Title: Electronic waste in China - Wikipedia
Headings: Electronic waste in China
Electronic waste in China
Contents
Process of electronic waste
Sources
Treatment
Informal sector
Environmental and health impacts
Affected regions
Guiyu
Taizhou
International agreements on electronic waste
Basel Convention
Domestic measures
National legislation
Provincial programmes
Corporate initiatives
Legislative inadequacies
See also
References

Content: This amount is expected to continue rising with China's economic development, technical innovation, and urbanization as more electronics are created and consumed, and disposed. The major sources of e-waste processed in China are households, domestic institutions, such as schools, hospitals, and government agencies and businesses, and equipment manufacturers. This e-waste is usually channeled through: second-hand markets where reusable devices can be re-sold at reasonable prices, (illegal) donation systems that send used home appliances to poorer rural areas of western China, or through peddlers who re-sell e-wastes to dealers. The third channel is the most common form of e-waste management in China, which creates a massive informal sector. Treatment
Most of this e-waste is sent to recycling sites in order to extract precious metals and organic materials to be resold for economic value. The most common form of e-waste treatment used in China is the “physical/mechanical method” that separates the difference elements in each electronic device through manual dismantling and chemical separation. This often involves rudimentary practices, such as heating circuit boards, cutting cables and wires, chipping and melting plastics, and extracting precious metals through acid leaching and incineration. These operations, such as strong acid leaching and the open burning of heavy materials, have resulted in the release of toxic metals and pollutants. Informal sector
The majority of e-waste recycling in China takes place illegally within the informal sector.