This report provides an overview of the current state of circularity in the electronics value chain in Africa, identifies key areas of concern, provides appropriate recommendations, and proposes priority actions to improve circularity of the sector. The recommendations focus on the individual life cycle stages of the electronics value chain, …
A plant in the Scottish Highlands, will be the first such in the uk to recycle lithium-ion batteries. These batteries are mainly used in mobile phones, camcorders and laptops. Less than 2 per cent of consumer disposable batteries are currently recycled, with the rest being disposed of in landfill sites. …
small-scale diesel generator set manufacturers have once again managed to evade adherence to the Environment (Protection) Second Amendment Rules, 2002. The regulations specify emission norms for various categories of off-road diesel gensets. The Union ministry of environment and forests (moef) recently granted a one-year extension to diesel gensets below 19-kilo …
in what is perhaps a first for India, a Mumbai civil court recently ordered a cellular phone service provider to dismantle one of its networking antennae from a residential apartment over fears that the device was causing radiation exposure. The latent message behind the directive is that mobile phone towers …
in a crackdown of unprecedented proportions, the Central Pollution Control Board (cpcb) has directed Birla Power Solutions (bps) to recall all two-stroke generator sets that it manufactured from June 2001 onwards. The company faces this stringent punitive measure because despite making claims to the contrary, it has been allegedly selling …
radiation from mobile phones may damage blood cells by increasing the forces they exert on each other, indicates a recent study. The findings prove yet again that mobile phones can cause cancer and other ailments. Conventionally, radiations are considered damaging to cells only if they are strong enough to break …
ralph Mills first knew something was wrong with his brain when he lost track of his own garden. As a truck driver, he had navigated his way across Europe; suddenly his own house was a big maze. Baffled, he visited a doctor, and within an hour was hospitalised; a brain …
in today's information world, bits of data are processed by semiconductor chips, but stored in magnetic disc drives. Limitations of this technology have made the world of electronics anxiously wait for a device that can transmit as well as store information. Now, researchers at the Sweden-based Royal Institute of Technology …
Exactly what is the new millenium all about? Some call it the time of the information technology (it) revolution. Some say it is globalisation turning mature. But, as one looks for ways to name the present, there pops up a phrase with a murky neologism in it: the new millenium …
Feeling stressed out? Call up a dolphin. Improbable as it may sound, mobile phone users the world over will soon be able to dial up dolphins if a project undertaken at a sanctuary off the west coast of Ireland becomes a success. Apart from coming in handy as a stress-buster, …
cadmium disturbs the human dna repair system that is important to prevent cancer, shows a recent study. The finding is significant as many people are exposed to cadmium via cigarette smoke and contaminated water and food. Humans are also exposed to the harmful chemical while manufacturing and recycling nickel-cadmium batteries. …
Yet again a handful of manufacturers of diesel engines for generator sets have succeeded in getting more time to comply with emission standards. The norms were notified by the Union ministry of environment and forests (moef) in 2002, after it had dithered on the issue for a long time. While …
Electronic display Scientists in the us have developed an ultra-thin electronic display that could well transform into an e-newspaper. The black and white display is constructed from steel foil and is less than 0.3 millimetres thick. It can be viewed from most angles and can be even be bent to …
It might sound bizarre, but is true. Venezuela's electric clocks are ticking slowly due to power shortage. The sluggish timepieces miss every midnight by 150 seconds. "The computers are not affected. The televisions function normally. No other devices, but the clocks are affected,' said Miguel Lara, general manager of the …
In a ringing endorsement of ecofriendly practices, cellular phone manufacturers signed a declaration at the Sixth Conference of Parties (cop-6) to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. Major industry players made a commitment to cooperate with the convention and other stakeholders …
a salt- loving bacterium may offer a solution for one of the most nagging problems of optical communications: non-availability of cheap and speedy optical switches. Indian scientists have recently demonstrated that a protein found in the cell membrane of Halobacterium halobium functions as an optical switch, when integrated with lasers. …
