E-Waste

This essay will discuss the problems associated with the disposal of electronic equipment, the banning of electronic waste, the export of electronic waste and some solutions to the dilemma of electronic waste.

In the past thirty years the use of personal electronic devices has skyrocketed. Examples of these devices include televisions, radios, phones and computers. The technology associated with these products is constantly being improved. More than ever consumers are discarding their old electronic devices in favor of devices that contain the newest technology. This practice is responsible for producing electronic or e-waste. E-waste is a term that refers to electronic devices that have reached their end of life. In 2007 the Environmental Protection Agency estimated that forty million personal computers became obsolete. The EPA also estimated that there were 235 million TVs, computers and other electronic devices in storage. These discarded products make up two percent of the materials in the stream of municipal waste.

Millions of electronic devices are ending up in landfills. These devices are putting huge amounts of hazardous materials into the soil. Chemicals like beryllium are used in computer circuit boards and cadmium, one of the most toxic chemicals known, is used in microchips. Both are poisonous and are known to cause cancer. Mercury and lead are found in computer batteries and both of these elements pose severe health risks. "An average 15-inch PC or television monitor contains as much as five pounds of lead. (Pinto) These hazardous substances are leaching out of these devices into the soil and into the ground water.

Because of the high potential for soil and water contamination the disposal of e-waste has become a serious issue. Over half of the states in the U.S. have laws that ban the disposal of e-waste in landfills. Many European countries also have laws that ban e-waste from landfills. In response to these bans e-waste is being exported to other lesser-developed countries for disposal. In most cases the export of e-waste is illegal. International laws under the Basel Convention outlaw the transboundary shipment of e-waste. It is interesting to note that the U.S. has not ratified the Basel Convention.

Greenpeace reports that the majority of exported e-waste is going to China, India, and some West African countries. They estimate that fifty to eighty percent of U.S. e-waste is exported to these countries. Scrap yards in China, India and Africa extract copper, silicon, nickel and gold from the components of the e-waste and resell it. These lesser-developed countries do not have the same strict environmental laws in place, as do the more developed nations. Greenpeace states that in these countries recycling is done by hand and is often done by children. One scrap yard in Delhi India employs 25,000 workers. These low-tech methods of extraction release large amounts of harmful substances into the