E-Waste fuels the counterfeit epidemic
- Angharad Storrie
- 22/06/2018
- obsolete stock
- counterfeit components
- e-waste
- WEEE Directive 2012/19/EU
- EU Directive 2002/95/EC
- RoHS
- environmental impact
- electronic component shortages
- approved supplier process
- ERAI
- excess stock

Impact on counterfeits A serious aspect of scrapping your stock inappropriately is you could inadvertently be contributing to electronic component counterfeiting. It is well known that "waste product" has the potential to become the counterfeit product of the future. End-Of-Life (EOL) finished goods should be crushed and recycled though legitimate companies otherwise they could end up in the counterfeiters hands. Most "counterfeit" components are actually recycled, used parts reclaimed from old product. A collective effort is required to manage waste properly so that we stop feeding the supply chain of the counterfeiters. Over the last decade westernised countries have tended...