Chris Rodinis
http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/green-penguin-%E2%80%93-where-does-your-e-waste-go
Now for more on E-stewards.
E-Stewards recycle electronics responsibly.
You that computer monitor that has been sitting in your garage for 3 years? How about that old Compaq that finally bit the dust last year?
Your old television set with the ears? Yep…that is all e-waste.
So what happens to all this e-waste once it leaves your premises?
The best practice is to take all old electronics to responsible recycler, preferably one with E-Steward certification.
The worst practice is to hand it off to recycler that will containerize it and export it overseas to a poor country. At least, that is the prevailing wisdom.
The poor countries have no e-waste laws or pollution control laws and if they do, they are not very well enforced. This leads to corrupt practices that can harm poor workers and the environment in which they live.
Overall as citizens of the world we have not done enough to stem the tide of worst practice e-waste recycling.
According to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC) the problem is “chronic” and is “the fastest growing part of the waste stream.”
A Chronic Problem
Believe it or not the SVTC claims a whooping 90% of e-waste is dumped into landfills with no recycling whatsoever. This causes a pollution problem even if the landfill has state of the art lining. Worst than that all the valuable guts are lost forever.
The remaining 10% is recycled, hopefully, in a responsible manner.
Here, (to me) is another astounding fact: “Of the recycled materials, only 20% goes through what we would call recycling, with a full 80% getting shipped off to developing countries.”
And, as mentioned in our last post, this exporting is feeding the fire of corruption, and vast amouts air and ground pollution.
“Recyclers there use primitive and dangerous means to extract minimal amounts of valuable materials.”
“Circuit boards are processed with open flames or acid baths, monitors and TVs filled with lead are smashed open with basic tools, plastics are melted with toxic flame retardants.”
“All of this is generally done by poor workers, often including children.”
“The final resting place for most e-waste is a toxic heap of hazardous materials that leach into the ground and air.”
What a mess! You think something so treasured as our devices would get a little more respect. Looks like overall we have a devil may care attitude.
Always About the Money
Economic considerations are the cause of e-waste exporting and abuse.
When electronics are manufactured to be recycled efficiently at their end of life, then we will have made real progress.
In the meantime, as Congress debates, and business pushes for fair trade and responsible practices, tons of toxic and hazardous materials, namely lead, mercury, arsenic and cadmium are mishandled daily.
Not to mention there is plenty of platinum, gold, silver and copper going to waste! Our grandparents would not approve.
On top of this, making a buck recycling e-waste is not the easiest thing in the world to do. Nothing like short-cuts, bribes and shady work ethics for making money!
That is why the E-Stewards certification is gaining steam. Because the word is out. Your e-junk stinks if you don’t treat it right!
Like Boy Scouts, E-Stewards promise not to do (or risk prison and fines) any of the following: dump toxic e-waste in developing countries, local landfills and incinerators; use prison labor to process e-waste; or release any private data contained in discarded computers.
For more information on responsible e-waste recycling please visit: