Today, much of our outdated electronics are being recycled which seems to be a good thing, but what most people do not know, is that most of this “recycle” is being disposed of irresponsibly. This hazardous electronic waste is called e-waste. Our old electronics are being sent to developing countries to extract the valuable materials from them, but it is being done in a way that is damaging the environment and people who work, play, and live there. Something has to be done about the e-waste problem! So we, as responsible inhabitants of this earth, have to ask ourselves “What is happening with my outdated electronics?” Electronic devices such as phones, computers, video game consoles, and TVs all contain heavy metals such as mercury, cadmium, lead, and many other potentially harmful substances. If these potentially hazardous contents of e-waste are improperly managed then there can be very serious health and environmental risks (Tsydenova). Therefore, it is logical that just throwing out your old, outdated electronics and sending them to the landfill where they could leak their toxic substances into the ground and surrounding area would be environmentally irresponsible. Around 80 percent of all Americans just throw out their outdated technology. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that Americans throw away 2 billion tons of e-waste a year and over 350,000 cell phones and 130,000 computers every single day. E-waste is now the fastest growing part of U.S. garbage. The responsible thing to do would be to recycle our unwanted e-waste, but if it is not properly handled then it could actually be even worse for the environment. In these electronics, there are not only hazardous metals, but valuable metals as well. T... ... middle of paper ... ...ir own. We, as an entire human race, have to work together to protect this earth that we like to call home. Works Cited - Tsydenova, Oyuna, and Magnus Bengtsson. "Chemical hazards associated with treatment of waste electrical and electronic equipment." Waste Management 31.1 (2011): 45-58. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. - Xiangdong Li, et al. "Heavy metal contamination in soils and vegetables near an e-waste processing site, south China." Journal of Hazardous Materials 186.1 (2011): 481-490. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. - Stone, Brad. "Tech Trash, E-Waste: By Any Name, It's an Issue." Newsweek 146.24 (2005): 11.Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. - Walsh, Bryan. "E-Waste Not." Time 173.2 (2009): 49-50. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. - Schaffhauser, Dian. "The Dirt on E-Waste." T H E Journal 36.3 (2009): 20-25. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO.
Even though electronic waste contributes one percent of waste as discussed earlier, it poses a significant threat to the environment. “RCRA does not, however, cover electronic waste except CRTs, nor does it regulate electronic devices donated for educational or charitable reuse.” The RCRA should implement rules to govern e-waste because e-waste not only affects lives in the United States, It affects everyone globally. E-waste typically finds its ways out of the United States and ends up in developing countries like
The article “Our E-Waste Problem Is Ridiculous, and Gadget Makers Aren’t Helping” by Christina Bonnington explains that our landfills are being filled with unused electronics of yesteryear. In 2011, there were 41.5 million tons of electronic wastes in landfills. In 2016, they projected the number to go up to 93.5 million tons. Specifically, our old products are in landfills now such as, HP computers, computer towers, cell phones, and batteries. The reason for all the waste is the human race is buying the newest electronics and not disposing of their unused and unwanted electronics properly. Also, not all of the unused electronics are recyclable. E-waste has a huge negative effect while in landfills because electronics breakdown and they breakdown
The article, “Our E-Waste Problem is Ridiculous, and Gadget Makers Aren’t Helping,” by Christina Bonnington, focused the process of electronic devices to be recycled, the challenges of recycling electronic waste, and making devices more recyclable. First, Bonnington described the recycling process. Depending on the condition on the product will determine if it will be reused or stripped down to be destroyed. According to the author, having a simpler design makes the reprocessing easier to bare the electronics for turning into materials. Next, the author mentioned the challenges of recycling. One challenge is how electronics are becoming more compact and tougher to strip apart to separate the materials. Conferring to Bonnington, batteries are
Electronic waste, or any waste for that matter is an inevitable part of an economic system where the destruction of an ecosystem is the primarily source of resources that are used to create the product. The waste that occurs from this process has to be disposed of in some way and more often than not, it is disposed of carelessly with out consideration to the affect it would have on the environment or the very people that create and let capitalism live on, “The political economy approach also defers progress on environmental issues to a pint after economic ones are solved” (Robbins et al. 2010, 114). And if this continues there may be no place left for the excess waste created by capitalism.
Weeks, Jennifer. "Future of Recycling." CQ Researcher, December 14, 2007: 1033-1060. http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/ (accessed November 29, 2011).
McKenzie, A. D. “Recycling: It’s Rubbish to Waste Like This.” Global Information Netwrok 18 Nov. 2013: n. pag. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.
The average cell phone is used less than 18 months and 140 million of them end up in a landfill each year.(Statistics) The landfills are slowly filling up with our obsolete cell phones. The phone’s circuits are coated with lead, and the lithium ion batteries often explode in landfills creating craters of heavy metal toxic waste for future generations to have to deal with. Even though there is an effort to recycle this waste, the problem is going to get worse before it gets better as more and more of the world’s citizens embrace cellular
In addition, individuals dispose off their electronic waste wrongly, and it ends up in the incinerators, where toxic gases are produced.
From an analysis of the cradle to grave process, it is evident that while the Macbook Pro is not a recyclable product, the product is valuable to consumers because of various technological advances. However, due to the increasing importance of environmentally safe product disposal, Apple will need to modify the manufacturing process to create a recyclable product. The Macbook Pro will become a more popular product if Apple maintains the high standards of technological development and incorporates a low environmental impact into the cradle to grave process.
Technology is a controversial issue in today’s world and especially in my world; it is important to understand that my father owns and operates a successful computer sales and repair business and so my knowledge of computer usage is quite extensive having not only listened to my father, but also having completed a high school computer internship. I am also currently working in a Technology Fellowship program. When it comes to the topic of technology, most of us will agree that technology surrounds us in today’s world—from television, smart phones, video games, tablets, to computers—we can readily access multitudes of information by simply accessing a computer internet search or turning on the television news. Technology has been a part of our
“What Would Happen If People Didn’t Recycle?” The Online Gargoyle. Friday 1 July 2011. University of Illinois Board of Trustees. March 21,2014. http://uni.illinois.edu/og/opinions/2011/07/what-would-happen-if-people-didn-
“Wastes-Hazardous Waste.” United States Environmental Protection Agency. US EPA, 7 Mar. 2014. Web. 5 Mar. 2014.
America and Europe are at the top of the list for most waste generated according to Waste (4). This is very visible because there’s litter on every street in the towns and cities, as well in lakes, beaches, and rivers. The book Waste by Rob Bowden states that the amount of waste produced is increasing at a rate faster than population growth. About 1.5 million computers, in the U.K, are thrown away each year and most end up in landfills. There are 3 types of waste which are Municipal Solid Waste, Industrial Waste, and Hazardous waste. MSW includes waste from public garbage cans and local dumpsters. Industrial Waste includes massive amounts of waste water that is contaminated with chemicals. Hazardous waste is the most dangerous as it presents a danger to human health and the environment. Solutions for waste disposal take time because people need to consider their lifestyle and limit the amount of waste they generate. A good start is to recycle items such as paper, cans, plastic, and clothes. This way they don’t end up in landfills, beaches, or streets. Another solution is to join organizations that go around places to recycle, or organizations that demand the reduction in the amount of products that are being
White, P. & Franke, M., 1999: Integrated solid waste management: a lifecycle inventory. Gaithersburg, Md.: Aspen.
"Recycling | Reduce, Reuse, Recycle | US EPA." US Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 06 Dec. 2011. .