There are plenty of options for recycling electronics products in the Bay Area. A simple search of the Internet yields dozens of recycling centers and programs in local cities for disposing those unwanted or unusable goods. But the bigger questions remain: where does all this recycling actually go after the goods are “deposited” and why can’t we build products that can be more easily reused?
The answer to the first question is somewhat ominous. While we would all like to believe that our unwanted Dell or Apple laptop gets broken down and safely recycled out of existence, the truth is that many of the components stay very much intact and are shipped to poorer third world nations such as Ghana. This sad fact was startlingly revealed earlier this year in a broadcast of Frontline , the PBS investigative TV program.
Ironically, two larger countries – India and China – who are already doing a fine job of producing tons of e-waste products on their own, are also the recipients of U.S. recycled goods too. The amount being shipped out is staggering. Recent data estimates that Americans dispose of over 2 million tons of TVs, cellphones and computer equipment each year. And, there are estimates that at least 50 to 80 percent of this ends up getting shipped overseas.
The answer to why these products can’t be built for easier reuse is more complicated. The technology industry has always been about speed and reliability. More recently, it has also been about safety. The prevailing widespread use of materials such as lead and mercury, help make our e-products perform better and improve energy efficiency, but they must also be packaged in ways that protect the consumer. This process doesn’t lend itself to being housed in flimsy recyclable cardboard.
Rick Callahan of the Associated Press recently wrote an excellent article that summarizes the efforts of some U.S. states to grapple with the e-waste problem across the country, a task that Congress has been so far quite happy to ignore. But until the vast majority of the U.S. has some semblance of an aggressive recycling program in place, the refuse will continue to pile up in our local landfills and in countries far, far away.
Comments
As a species human beings are notoriously short sighted. When the final profit margin on these high tech devices comes down to 5% - 10%, it's no wonder why manufacturers will choose to do the cheap and easy thing. With the economy floundering, it's also no wonder why lawmakers are apprehensive about introducing laws that may hinder consumer spending.
I believe the answer to all of these problems lies in the introduction of deposit-refund programs which time and again have proven to be the single most effective government policy tool for encouraging recycling.
Having worked in the electronics recycling, I can also say that the vast majority of the public has no idea just how valuable some e-scrap is, and also how worthless other forms of e-waste are. Old cell phones, for instance, contain more gold per ton than the best producing gold mines in operation today. Old TVs, by contrast, contain very little material of value that can be extracted economically. Pat Hebert, CellCycle
As a species human beings are notoriously short sighted. When the final profit margin on these high tech devices comes down to 5% - 10%, it's no wonder why manufacturers will choose to do the cheap and easy thing. With the economy floundering, it's also no wonder why lawmakers are apprehensive about introducing laws that may hinder consumer spending.
I believe the answer to all of these problems lies in the introduction of deposit-refund programs which time and again have proven to be the single most effective government policy tool for encouraging recycling.
Having worked in the electronics recycling, I can also say that the vast majority of the public has no idea just how valuable some e-scrap is, and also how worthless other forms of e-waste are. Old cell phones, for instance, contain more gold per ton than the best producing gold mines in operation today. Old TVs, by contrast, contain very little material of value that can be extracted economically. Pat Hebert, CellCycle
One way to begin dealing with the export issue is to teach the public that recycling E-waste is not FREE. Then there needs to be specific accountability relative to what is exported and where it goes. This will not likely happen through any government intervention anytime soon - unless it can be determined the containers are "hazardous waste".
Sound recycling is a cost. Yes, as Pat indicates, cell phone(without the battery) have a very high precious metals content and are quite valueable per pound. But even cell phones end up in developing countries where they are "recycled" with disastrous effects on the environment and the well being of those working in the shops.
As long as recyclers claim they can recycle and provide a "certificate of destruction" (that mean nothing) for free in order to get big goverment, municipal, non-profit contract, these entities will award the contracts to the lowest bidder. The environement will continue to suffer.
This is a great summary article that highlights the e waste issue quickly and to the point. You may be interested to hear that there currently is a bill going through congress which will finally start a national policy towards e-waste. Though the bill right now only calls for research funding on e waste management, hopefully if passed it will snowball into to actual legislative action.
www.trade2save.com/blog/2009/11/04/potential-e-waste-bill-on-horizon/
I did some similar research earlier in the year and found the conditions in countries that are forced to (by economic reasons) to handle, dismantle, or otherwise "dispose" of e-waste to be reprehensible.
I suspect that as America moves into a second-world nation status, we will find more of that e-waste moving into poorer neighborhoods in our own county as cost for shipping will only increase in the future. Can you say "Super-fund II".
This is the kind of topic that needs to stay in the public eye, because it is too easy to let the glitz of new technology blind us as a civilization to the responsibility of handling the remains of our tech so that we don't poison our future while we enjoy our present.
I have a letter template to send to your local representative. Send one as soon as you can. <tinyurl.com/ewastepalooza>
Keep up the good work.
I did some similar research earlier in the year and found the conditions in countries that are forced to (by economic reasons) to handle, dismantle, or otherwise "dispose" of e-waste to be reprehensible.
I suspect that as America moves into a second-world nation status, we will find more of that e-waste moving into poorer neighborhoods in our own county as cost for shipping will only increase in the future. Can you say "Super-fund II".
This is the kind of topic that needs to stay in the public eye, because it is too easy to let the glitz of new technology blind us as a civilization to the responsibility of handling the remains of our tech so that we don't poison our future while we enjoy our present.
I have a letter template to send to your local representative. Send one as soon as you can. <tinyurl.com/ewastepalooza>
Keep up the good work.
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