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Our e-waste should not end up in developing countries that are economically challenged, hindering socio-economic growth and perpetuating a destructive environment. According to Sunil Herat in his article “Major Threats From E-Waste: Current Generation and Impacts” (2011) , a study examined soil, air, and human hair from e-waste sites in Bangalore, India, found increased concentrations of elements such as “lead, zinc, silver, cadmium, and copper as compared to control sites.” In addition to negative effects on human health, another study in the same article examined toxicity in sediments from two rivers in Guiyu, China (a place with uncontrolled e-waste recycling) showed that the sediments “exhibited acute toxicity due to elevated levels of heavy metals and other chemicals caused by uncontrolled acid discharge.” Though many US states do in fact have policies on e-waste recycling, many of these countries where most of our e-waste end up do not have regulations, which results in environmental and human health
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Without knowledge and restrictions, as many consumers do not recycle their defunct products, and those who do should be educated and aware of how, why, and when to recycle their products, especially since some of the material in e-waste can be “recovered.” Though the process of collecting and transporting the electronic waste is important, the recovery of the waste is the most important part of the disposal process, according to Hai-Yong Kang. To put this in perspective, much of the “e-waste” contains materials that are not waste; they can be reused and recycled by material recovery. However, because people incorrectly believe that heir outdated electronic devices have some value to it, they do not recycle these electronics even after they have no use for it. For example, “more than 70% of retired CEDs are kept in storage, typically for as many as 3-5 years” (USEPA, 2000). As Hai-Yong Kang points out, a computer’s (or other electronics) value drops very rapidly as time goes by; moreover, older equipment is much more difficult to recycle. It is better to recycle the product as soon as possible to increase the recovery rate. Recovering useful materials in these old electronics has pros and cons to it, because although it seems that sorting and collecting useful materials is beneficial, this allows a pathway for dishonest behavior of recycling companies. Though recycling industry is increasing, and some “so called recyclers” are shipping wastes overseas – this is a violation of the international law - where the waste is broken down in scrap yards to collect the valuable metals inside (Knudson, 2010) . Additionally, Knudson also shows that though more than two dozen recycling companies have been investigated for fraud by the state Department of Toxic Substances Control, none has been
Without knowledge and restrictions, as many consumers do not recycle their defunct products, and those who do should be educated and aware of how, why, and when to recycle their products, especially since some of the material in e-waste can be “recovered.” Though the process of collecting and transporting the electronic waste is important, the recovery of the waste is the most important part of the disposal process, according to Hai-Yong Kang. To put this in perspective, much of the “e-waste” contains materials that are not waste; they can be reused and recycled by material recovery. However, because people incorrectly believe that heir outdated electronic devices have some value to it, they do not recycle these electronics even after they have no use for it. For example, “more than 70% of retired CEDs are kept in storage, typically for as many as 3-5 years” (USEPA, 2000). As Hai-Yong Kang points out, a computer’s (or other electronics) value drops very rapidly as time goes by; moreover, older equipment is much more difficult to recycle. It is better to recycle the product as soon as possible to increase the recovery rate. Recovering useful materials in these old electronics has pros and cons to it, because although it seems that sorting and collecting useful materials is beneficial, this allows a pathway for dishonest behavior of recycling companies. Though recycling industry is increasing, and some “so called recyclers” are shipping wastes overseas – this is a violation of the international law - where the waste is broken down in scrap yards to collect the valuable metals inside (Knudson, 2010) . Additionally, Knudson also shows that though more than two dozen recycling companies have been investigated for fraud by the state Department of Toxic Substances Control, none has been