I J SRD - I nternational J ournal for Scientific Research & Development| Vol.

1, I ssue 11, 2014 | I SSN (online): 2321-0613

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2364
Abstract--- A considerable amount of water will be lost
every day, during the refilling of water tank by overflowing
it in our houses. We can avoid this by introducing the simple
circuit or device which can be developed by using available
Electronic waste (E-waste) at home. This paper aims at
developing a water tank overflow alarm using the damaged
mobile charger (one of the E-waste). This type of recycling
of E-waste will greatly reduce the disposal rate of E-waste
to environment.
Keywords: E-waste; Recycling; Overhead tank; Overflow
alarm; Low cost
I. INTRODUCTION
Anything that has a wire, a plug, a battery or runs on
electricity, that probably arent going to use ever again
comprises of Electronic waste (E-waste). E-waste, as its
popularly known, includes the broad spectrum of electronic
appliances, products, components, and accessories that - due
to exhaustion (batteries, light bulbs and fluorescent tubes),
or obsolescence. This new form of waste is now one of the
fastest growing waste streams around the world and needs
imperative action today. E-waste is the by-product of the
technological revolution. When disposed in a landfill, it
becomes a conglomeration of plastic and steel casings,
circuit boards, glass tubes, wires, resistors, capacitors,
fluorescent tubes, and other assorted parts and materials (see
Fig. 1). It is both valuable as a source of secondary raw
material, and toxic if treated and discarded improperly.
Rapid technological change, low initial costs and even
planned obsolescence have resulted in a fast growing e-
waste crisis around the globe.

Fig. 1: E-Waste
E-waste is of concern largely due to the toxicity of some of
the substances if processed improperly. The toxicity is due
to lead, mercury, cadmium and a number of other
substances. A typical computer monitor may contain more
than 6% lead by weight. Up to thirty-eight separate chemical
elements are incorporated into E-waste items. The
unsustainability of discarded electronics and computer
technology is another reason for the need to recycle.
The management of electronic waste in India has been
discussed in various forums since 2003. The issue has
gathered momentum owing to high obsolescence rates of
electronic and electrical appliances, increased disposal rates
and enhanced awareness on toxicity and hazard potential
due to improper disposal. Taking cognizance of this
emerging issue, the Indian government has issued the
Guidelines for environmentally sound management of E-
waste and also by drafting legislation on safe E-waste
management.
Attero is the only E-waste recycling company in India which
does complete end-to-end processing of E-waste with zero
landfill processes. It stepped in to fill the gap of responsible
E-waste disposal and recycling with the aim of managing
the challenges of sustainable solutions for the E-waste
problem in India. Attero extracts maximum value from the
E-waste as a result of its unique recycling process. It does an
end to end processing of E-waste by not only dismantling
the materials but also treating it in the indigenously
developed metallurgical unit. It recycles E-Waste in the
most efficient and environmentally friendly manner at state
of the art plant in Roorkee. It utilizes cutting edge
technology coupled with a simple approach that makes
electronics recycling and IT asset disposal straightforward,
secure and affordable.
A. Benefits of recycling E-waste
Recycling of E-waste has following benefits:
1) Saves landfill space due to reduced E-waste
volumes entering landfill.
2) Recovery of raw materials such as glass, precious
and non-precious metals, and plastic.
3) Reduced contamination of landfill sites.
4) Increases reusability of parts: Even if a product
does not work, there could be some parts that can
be removed and reused.

Fig. 2: Number of items recycled from E-waste

E -Waste Recycled Water Tank Overflow Alarm

Sanjeev N K
1
Prashanth G
2

1
M.Tech Research Scholar,
2
Verification Engineer II

1
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
1
National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal, Mangalore, India
2
Mirafra Software Technologies Private Limited, India





E -Waste Recycled Water Tank Overflow Alarm
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2365
From the Fig. 2 it can be seen that, since August 2009,
Byron Shire Council has collected and sent 54 tonnes of
electronic waste to Brisbane for recycling. This includes 457
televisions, 250 computer monitors and 226 computers.

Fig. 3: Recycling process developed by Ragn-Sells
Elektroniktervinning AB.
Fig. 3 illustrates the typical electronics recycling operation
developed by Ragn-Sells Elektroniktervinning AB. Here
we are mainly considering the concept of re-use of
components.
II. CONCEPT TO RE-USE E-WASTE
We may have witnessed the electronic devices would not be
performing its function as desired due to damage in some
portion of the circuit or wiring. In some cases repairing the
damage will not be cost effective when compared to the
actual product cost. So this leads to more and more E-waste.
Hence here a concept is introduced to reuse the product
instead of disposing it as an E-waste.
One such product considered here, that would not perform
its function as desired due to damage in some portion of the
circuit or wiring is the mobile charger. Here the damaged
mobile charger in conjunction with buzzer is used to build a
water tank over flow alarm device. The Fig. 4 illustrates the
Over flow alarm device built from E-waste.

Fig. 4: Over flow alarm device built from E-waste
III. DESCRIPTION OF ALARM CIRCUIT
The simple circuit which consists of only mobile charger
(power supply), a buzzer (tank full indicator), and wire
(connectivity) is shown in Fig. 5. The mobile charger will
have a +ve and ve terminal, check the polarities once using
the buzzer. Once the buzzer and the mobile charger are
confirmed to be in a working condition, in the overhead tank
(OHT), the two terminals of the wire should be connected as
shown in Fig. 6. One terminal (TA) should be fixed to where
water is being pumped into the OHT. Other (TB) should be
slightly below, say an inch below, the outflow pipe to avoid
overflow.

Fig. 5: Over flow alarm circuit

Fig. 6: Schematic of overall setup
Consider a case when there is no water in OHT. Terminals
TA and TB will be open. When the motor is switched on,
TA will be in continuous contact with water but not TB. It is
an open circuit condition. Once water reaches the brim it
comes in contact with TB. Now, there is a complete path for
the current to flow and the buzzer starts beating. This is an
indication that water is full in the OHT. Switching off the
motor cuts the inflow of water to tank. This result is in open
circuit, thus stopping the buzzer from beating.
Here we are not giving the specifications of the components
since its user specific. The mobile charger varies depending
on model. A buzzer will definitely work for any mobile
charger output. The inside electronics of either the charger
or the buzzer is immaterial since we are reusing the
components.
This way we are controlling only the motor as before. No
need to touch the water level indicator setup once installed.
We achieve two purposes:
1) Water level indicator for an overhead tank.
2) Reusing of E-waste
At the end of the day, we only want an indication of whether
the water is full in the OHT or not. Water being empty in the
tank will anyways be indicated when force in the tap water
reduces. There are many automatic and complicated
indicators available. But this is very simple and cost
effective. Hardly any cost expenditure. The mobile charger
and the buzzer setup will be inside the house. Only the wire
will run from one end of the buzzer to the OHT and back to
E -Waste Recycled Water Tank Overflow Alarm
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2366
the other end of the buzzer. The motor circuit and operation
will be as usual.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
The concept of reusing the E-waste described here is
simple and easy to install. Similar type of concept/idea
can be developed for other E-waste products.
The over flow alarm/indicator saves water, power and
time by preventing over flow of water from overhead
tank.
This water level alarm can be used in houses,
apartments, clinics, hotels, lodges, restaurants,
educational institutions, hospitals, factories, hostels etc.
Also it can be used as an indicator for water supply taps
to check the flow of water.
The alarm can be used with overhead tank of any size,
shape and model.
This type of re-use of E-waste would greatly in reducing
the disposal of E-waste to environment.
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[7] Some Important websites:
[8] http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/environment/was
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[9] http://recycledproducts.org/cat-
Computer_Hardware,_Supplies_and_Data_Storage-
4.aspx.
[10] http://www.attero.in/.
[11] http://www.ecyclerecovery.com.au/theprocess.htm.
[12] http://www.ecyclingcentral.com/why.php.
[13] http://www.promopremiumsplus.com/prod_11_eco
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[14] http://www.recycleaid.co.uk/#/about-
us/4541273441.
[15] http://www.byron.nsw.gov.au/electronic-waste.