Table of Contents
Definition of E-waste
(noun) Waste created from broken or obsolete electronics.
Example of E-waste
- The upgrading of personal electronics and the ubiquitous nature of electronic devices in society creates a large amount of e-waste.
E-waste Pronunciation
Syllabification: e waste
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /EE-wAYst/
- British English – /EE-wayst/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /i-weɪst/
- British English – /iː-weɪst/
Usage Notes
- Plural: e-wastes
- Where the disposal of e-waste occurs is sociologically interesting because of concerns over environmental racism.
- Variant spelling:
- e-Waste
- ewastes
Additional Information
- Word origin of “e-” and “waste” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- King, Leslie, and Deborah McCarthy. 2005. Environmental Sociology: From Analysis to Action. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
- Lehmann, Steffen, and Robert Crocker. 2012. Designing for Zero Waste: Consumption, Technologies and the Built Environment. London: EarthScan.
- Puckett, James. 2002. Exporting Harm: The High-tech Trashing of Asia. Seattle: Basel Action Network.
Related Terms
Works Consulted
Griffiths, Heather, Nathan Keirns, Eric Strayer, Susan Cody-Rydzewski, Gail Scaramuzzo, Tommy Sadler, Sally Vyain, Jeff Bry, Faye Jones. 2016. Introduction to Sociology 2e. Houston, TX: OpenStax.
Hughes, Michael, and Carolyn J. Kroehler. 2011. Sociology: The Core. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Princeton University. 2010. WordNet. (https://wordnet.princeton.edu/).
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation. (http://en.wiktionary.org).
Cite the Definition of E-waste
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “e-waste.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 19, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/e-waste/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
e-waste. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/e-waste/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “e-waste.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 19, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/e-waste/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“e-waste.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/e-waste/>.