E Waste

The US EPA has stated that nearly 4.6 million tons of e-waste was placed in landfills by the year 2000. In recent years, the number of tons has increased dramatically. E-waste is comprised of electronic devices such as cell phones and television sets. Broken or obsolete computers and their hard drives are one of the largest portions of products in e-waste.

Technology changes and grows at such a rapid pace these days, that it is causing a glut of obsolete cell phones and computers. Low initial costs of the products contribute to these products being easy to dispose of to the tune of 30 million computers and 100 million cell phones per year. Environmentally, the issue of e-waste and what to do with it is of great concern to many people and countries around the globe.

Currently, tons of e-waste is being shipped to Asia, where it becomes part of large hazardous waste dump. These dumps are full of toxic chemicals and metals. Hong Kong sees 10-20% of all computers they take in go straight to their landfills. Export of this electronic waste is illegal for many countries, however, 47% of waste destined for export in 2005 was marked as illegal. Many people in the US believe that if they send their computer to be recycled that it actually happens, however, research shows that even if some parts are taken for recycling, the bulk of the computer, hazardous parts and all, still end up in land fills.

When e-waste is recycled, metals like copper are extracted for re-use or to sell on the market. Refurbishing older models of electronics with newer software or parts is one way metals can be re-used. However, many of the toxic parts to these electronics are not reclaimed and instead can leach into landfills and cause harm to the surroundings. Elements including nickel, titanium, mercury, sulfur, lead and cadmium that are found in e-waste are all considered dangerous and should not be left in landfills. Some of these elements can be extracted as well and used in construction supplies, jewelry and flatware.

Multiple grass roots organizations are currently working around the globe for solutions for a better way to handle the massive amount of e-waste we create now, and the anticipated future amount we will discard. Better e waste recycling processes, new and improved uses for obsolete items and pressure on the industry to create more flexible designs that can be adapted for upgrades are all being considered as alternatives to dumping e-waste into landfills.