Importance of Recycling Electronic Waste

Electronics Recycling. Electronic recycling is one consideration the company can do better with. Recycling in general lowers greenhouse gas emissions that are caused by manufacturing items for the first time. Recycling electronics conserves natural resources making cleaner air and water. The valuable resources computers and electronic components carry are metals, plastics, and glass. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), recycling a million laptops would give back enough energy for 3500 American homes’ electricity. A million cell phones would could yield 35,000 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold, and 33 pounds of palladium. Instead of throwing out the old computers and blackberry’s, the company could simply upgrade the hardware or software and then recycle the parts necessary.

America’s biggest export trash items are scrap paper and metal which the Chinese buy, make products out of, then sell them back to America resulting in an enormous profit, and creating a cycle because we throw it out again. America, the country that once made things for the world, is now China’s trash compactor. Furthermore, due to China’s skyrocketing economic growth, the Chinese are facing a major challenge in terms of waste. China, the world’s second-largest economy, is also the number-one waste producer. Almost more than 430,000 tons of waste is generated every day in China. China produces around 300 million tons of waste a year; most of it comes from cities. Currently, Chinese urban waste management services generally collect unsorted municipal solid waste to be disposed of in landfills or waste incinerators around of the city or further out into the countryside. China is open to the idea of waste recovery and of trying to reduce the impact of their waste on the

Alex lin lives in the western part of Rhode Island and that's where he started a project for a lifetime. Alex Len has overseen the recycling of 3,000 pounds of E-Waste. Alex Lin and his team call themselves the win, team they focus on recycling. Alex Lin shows Passion, courage, and resilience. He is passionate because it's been part of his lifestyle since 5th grade. His courage is brought into this point in his life because he had the courage at 11 years old to present his cost in the state legislature. Finally he is resilient because he tried to pass a bill in a did not pass but he did not give up. Research States that Alex in 2007 discarded over 11200 computers daily. Only 18% of those computers were recycled. Alex himself and self and his wind team has collected 21000 lbs of electronics. As stated in the electronic waste recycling article there only three way centers in the US they are in California Connecticut in Hawaii. However, All of these places have restricted laws about recycling E-Waste. These programs all ran at different times the first one of the California that ran in 2003 then Connecticut followed in 2007 finally Hawaii finished the program's off in 2008. Alex one has already done a lot for people around him and people around the

As used electronics is becoming a waster hazard worldwide local governments such as where I live include programs at local waste stations purely for electronics. This encourages local residents to freely drop off their electronic waste, like TV’s and computers and mobile phones to these locations where the waste is sorted and than shipped to facilities that can process this waste appropriately which also includes recycling as much material as possible. This has a

It has become the new “norm” with people to replace their electronics because their devices become out of date or they feel like they have to have the latest thing. In the article “Our E-Waste Problem Is Ridiculous, And Gadget Makers Aren’t Helping,” by Christina Bonnington, the author discusses how people buy new electronics every year when they come out and the old ones get abandoned. She also talks about how many people aren’t properly recycling their old devices and how some electronics can be impossible to recycle the right way. She also talks

Today, with over 7 billion people on Earth, the demand for technology is rising rapidly. As companies work hard to meet demands and mass produce technology for both society and businesses, they release harmful chemicals and gasses which pollute the environment and result in climate changes (Ramey). And not only does the overproduction of technology pollute the air, but it also harms the ground that we stand on. Technotrash, or any broken or unwanted electronic device, is currently the most rapidly-growing type of waste (Green) and according to GreenDisk, a company dedicated towards safely recycling technotrash, over 80% of technotrash is not being recycled. While technotrash represents only 2% of America’s trash in landfills, it equals 70% (emphasis) of overall toxic waste (“11 Facts”) because the toxins in technology can leak into the ground (Anthony). For example, lead from cell phone circuit boards can cause

According to Cord Jefferson’s same article, There Are No Ethical Electronics, So Buy Less Stuff, he mentions the effect our electronic waste has on the Chinese. While many Chinese men, women, and children are working for little pay every day to scrap electronic waste, they are exposed to toxic elements known to cause cancer. Such elements include lead, mercury, and chromium. Something that Jefferson also brings to attention is that these conditions can become better, he mentions that “Consumers can and should demand better from our electronics manufacturers—when we do so, things change” (Jefferson). Consumers taking more action to bring ethical electronics to the country is something yet to be

If you where to ask a small child in Nigeria—"what do you do everyday?" They will most likely answer, "burning e-waste and selling the minerals inside in in." Not an answer you would receive from an American children living in the Untied States. Slowly this kids are being sicken by all the dangerous substances that e-waste contains. Soon this will lead for their bodies to stop growing properly. They will eventually die. Old electronics should not be thrown away, instead recycled. Because it is not healthy for the people in the countries that try to take out the material inside of the e-waste. And because we need tougher laws. Also because you can recycle.

Techno trash (or e-waste) is one of the negative impacts of new technology. It is the rubbish created by discarded electronics. Developed countries such as the U.S export 50% to 80% of their techno trash to poorer Asian countries. The discarded technology is processed by workers who do not have the right equipment to handle and safely recycle these tech materials. This puts the workers and community to high levels of toxic materials, which could turn towns and the surrounding area into contaminated dumps. The e-waste that isn’t transported to Asia ends up in local landfills and poses risks to the surrounding environment and communities. Technology is made up of a mixture of dangerous chemicals. The toxic chemicals can cause serious damage to the environment. Some of these chemicals include beryllium, cadmium, lead and

Immediate actions should be taken to better the management of the E-waste productions and the management in the US. Individuals must re-evaluate their decisions when it comes to purchasing products. Instead of constantly buying new electronic devices so you can be updated with the new trends, buy a device that has multiple offerings. That way you would help minimize e-waste by not throwing out your products and help reduce the amount of energy we take from earth. Another action that an individual can take is by extending their use of electronics. One reason why many individuals throw out their devices is because they break it or because their devices have technical problems. By buying a phone case or a laptop case, not only would help keep your device clean but it would also help keep the device safe. Also, individuals should start to avoid overcharging their devices. Not only does overcharging cause technical difficulties but it also consumes so much energy. If we all make these changes we can help overcome our habits of throwing out our products and purchasing new ones. We are the main reason why there are unbelievable amounts of E-waste in developing countries. A collective action must be taken around the world to help recycle and diminish our E-waste as much as

Reuse of tin, silicon iron, aluminum, plastics, and a variety of plastics— all present in bulk in computers — can reduce the costs of constructing new systems. In addition, components frequently contain copper, gold, and other materials valuable enough to reclaim in their own right.Dismantled Sony Vaio PCG-982L and Compaq JBL Professional laptops.Computer components contain valuable elements and substances suitable for reclamation, including lead, copper, and gold. They also contain many toxic substances, such as dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), cadium, chromium, radioactive isotopes, and mercury. A typical computer monitor may contain more than 6% lead by weight, much of which is in the lead glass of the cathode tube (CRT). A typical 15-inch computer monitor may contain 1.5 pounds of lead, but other monitors have been estimated as having up to 8 pounds of lead Circuit boards contain considerable quantities of lead-tin solders and are even more likely to leach into groundwater or to create air pollution via incineration. Additionally, the processing required to reclaim the precious substances (including incineration and acid treatments) may release, generate, and synthesize further toxic byproducts.A major computer recycling concern is export of waste to countries with lower environmental standards. Companies may find it cost-effective in the short term to sell outdated computers to less developed countries with lax regulations. It

Unfortunately, the EPA estimates that only 10 percent of e-waste is recycled annually. Even more upsetting, though, are the conditions in which some of these materials are recycled. While some firms operate under strict environmental regulations with adequate protocols to protect workers' health, many do not.

There are a variety of devices that have become electronically wasted including VCR’s because of the fact that DVD players replaced them and then DVD players became electronically wasted because Blu-ray players were introduced. Most of these electronics are being recycled improperly around the world. Last year in North America alone more than 85% of electronic devices were not recycled properly. Most of these devices are thrown away when they are still containing materials, which are harmful. Some of these materials include cadmium, lead, beryllium and mercury. Once a large amount of devices are recycled improperly they begin to cause a significant threat to the environment. Besides the fact that they are harmful, companies could also re-use many of the elements in these devices and build a varying of electronic

The production and circulation of electronic waste is a highly politicized and complex issue which highlights the conflicts and tensions between jobs and the environment. There are debates surrounding governance decisions and global economic linkages which approach the disposal of e-waste from two different stand points. One view is that the first world is making an unethical political decision to send its e-waste problem to pollution havens i.e. third-world countries with less stringent environmental standards. Electronic goods consist of highly toxic substances such as lead, chromium, mercury, and brominated-flame retardants, therefore when they are disposed of in an uncontrolled and risky low-cost manner such as in informal sectors they can cause major issues to both human and environmental health (Pickren, 2013). The root of this cause is linked to the asymmetrical relationships of power and the unsustainability of the current social, economic, cultural, and political movement. The decision to send e-waste ‘out of sight and out of mind’ is highly politicized and based around issues of power and control. However, another view is that north-south flows can be beneficial to informal e-waste economies and has been observed to be creating new economic settlements in third world countries in which livelihoods depend on re-using and re-pairing e-waste and selling them within the community.

There have been numerous investigations on the recycling of electronics where journalists and activists use public records to track shipping containers filled with discarded EEE from developed nations, such as the United States or European countries, to their overseas dumping destinations in less developed countries like China, Ghana, Kenya, India, Pakistan, and Nigeria. This exportation of hazardous waste is in violation of