E-waste Management

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.

Disposal of e-waste is one of the major problems faced in America. Despite being financially sound, America has no proper infrastructure built for safe disposal of e-waste. The vast majority of e-waste, "collected from consumers and recycling depots by middlemen," is landfilled, or simply stockpiled. Then, searching for cheaper ways to dispose of it, shipped to developing countries in Asia under the pretext of "recycling" or "donating."

Similarly, Asia has no proper means for the safe disposal of e-waste. E-waste, largely imported from the developed countries, is "dumped in massive piles and disassembled," or merely burned - releasing poisonous fumes into the atmosphere. To aggravate the matter, rural villagers sort through discarded electronics without any protection from the toxic materials, gravely endangering their health.

Although, a number of state-level legislations concerning e-waste disposal have been passed in America, the lack of comprehensive federal legislation to back them up brings their effectiveness into question. The different legislations adopted by individual states not only become hard for the industries to comply wit...

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...ecycling industries in India are said to be disorganized, unmonitored and lacking basic safety measures. The report added that these industries "[poison] air, water, land and [local people] with toxins such as mercury, lead and arsenic."

In conclusion, while rapidly advancing technology has radically changed people's lifestyle, it has come at the expense of the environment. With e-waste, produced from outdated electronic products, becoming a more prevalent problem, it is important for both America and Asia to develop effective disposition strategies, more aggressive legislations, and better recycling programs. However, greater onus falls on America, because if America does not ship the hazardous waste to Asia, then Asia would have to deal with their domestic e-waste only. Nevertheless, it is time that they address this growing problem before it gets much worse.