Change for the Future
Jaydra Perfetti
PHS 100 – Environmental Studies
Warner Pacific College
December 1, 2012
Change for the Future
Technology is everywhere: at home, in
the car, at the office, even sometimes inside the human body. Technology has profoundly improved the
quality of life for most people who use it, but it does have a dark side. When the newest gadget comes out with the
latest technology, people buy it. That
is good for the economy, but this constant upgrading generates tons of
electronic garbage called e-waste. Some of the e-waste is recycled, but
frequently it ends up in developing countries, contaminating the environment
and sickening the population. Because
e-waste is a growing problem, tech companies must create less toxic products
and individuals must dispose of their unwanted devises properly.
In the U.S. more than 3 billion
electronic devices have been sold since 1980, and half of those devices have
been thrown away (Withgott
& Bennan, 2011, p. 633). The sale of electronic devices doubled from
1997 to 2009, largely “driven by a nine-fold increase in mobile device sales” (Statistics on the Management of Used and End-of-Life Electronics). Cell phones have become less expensive over
time, which means more people can afford them.
In addition, many cell phone service providers offer free phones with
the purchase of a calling plan. Desktop
computers and laptops have also gradually become more affordable, so today more
than 75% of U.S. households have a computer (Office of Publications &
Special Studies, 2010). That means more
and more people are upgrading, exchanging, and disposing of electronics every
year.
According to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), 2.37 million short tons of e-waste was generated in
2009 and about 25% was recycled. 38% of
discarded computers, 17% of discarded televisions, and 8% of discarded mobile
devices were recycled; the rest was disposed of in landfills or incinerated (Statistics on the Management of Used and End-of-Life Electronics). Even though it sounds like an enormous
figure, EPA estimates e-waste only represents 1 - 2% of total municipal
waste. So why all the concern?
E-waste gets so much attention because
electronics contain a myriad of heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, mercury,
and nickel (Frequent Questions: General Information on E-Waste). In fact, e-waste is the “second-largest
source of lead in U.S. landfills today, behind auto batteries” (Withgott & Bennan, 2011, p. 633). Those toxic substances can leach into ground
water from landfills, or pollute the air when incinerated (What To Do
About E-Waste).
As bad as that may be here in America,
an overwhelming amount of e-waste is actually shipped overseas to developing
countries like China. Consequently,
people in poor, rural communities disassemble electronics without safety
equipment to obtain the rare and valuable metals like gold contained within
circuit boards and cell phones. They
live with mountains of e-waste constantly all around them, polluting their air
and water, and damaging their health. 60 Minutes reporter Scott Pelley followed one shipping
container full of computer monitors from Colorado to Guiyu, Hong Kong. There he discovered e-waste has turned the
town into a toxic wasteland where “pregnancies are six times more likely to end
in miscarriage, and … seven out of ten kids have too much lead in their blood.”
(CBS News, 2010).
Shipping e-waste from the U.S. to towns
like Guiyu is illegal according to both U.S. law and Chinese law (CBS News, 2010). Unfortunately, that does not stop
unscrupulous companies from collecting Americans’ unwanted electronics under
the guise of responsible recycling and sending them overseas by the
container-full (CBS News, 2010). This
compounds the issue because people who try to be responsible and recycle their
e-waste instead of throwing it away are duped into contributing to the problem.
Even though the problem of e-waste is
immense and complicated, there are people and organizations working toward
solutions. Federal, state, and municipal
governments have established regulations and guidelines for disposal of e-waste,
and monitoring programs for landfills (Electronics Waste). Beyond government, organizations like Natural
Resources Defense Council offer information to individuals and businesses about
the potential hazards of e-waste, as well as guidance for how to properly
dispose of it (What To Do About E-Waste). In addition, watchdog group Basil Action
Network founder, Jim Puckett, operates a program that certifies e-waste
recyclers to help people with unwanted electronics choose an ethically
responsible recycling company (CBS News, 2010).
The proportion of discarded electronic
devices that are being reused and recycled instead of being thrown away is
steadily increasing, but there is still more to do before the problem is
solved. Tech companies can help by beginning
their design process with the understanding that these devices have a short
life-span, and will be eventually dissected for their valuable components after
only a few years. Hopefully, operating
under that assumption will enable tech companies to innovate and find ways to
make electronics out of less harmful ingredients. If using less toxic components is not
possible for today’s technology, manufacturers can at least design the products
to be more easily and safely disassembled.
In addition, people can help solve the
problem by getting informed and acting conscientiously. If electronics are still in good working
order, giving them to someone who can use them or selling them on Craigslist is
the first, best option. If those are not
practical or possible, then people should recycle them through an e-Stewards
Recycler who has been “independently verified to handle e-waste in the most
globally responsible way – using safe technologies and careful protections for
workers” (What To Do About E-Waste). The most important thing is for people and
businesses to find out where their e-waste is going after they dispose of
it. Raising awareness is the first step
to making a positive change in e-waste for the future.
Solving the e-waste problem is a good
idea for both people and the planet. In
addition to the positive environmental impact, proper disposal of e-waste could
create jobs. Of course, there is the
potential for those added jobs here to be created at the cost of jobs for
people in developing countries, which may worsen poverty. Job creation aside, there is huge opportunity
for tech companies to take advantage of the marketing potential created by
“going green” and producing products that have a neutral environmental impact.
Technology is a vital part of modern
life and it is here to stay for both businesses and individuals. Unfortunately, there is also a growing amount
of e-waste every year as new devices are released and people upgrade. Tech companies need to design their products
under the assumption that they will become obsolete in a short amount of time,
and build these devices out of less harmful material. Individuals need to take advantage of
secondary markets to increase the number of devices that are reused. When electronics finally reach the end of
their useful life, people must dispose of them through a responsible and
certified electronics recycler. That
will ensure that America’s e-waste does not end up polluting the environment in
developing countries like China.
Responsible disposal and recycling of e-waste is good for the plant and
all of its peoples. As a wealthy and
powerful nation, America has a moral responsibility to lead by example for the
rest of the world.
References
CBS News. (2010, January 8). Following The Trail Of Toxic E-Waste. 60 Minutes. Retrieved November 30, 2012 from
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-4579229.html
Electronics Waste. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2012, from Oregon
Department of Environmental Quality website:
http://www.deq.state.or.us/lq/electronics.htm
Frequent Questions: General
Information on E-Waste. (2012, November 14). Retrieved November 28, 2012, from US
Environmental Protection Agency website:
http://www.epa.gov/wastes/conserve/materials/ecycling/faq.htm
Statistics on the Management of
Used and End-of-Life Electronics. (2012, November 14). Retrieved
November 29, 2012, from US Environmental Protection Agency website:
http://www.epa.gov/wastes/conserve/materials/ecycling/faq.htm
Office of Publications & Special
Studies. (2010, May). Consumer Expenditures. Focus on Prices and
Spending, 1(4), Retrieved
November 29, 2012 from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website: http://www.bls.gov/opub/focus/volume1_number4/cex_1_4.htm
Withgott,
J., & Bennan, S. (2011). Environment: the science behind the stories (4th
ed.). New York, NY. Pearson Benjamin Cummings. ISBN-13: 9780321715340.
What To Do About E-Waste. (2011, August 22). Retrieved November 30, 2012, from Natural
Resources Defense Council website:
http://www.nrdc.org/living/stuff/what-do-about-e-waste.asp
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