Avoiding e-Waste
by Francis P. Koster, Ed. D
Ever try
to lift an old style television or computer monitor? They are
surprisingly heavy — because they have between 4 and 8 pounds of
lead inside. Lead is so damaging to the human brain that it was
removed from gasoline years ago, and extensive programs to remove it
from older buildings were started. In the United States, more than
two-thirds of all households have three or more TVs containing lead
and other chemicals which at some point will have to be disposed of.
Old TVs are a real threat to human brains, and not just from
watching them.
And the
danger is not just from TVs.
The
national average life span of a cell phone in the United States is
around a year and a half. This means that every 18 months, a fistful
of dangerous chemicals like lead, mercury, nickel or cadmium are
thrown away. We Americans toss an astonishing 100 million cell
phones each year. Fewer than 1 in 10 are currently recycled.
And old
computers are loaded with toxics. They contain lead, chromium,
beryllium and cadmium — all of which have been shown to be harmful
to human health. Due to the rapid advances in technology, in the
United States 130,000 computers are removed from service each day
and replaced with newer models, with little concern for the
downstream impact of the discards. All together, our nation tossed
more than 2 million tons of electronic equipment (called e-waste) in
2009, and the amount is rising rapidly. Electronic waste such as
cell phones, broken computers and TVs makes up about 70 percent of
the worst toxins in landfills.
There are
three ways to get rid of old electronics. First, someone can re-use
them. If it works, donate it to Goodwill, Salvation Army or similar
organizations. (Before sending a computer to an unknown destination,
you should remove all data.)
Second,
you can put it in the dump (this is now illegal in 25 states due to
the hazards).
Third,
and much better than dumping it, you can recycle it.
One
result of this is that we no longer have to mine new toxic materials
from the ground. One metric ton of old computer circuit boards can
contain as much gold as 800 tons of ore mined from the Earth, and
reclaiming it is a lot cheaper and healthier than mining it. The
same is true of other hard-to-find minerals.
Disposal
of e-waste is a problem with an international moral dimension,
because our national past practice has been to ship e-waste to very
poor countries where those citizens literally poisoned themselves
trying to get the valuable toxic elements out, using unsophisticated
methods such as open air boiling inside housing compounds. Instead
of damaging our children, we contributed to damaging theirs.
Since
many landfills no longer accept e-waste, this leaves citizens
somewhat trapped. They have old electronics, but it is very
inconvenient to dispose of them. And if they just toss them on the
curb or leave them in the woods, they are creating a public health
risk for the neighborhood, both now and in the future.
There are
two organizations, one governmental (E-Stewards) and one industry
funded (R2 Solutions), that have established safe handling standards
for e-waste. Their presence solves the big picture problem because
we can now get trained and professional technicians to take this
stuff in and remove the toxins. Because these standards now exist,
many new private sector businesses are being created to capture the
dangerous compounds and recycle them, creating jobs.
The
little picture problem still remains. What we need are programs to
gather e-waste and deliver it to a certified and licensed
reclamation/recycling center. This is a local issue, in our control.
There are
some good role models out there. Many communities offer curbside
pickup or processing centers where citizens can take old computers,
monitors and related items.
Some
manufacturers have programs. Apple Computer operates a national
recycling program. Customers who buy new computers can ship their
old one to a certified recycling center for free. Apple will also
accept computers from non-customers if the citizen pays shipping.
Retailers
such as Best Buy also accept many e-waste items for recycling in
bins in front of their stores.
So here
we have a problem with known solutions which combine job development
and protecting the public health. You can help by donating your
unused electronics to an organization that helps others and create a
more desirable future by copying successful recycling programs
already in place. Are you in?
Rotarian Francis P. Koster, Ed.D. lives in Kannapolis, North
Carolina.
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