Over the past decade there was a profound development achieved in the sphere of high technologies production. Now the scale of electronics market becomes wider and spins up day by day with a cyclic launch of new electronic appliances with enhanced features. “According to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), consumers were expected to purchase 500 million units of consumer electronics in the US in 2008.” (Electronics Takeback coalition, 2010) Consequently, a clear tendency toward rapid substitution of electronic appliances can be observed. A high rate in electronics upgrading shortens their lifespan and results in following stockpiling of needless gadgets, which become a part of municipal waste. These end-of-life electronic devices are often called “electronic waste, or e-waste”. As Brett H. Robinson (2009) claims, now worldwide production of e-waste reaches approximately 20-25 million tons being discarded every year with the largest proportion in Europe, the United States and Australasia. Hence, the problem of e-waste disposal management grows into a serious global challenge. As it was reported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2.6 million tons of electronic waste were generated in 2005 and only estimated 330,000 tons were recycled. (Kim A. O'Connell, 2007) Thereby a very small percentage of electronic waste undergoes recycling process, as a considerable part is stockpiled in landfills or incinerated with the rest of solid municipal waste. This essay will present main points of e-waste management issue, analyze possible approaches to the problem, such as export to developing countries for re-use, takeback and recycling programs, or so-called extended producer responsibility. Finally, the essay will sum up w...
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Robinson, B.H. 2009. E-waste: an assessment of global production and environmental impacts. Science for the total environment 408(2): 183-191. http://www.kiwiscience.com/JournalArticles/STOTEN2009.pdf (accessed January 4, 2011)
Stephenson, J.B. 2008. Electronic Waste: Harmful U.S. exports flow virtually unrestricted because of minimal EPA enforcement and narrow regulation. United States Government Accountability Office, http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d081166t.pdf (accessed October 28, 2010)
Umesi, N.O. and S. Onyia. 2008. Disposal of –ewastes in Nigeria: an appraisal of regulations and current practices. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology 15(6): 565-573. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?hid=22&sid=33791215-436d-410f-a19b-47492b147141%40sessionmgr14&vid=7 (accessed January 4, 2011)
The e-waste trade is an exploitative industry in which electronics, circuit boards, old TV’s and desktops that are of no more value, get dumped into third world countries such as Ghana, Vietnam, Malaysia, Pakistan, Hong Kong, and many others. The people of these third world countries than burn the electronics in order to collect the remains and scraps of copper and iron that can be sold for money. The smell and burning smolder of plastic from the computers and old TV’s are incredibly toxic, slowly killing the children, women, and men that burn these e-waste remains in order to create a living for themselves. Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and Emile Durkheim all have theories that can be applied and related to this trade of e-waste. Adam Smith’s theory
that help advancement throughout the complete hardware store network can lessen electronic waste contamination. Besides transfer or reusing of hardware can have noteworthy human well-being and environment sways. Gadgets can hold lead, brominated fire retardants, cadmium, mercury, arsenic and an extensive variety of different metals and concoction mixes. In...
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.
The e-waste brings money but also brings problems to the developing countries. In the documentary “Exporting Harm: The High-Tech Trashing of Asia”, the environment of a village named Guiyu in China was seen severely contaminated and people living in that village faced with deadly health problems. Workers in Guiyu do not have any skills and equipment to handle and process the e-waste. They simply use their hands to take out the copper and silicon, dilute the mercury and scrap down the lead. Displayer, wires and electronic parts were discarded everywhere and waited for burning. They can’t breathe the air, drink the water and the blood of children is laced with death. When asked why they choose to work in such a condition, the workers answered that they have no choice and they either live with poverty or they live with poison. In another report “iPhone Made in China” truth found among workers who suffer from disease in a bad working condition is quite surprising. They said they had lung infections and their
Currently, there are not any known existing recycling EEE technologies we can use in an environmental responsible way. In the US along, during 2005, Melvin Needhidasan, reported, “two million or more tons of electronic wastes were produced and only about 17 to 18 percent of that was collected for recycling. The remaining 80 percent ended up in the local landfills” (Electronic Waste”). The toxic material from electronic waste in landfills can leak out into streams and groundwater. Burning plastic releases a component called dioxins. However, Needhidasan mention, “Projections that 80 percent of all of the United States e- waste is exported to unindustrialized countries. Also, accepting these toxic waste products is illegal in most of these countries” (Needhidasan). Many Asian and West African countries accept illegal trade waste and it is being disposed and dismantled of toxic technology by using uncomplicated resources. In India, in the underprivileged areas people are known to handle e-waste without the use of any coverings or any type of safety gear. In fact, they used some of the waste as fuel for cooking food. People are actually exposed to these toxins on a daily basis and due to their living conditions and cooking areas which are basically made up of e-waste recycling materials. However, in parts of India the use of unsafe and illegal recycling practices are embraced in Delhi. Within the developing countries of India, there are more and more emerging dumping areas of illegal waste. (Electronic
Electronic waste is one of the most rapidly growing problems of the world. The cost to humanity and the earth’s ecosystem for wanting to have the latest and greatest electronic device whether it is a new I-pod, cell phone, computer, tablet or TV is staggering amounts of electronic waste. Electronic waste, or as it is more commonly referred to, e-waste, is any unwanted electronic device. It does not matter if the piece of technology is still working or not. Once the owner no longer finds value in keeping it, it becomes waste. Most people do not know what to do with their old technology. They wait for their municipalities to run a program that allows them to donate their old equipment for recycling and happily unload the old stuff which, in some cases, means that the technology they are getting rid of is only 6 months old adding to the mountains of e-waste in the world.
In order to keep up with technology, computers must be replaced every few years. Most people simply throw away their old computers and other electrical parts because they are unaware of the environmental problem arising everyday from the careless disposal of electronics. In order to prevent the destruction of the environment people must be educated in two areas; what is in the computer itself that makes it harmful to the environment, and what are the steps in disposing of technology properly. The first step in prevention is through education. The purpose of this document is to educate the consumer on this importance of this issue and what steps they can take personally to help prevent the problem in the future.
Green, D., & Curtis, J. (2011). EPA's new definition of solid waste and consequences for recycling. Trends : ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources Newsletter, 42(5), 6-7. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/871225371?accountid=45519
The first solution to E-waste problem is to reduce the environmental impact with the help of recycling companies. The primary goal of these companies is to recycle dead electronics. Nowadays, recycling is a widely used solution as it can stop the pollution of environment. As well as environment pollution, greenhouse gas emissions could decrease. Materials which existed after recycling process can be reused in industry. “A company sometimes produces a byproduct that is useful to another company, and sells or gives it away. Such byproducts are sometimes advertised in order to find buyers” (Hill 2004, 285). By recycling people can minimize the use of raw materials. For instance, plastic, glass, steel and some precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum and palladium can be recycled and reused in industry(Electronics: A new opportunity for waste prevention, reuse, and...
While technology has revolutionized the way people live, it has not come without a direct environmental cost. Toxic waste or electronic waste (e-waste), produced by obsolete electronic products, is growing at an alarming rate, and poses a severe environmental threat. In light of challenges underlined by this new kind of waste, sound management is imperative. Although, America and Asia are economically very different from each other, ironically they do not differ much when it comes to the `mismanagement' of e-waste: unsafe disposition practices, lax legislation, and inadequate recycling.
E-waste is the term which relates to all types of electronics, which can evolve into waste in the near future. (STEP) Although E-waste is a general term, it can be assumed to cover all types of items which use electricity. Today, electronic waste becomes a very formidable and significant problem around the world. Environmental protection agency contends the idea, that there are 4 most common ways of solving electronic waste problem: landfilling, incinerating, reusing and recycling. This essay will firstly discuss key reasons of e-waste to be a comprehensive problem. This paper will argue, that there are 4 most conventional approaches to solve electronic waste problem and to prove that recycling is the most benefit one.
Electronic Waste is the disposal of any kind of technology which ultimately produces hazardous radiation that is lethal both for the environment and to people who expose themselves to this waste. Since 1992 worldwide society has been becoming increasingly aware of the dangers of Electronic Waste. People are throwing away so much because manufacturers of phones, computers, laptops, televisions and ipods are making and constantly updating technology as there is such a large demanding consumerist society and businesses that have an unceasing amount of money to make. People buy and discard so much so often to have the newest and the best technology has to offer - which leaves the issue of Electronic Waste.
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
As humanity develops new technology, the magnitude and severity of waste increases. When computers were developed, it widely was believed that the need for paper would be eliminated. On the contrary this was widely proven false and we are now utilizing more paper than ever. Canada is not an exception as the typical Canadian generates an average of three pounds of solid waste each day1. This alone shows what a careless species we have become- using and disposing materials without even considering the damage we are causing. With half a trillion tones of waste around the world, only 25% may be reused for a second or third time and less than 5% can be renewed limitlessly1. These facts are true only in developed countries. Since these traditional waste reduction methods have been proven inefficient, we must endorse new innovative technology to arrive at a solution.
"Recycling | Reduce, Reuse, Recycle | US EPA." US Environmental Protection Agency. Web. 06 Dec. 2011. .