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| This photo was retrieved from the Office of Campus Sustainability website. |
1.
E-waste recycling conserves natural resources.
2.
E-waste contains toxic materials which can pollute our water systems.
3.
Some e-waste materials are shipped out to developing countries, where unethical
practices cause massively negative health effects on local populations.
1. E-waste
recycling conserves natural resources.
Electronic
waste contains many precious metals. Circuit boards, a common functional piece
in computers, calculators, and televisions, contain metals with commercial
value.The
EPA estimates that “One metric ton of circuit boards contains 40 to
800 times the amount of gold and 30 to 40 times the amount of copper mined from
one metric ton of ore in the US.” Should
you throw your old IPad, Nook, or camera in a trash can, these precious metals
will be stuck in a landfill, never to be useful to society again. E-waste
recycling also indirectly conserves resources such as coal and oil, because
e-waste recycling saves energy. We would save the energy equivalent
to the electricity used by more than 24,000 US homes in a year.
2. E-waste
contains toxic materials which can pollute our water systems.
While
E-waste contains many commercially useful metals, it also contains many toxic
materials. When you throw your electronic waste into the garbage can, it is
likely to break during the process of reaching the landfill. The toxic
materials inside such as lead, mercury and arsenic can leak and contaminate the
landfill. Due to improper sealing of landfills, these toxic chemicals can seep
into the ground as ‘garbage juice’ and contaminate the water supply, causing
health problems such as cancer in local communities. Have you ever heard of biomagnification? Biomagnification is the act of a pollutant working its way up a
food chain, existing in higher concentrations in top predators. For example, mercury
from e-waste hypothetically seeps into the Huron River from the Sauk Hill
Trails landfill in Wayne County. River plankton may absorb low levels of
mercury. Fish then eat large amounts of plankton and mercury collects in the
tissues of the fish. Members of the local community fish in the Huron River,
eat the mercury-tainted fish, and potentially suffer from neurological
impairment. Arsenic, another toxic component of e-waste can disrupt cell
communication and cause cancer or diabetes. Additionally, lead exposure can impair
cognitive and verbal activity, and eventually cause paralysis, coma and death.
3. Some
e-waste materials are shipped out to developing countries, where unethical
practices cause massively negative health effects on local populations.
In China and India,
gangs hire locals to burn the heaps of computer monitors, DVD players, and
televisions. The burns are meant to melt away the plastic and expose the valuable
copper wires. Burning plastic releases some of the most toxic dioxins known on
earth. Not only that, but proper workers safety regulations are not being put
in place. Children and adults alike work in and live among these toxic air
pollutants without any respiratory protection. Workers also suffer from burn marks on their hands and
higher prices for water because drinkable water needs to be trucked into the
town. Guiyu, a town in China with the largest e-waste site on earth, has the
highest levels of cancer-causing dioxins in the world, and that pregnancies are
six times more likely to end in miscarriage.
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| This photo was retrieved from Greenpeace. See the webpage here. |
That’s
awful. What can I do about this? First, recycle
your e-waste! Check to see if the manufacturer of your device will take the
product back. Many manufacturers have take-back programs, including Apple, Dell
and Toshiba. Sony even takes their products back in exchange for credit. These
companies know the product best and therefore can most efficiently dismantle it
into reusable parts. If the manufacturer will not accept their product back, drop
off any electronics you are done with at any of the following locations:
- Best Buy- 3100 Lohr Rd.
- Drop-Off Station - 2950 E. Ellsworth
- Habitat for Humanity ReStore- 170 Aprill Drive
Each spring the Office of Campus
Sustainability partners with Ann Arbor schools to collect e-waste from
citizens, small businesses, and non-profits in the local area. This year, a
total of 220 tons of e-waste was collected during this three day
event, from April 24-26. The equipment donated at this event is properly
dismantled and recycled into raw materials at a licensed facility in North
America.
This photo
was retrieved from the University Record article on this year’s E-waste event.
Read the article here.
The Bottom Line: E-waste isn’t really waste at all; it is a useful product that
is no longer useful to you. If you don’t recycle your e-waste, precious metals
like copper, silver, and gold will be stuck in a landfill, never to be used
again, polluting our local water supply.
Works Cited
“What is E-waste?” What
is E-Waste? CalRecycle, 16 Oct. 2013. Web. 12 May 2014.
“High-Tech Trash – Quiz: E-Waste- National Geographic
Magazine.” High-Tech Trash – Quiz:
E-Waste- National Geographic Magazine. n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.
“Frequent Questions I Ecycling.” EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 12 Nov. 2012. Web. 12 May
2014.
Toothman, Jessika. “How E-waste Works.” 04 June 2008.
HowStuffWorks.com http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/everyday-tech/e-waste.htm
12 May 2014.
“Following The Trail of Toxic E-Waste.” CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 9 Nov. 2008.
Web. 12 May 2014.
Elger, Dana. “Faculty and Staff Help Recycle 220 Tons
of Electronic Waste.” The University
Record. The University Record, 5 May 2014. Web. 12 May 2014.
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