Electronic Waste
What is E-Waste?
Trash, believe it or not, has a great impact on society. However, there is one type of trash that stands out from the rest, for its impact is deadly. It is very common in homes and loaded with hazardous chemicals. It is electronic waste. From electronics as big as a 102” TV to as small as AA batteries, all these electronics are capable of doing major harm to our environment and our health if they are not dispose of in a proper way. During this generation where new technologies are being invented daily, older electronics are being thrown away even quicker because people want to follow the newest trend. These unwanted electronics are called electronic waste (e-waste). According to kucinich.us, electronic waste is “the fastest growing waste stream in the industrialized world” (www.kucinich.us).
This is a huge problem worldwide because so many people think that they can just toss their electronics into a trash can and be done with it. However, when these hazardous electronics are sitting there in landfills, it means “millions of computers could be leaking harmful chemicals into groundwater” (www.ZDNet.com). Dennis Kucinich states that “Experts believe that by the year 2004, over 315 million computers will become obsolete, leaving approximately 1.2 billion pounds of lead, 2 millions pounds of cadmium, and 4 billion pounds of plastics in the waste stream” (www. kucinich.us). ABC news reports that “between 50 percent to 80 percent of electronics wastes collected for recycling was shipped to China, India, Pakistan, and other developing countries” (www.abcnews.go.com). Most of the people in these developing countries who manage these harmful electronics aren’t notified of its toxicity. According to ABC news, a repot, in 2002, by BAN and SVTC, “found high concentrations of lead in the environmental samples from sites in and around e-waste facilities in Guiyu, China; New Delhi; and Karachi, Pakistan. In one water sample…lead concentration came in 190 times higher than recommended drinking-water guidelines” (www.abcnews.go.com). Lead, in circuit boards, could damage “both the central and peripheral nervous systems; can cause seizures, retardation, high blood pressure, and damage to the kidneys and liver” (www.recyclingforcharities.com). Thus, these electronics are extremely dangerous.
The Dangers Behind E-Waste
Although it isn’t the best idea for the US to ship off our problem to other countries, at least US is doing something about these e-wastes. Some people just leave their unwanted electronics at home in their basements or attics. This is a major problem also because these electronics will leak out harmful chemicals. This leakage contaminates the soil, which may lead to plants and water being harmed as well.
According to Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia, the usage of computers increased when the Internet was introduced. With this growing rate of computer usage, and each computers’ lifespan being two or three years, there are a lot of computers being thrown away daily. With all these computers being consumed and so little people know how to dispose of them properly, it certainly endangers our world and health around the globe. We must take action to prevent this worldwide problem from increasing.
To find out what you can do, take a look at the flyers we handed out at the 2008 Festival.
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| Educational E-Waste Flyer | |
| File Size: | 1930 kb |
| File Type: | jpg |
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| E-Waste Ad | |
| File Size: | 759 kb |
| File Type: | jpg |
Who We Are:
By Mimi Ly, Victor Ly, Noel Tum, Tiffany Tran, Jenny Ding, and Michelle Wong
