not memorising legal code. It is knowing that:

- e-waste can create hazardous pollution
- some components require special handling
- careless disposal in ordinary trash can be risky

### Why e-waste is also valuable, and why that creates disposal pressure

E-waste is not just dangerous waste. It is also a resource-rich waste stream. Devices often contain recoverable materials such as:

- copper
- steel
- aluminum
- gold
- rare earth elements
- reusable plastics and glass

This explains why discarded electronics are collected, exported, dismantled, and scavenged. There is economic value in the components, especially metals.

That value creates a tension at the center of the topic. Safe recycling requires technology, labour, regulation, and cost. Informal recycling is cheaper, but it often shifts environmental and health damage onto workers and nearby communities.

The export of e-waste from wealthier countries to less regulated places is often driven by:

- lower labour costs
- weaker enforcement
- avoidance of stricter disposal rules
- avoidance of local opposition to waste facilities

The **NIMBY** issue fits here too.

> **Key Term: NIMBY**
> “Not in my backyard”; opposition by local residents to waste facilities or other unwanted land uses near where they live.

Exporting e-waste can seem attractive politically because it moves the disposal problem elsewhere. But environmentally, it does not solve the problem. It only relocates the pollution burden.

This is a good APES example of environmental injustice: the benefits of rapid electronics consumption are spread widely, but the harms of crude dismantling and disposal are often concentrated among poorer workers and communities.

### How e-waste should be managed

The best management options follow the same broad waste hierarchy used elsewhere in APES: reduce, reuse, then recycle before disposal.

**Reduce** means slowing the flow of products into the waste stream. Longer-lasting electronics, less frequent upgrades, and repairable design all help.

**Reuse** means giving working devices a second life through donation, resale, or direct reuse. This delays waste generation and reduces demand for new raw materials.

**Refurbishment** and repair sit between reuse and recycling. A product that needs a new battery, screen, or part may still be kept in use rather than discarded.

**Formal recycling** means controlled dismantling and material recovery with safety measures that limit pollution and worker exposure. Certified recyclers are preferable because they are more likely to handle hazardous components properly.

Ordinary trash disposal is the least desirable route, especially for products containing batteries, circuit boards, or mercury-containing parts.

Some governments and communities try to reduce e-waste using:

- take-back or trade-in programs
- disposal fees or product taxes
- recycling laws
- public drop-off collection sites
- restrictions on export
- incentives for repair and refurbishment

These strategies matter because they interrupt the pollution pathways discussed earlier. A phone kept in use for another three years does not need to be dismantled, burned, or buried today. A laptop sent to a formal recycler is less likely to contaminate groundwater than one dumped in an unlined waste site.

For APES responses, the strongest solutions are specific and tied to outcomes. Do not just say “recycle more.” Say how: for example, “use certified electronics recycling and separate collection programs to recover metals while reducing toxic leaching.”

## Key Point Checklist

_This article has covered the following key knowledge points:_

- Electronic waste is discarded electrical or electronic equipment at or near the end of its useful life
- E-waste is part of the broader solid waste stream
- Common examples include phones, computers, televisions, monitors, printers, cables, and some appliances
- A used electronic product is not automatically e-waste if it is still intended for direct reuse, repair, or refurbishment
- **EEE** refers to equipment still functioning as a product, while **WEEE** refers to equipment that has become waste
- E-waste often contains hazardous substances such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and other toxic components
- Improper disposal can cause air pollution, soil contamination, groundwater contamination, and toxic dust exposure
- Landfilling can allow heavy metals to enter leachate and pollute groundwater
- Open burning and acid stripping in informal recycling create major environmental and human-health risks
- Not all e-waste is automatically classed as hazardous waste under U.S. federal law, but it often creates hazardous pollution risks
- E-waste is also valuable because it contains recoverable materials such as copper, gold, and rare earth elements
- The best management strategies include reduction, reuse, refurbishment, and formal recycling rather than ordinary disposal

## Key Terms and Concepts

- electronic waste (e-waste)
- solid waste
- electrical and electronic equipment (EEE)
- waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE)
- heavy metals
- leachate
- hazardous waste
- universal waste
- NIMBY


Solid Waste Disposal - Electronic waste definition