The growth of technology is generally exaggerated that as soon as a product hits market, it becomes obsolete. Though this may not be factually true, it does illustrate how rapidly technology advances to newer things. The question then becomes: what happens to the obsolete technology? Often in the United States, individuals simply dispose of their old personal computers, cell phones, or other electronic products with their normal garbage, to be transported to the local landfill. This electronic waste, or “E-waste,” often can be recycled. In developing countries, this e-waste is taken and then harvested for valuable materials, including metals. It is predicted that within the next ten years, the amount of materials heading to these countries will increase by at least fivefold. The process to harvest these materials varies from area to area, but is often hazardous in some manner. Though economically beneficial, it can lessen the quality of life through exposure to toxins. This exposure can come through water contamination, air pollution, or from physically handling the materials.
One method to analyze the problem at hand is to use the Respect for Persons approach. Within this approach, the dilemma can be tested using the Rights test. First, the rights involved are the workers’ rights to life and physical integrity. This is a first tier right, according to Gerwith’s scale. However, the other rights involved in this case include the right to work for profit and the right of purpose fulfillment, which are second tier rights. These are involved because the workers are using the money they make from recycling waste to support their lives and families. The action under question here is if the recycling of e-waste should be continued...
... middle of paper ...
...ring community can work towards a new design goal, that of making products easier to recycle and increase sustainability. Currently, part of this ideal is underway. Many companies are now introducing products that contain less and less of these hazardous materials, examples including lead-free solder and fluids that are substitutes for mercury. Lead usage has fallen since the advent of the flat-panel and liquid-display crystal (LCD) monitors, though it has not been eradicated from the technology yet. As a society of engineers, our primary duty is to promote the health of the general public, as from the first canon of the NSPE code. By instructing companies to reduce the hazards included in their products, and by designing products that are easier and safer to recycle, engineers can help fulfill this first canon by making the job of a third-world laborer safer.
...and greatest” mentality. Consumers throw away perfectly good food, electronics, etc. Society has conditioned to think objects and materials show wealth and stature. We are raised to except trash and garbage as anything that is be out dated, or slightly imperfect. High standards and expectations from relaters and consumers force us to buy excessively. If you don’t acquire these fancy popular gadgets then you are not living the normal state of living, giving the impression you can’t afford or poor. If one lacks the newest and coolest phone or gadget they are looked down on. This mentality is extremely toxic to our pockets and society. In conclusion it is crucial that we implement less damaging and toxic waste management disposal system.
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.
The export of used cell phones to Africa and Asia are becoming commonplace because “it is cheaper to recycle in developing countries. The demand in these countries has grown to extract precise metal but “there are no proper facilities or environmental standards in place for proper disposal (Ford)”. Used cell phones are brought to scra...
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
Dell, a global major IT infrastructure provider, has been at the forefront of applying the concepts of Circular Economy to the industry. With improved supply chain management, it has been able to tackle the problem of huge accumulations of e-waste, which comprises metals as well as plastics. A research has revealed that around 50 million tons of e-waste get discarded every year globally, which is a massive burden on the planet. By practicing reverse logistics of takeaways of obsolete computer hardware, Dell is able to release metals like gold, tin, and tungsten into the commodity markets and plastics back into
With the creation of newer technologies, such as smartphones, that are made more complexly made, recycling these devices are becoming much more difficult. Not only are these technologies difficult to recycle, but the accessories that come with them. The majority of people who own an expensive smartphone want to protect it with a phone case, and typically in style. The smartphone market is extremely competitive and with that, every year, a new smartphone with a completely new design will be introduced. This then creates a surplus of phone cases as consumers look into switching for the most recent model that has been launched within the phone industry. However, many of the old phone cases are not reusable on newer devices, and are simply thrown out into the garbage and end up at the landfill. Plastic takes at least 500 years to decompose, and some plastics are composed of numerous toxic chemicals, which are then being exposed to the environment. There are currently not many recycling programs that directly address how to dispose of phone cases. Although, doing so is quite crucial as it will only continue to grow as many more models of smartphones will continue to be released in the
Statistically, US alone is the leading country in the volume of high-tech trash with 30 kilograms per person and 9.4 million metric tons of e-waste per year. Followed by ...
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...
The rapid advancement of technology, which causes electronics to quickly become outdated, as well as their short life spans has caused an increase in electronic waste over the years. This increase has raised many concerns about the effects of e-waste, including the consequences to human health of exposure to e-waste. This discussion will focus specifically on the various materials present in electronics and the methods of recycling of e-waste in terms of their impact on human health.
Unlike general municipal waste, e-waste has a mixture of hazardous and valuable materials which will be harmful to the environ...
Today, there is more than two million tons of electronic waste consuming space in the United States’ landfills. Most people however, do not see this as a problem. What most consumers do not know is that computers and electrical components contain toxic materials such as lead, calcium, and mercury that are leaching into our countries landfills. For example, a computer monitor itself may contain up to eight pounds of lead. When twenty students were surveyed on toxins found inside a computer, it was observed that the majority knew there were toxins inside. However, thirty-three percent did not know. When asked what specific toxins can be found inside, the majority of the students were correct with their responses of all three toxins.
Today, everyone is out buying the newest gadgets from phones to computers. While leaving the last generation behind for the dump. Technology keeps everyone up to date and can even make life seem so much easier. Although, as humans produce more advanced technology, the average person wants to upgrade to the latest gadget and are left to get rid of their old gadgets. Not many people think about what happens to devices after they are gone. But what does happen? Is it bad to get rid of gadgets via landfills and is there a better way to throw them out? Even though there are ways to reduce technology waste, when tossing out gadgets, they produce chemicals and some may be toxic, the chemicals are bad for the environment, and the toxins can even
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.
Traditional methods of waste disposal have proven to be ineffective and have caused harmful effects on the environment. The most popular and inexpensive way to get rid of garbage is burial, but burying your problems does not necessarily mean getting rid of them. Landfill sites pose as severe ecological threats as these mass garbage dump yards overflow with trash and frequently contaminate our air, soil and water with hazardous wastes. About 400 million tons of hazardous wastes are generated each year1. A large-scale release of these materials can cause thousands of deaths and may poison the environment for many years. For example many industrial companies around the world cannot afford to enforce the strict pollution regulations set by many developed countries. This usually forces these types of companies to move to developing countries where pollution regulations are very lenient. These developing countries knowingly accept environmentally hazardous companies usually because they are in desperate need of employment. The harmful effects of these companies were clearly illustrated in the 1960s and 1970s when residents living near Minamata Bay, Japan, developed nervous disorders, tremors, and paralysis in a mysterious epidemic. The root was later found to be a local industry that had released mercury, a highly toxic element, into Minamata Bay. The disaster had claimed the lives of 400 people1. Since 1970 you can bet that a lot more than 400 people have died as a result of waste disposal. If the type of waste disposal were cheaper and effective we wouldn’t have to deal with waste problems, which still plague mankind today.