Essay On E Waste

Essay on E-Waste Recycling
When Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the stage to deliver a candid commencement speech at Stanford
this past June, a plane flew over the stadium with a banner that read: "Steve –– don't be a mini player
–– recycle all e–waste."
This was the latest stunt by the Computer Take–Back Campaign (CTBC), an environmental crusade
supported by activist groups who have criticized Apple for lagging behind the rest of the computer
industry in its recycling efforts.
The plane's banner referred to Apple's recent announcement that it will now accept iPods for free
recycling at all of its stores in exchange for 10 percent off the purchase of a new iPod. Until June,
organizations like the CTBC and the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC) roundly denounced
...show more content...
The CTBC claims that e–waste accounts for approximately 40 percent of these three toxins that end
up landfills, noting that "just 1/70th of a teaspoon of mercury can contaminate 20 acres of a lake,
making the fish unfit to eat."
Unfortunately, the EPA estimates that only 10 percent of e
–waste is recycled annually. Even more
upsetting, though, are the conditions in which some of these materials are recycled. While some
firms operate under strict environmental regulations with adequate protocols to protect workers'
health, many do not.
E–Waste Goes Global
In 2002, the Basel Action Network (BAN) along with the SVTC released a groundbreaking,
heartrending investigation called Exporting Harm: The High–Tech Trashing of Asia [PDF].
BAN found that 50 to 80 percent of e–waste collected in the western U.S. for recycling is actually
exported to countries like China, India, and Pakistan. The investigative team witnessed the toxic
dumping of lead–laden cathode ray tubes in open fields and rivers not far from populated areas, the
open burning of plastics and wires, and exposure to toxic solders from circuit boards. They also
documented hundreds of thousands of migrant workers (men, women and children), who were
forced to break apart and process obsolete computers, completely unaware of the health and
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e-waste Essay
Electronic and electrical equipment is essential part of busy world. It substitutes hard human work
and makes it faster. Most of people have a computer at home or at work. In recent years changing
of electronic equipment becomes faster due to obsolescence and advance (Deathe et al. 2008, 322).
The problem of e–waste threatens the future environment of the modern society. E–waste or
electronic waste means electrical and electronic equipment, which is not suitable for use and fills the
dumps. Electronic equipment, such as mobile phones, computers, and televisions consist of
hazardous materials, which pollute the environment and impact on human's health. Obtaining of 1.6
billion pounds of lead and four times more pounds of plastic from...show more content...
Reusing is not suitable approach because not all old computers can be used by a second consumer.
Recycling and remanufacturing are recently proposed solutions which could be developed in the
future to control e–waste.
One of the known solutions to e–waste is recycling. Recycling is "the process of changing waste
materials such as newspapers and bottles so that they can be used again" (Macmillan 2007).
According to Bakar (2007, 1370) recycling has several parts of feasibility, the main aspects are
dismantling and stages of separating. There are some recycling programs which help consumers
to choose a convenient way to recycle their electronic equipment (Marquardt 2005). For instance,
consumers can find programs on www.eiae.org (ibid. 2005). For recycling it is essential to have
adequate raw materials for appreciable result with qualitative secondary products (Deathe et al.
2008, 324). Products of recycling are different things from refurbishing metals of electronic
equipment. After recycling producers have two types of material. One of them of low grade and
could be used in secondary market, other could be mixed with virgin material ( Bakar 2007,1371).
Kahhat et al.(2008, 957) report that many countries already have experience in recycling, such as
Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and the United States. As countries have different approaches for this
solution, in South Korea consumers need to pay fee when buy new

Solutions to E- waste problem Essay
In the last decades, technology became more sophisticated in creating modern devices.
Consequently, in our disposable age most apparatus turn into aged ones in a couple of years or even
months. This is one of the reasons why electronic devices become waste. E–waste is discarded,
surplus, obsolete, or broken electronic devices or apparatuses. Most environment protection
organizations maintain that e–waste induces health and pollution problems. The primary reason for
this view is that almost all of the electric devices contain hazardous substances which are toxic and
are not biodegradable. There are mercury, lead, and chromium in parts like circuit boards, batteries,
and color cathode tubes. These toxic components can easily enter the...show more content...
Although recycle companies require fixed fee, they provide following services: taking back,
transporting, tracking and reporting programs. In addition, reporting program includes a final report.
In this final report there is information about the values of materials. Eddy current separators (ECSs)
and the Titech X–Tract Separator and Finder are extensively used in recycling industry. These
machines sort the shreds; therefore, the recycling stages go faster. However, ECSs do not recognize
stainless steel whereas X–Tract and Finder identify it (Krikke 2008). Finally, recyclers are
responsible for reusing or for selling recycled materials. One example of this is DMC The
Electronics Recycling Company, which has the purchasers for every sort of materials except batteries.
Another solution is for manufactures to adopt the responsibility. Michael McCarthy (2010) claims
that this solution was proposed by The European Union in 2002. Thus, the manufacturers must
follow some rules. The rules are to minimize hazardous substances in electronic equipment, take back
and recycle the end– of– life electronics and use the recycled– content materials. Firstly, it will be
better if manufacturers minimize the use of certain materials like plastic as it takes a very long time
to degrade. Moreover, by minimizing the number of materials, the cost of the final product will
decline. Secondly, there will

Essay about E-waste Management
While technology has revolutionized the way people live, it has not come without a direct
environmental cost. Toxic waste or electronic waste (e–waste), produced by obsolete electronic
products, is growing at an alarming rate, and poses a severe environmental threat. In light of
challenges underlined by this new kind of waste, sound management is imperative. Although,
America and Asia are economically very different from each other, ironically they do not differ much
when it comes to the `mismanagement' of e–waste: unsafe disposition practices, lax legislation, and
inadequate recycling.
Disposal of e–waste is one of the major problems faced in America. Despite being financially sound,
America has no proper infrastructure built for safe...show more content...
According to HP, "these extra [charges] would not be placed on companies outside the California
border, therefore, giving outside retailers and companies a competitive advantage." In addition, the
report added that according to some environmentalists, this Act does not provide any "incentives [for
the manufacturers] to improve their designs for the environment."
Likewise, inconsistencies also exist in the legal standards of Asia. The domestic legislations
concerning e–waste disposal continues to be difficult to enforce in developing countries of Asia in
the absence of international cooperation and assistance, technical and financial means, and an
adequate infrastructure. For instance, according to a report by Multinational Monitor, "China has
banned the import of e–waste and yet the US refuses to honor that ban by preventing exports to
them."
Yet another concern for America is inadequate recycling of e–waste. According to a recent study, "In
the US, only one in nine, retired computers was recycled in 2001." The US imputed the cause to the
high cost of recycling that incurs from collecting, sorting, transporting, and processing e–waste. On
the other hand, however, some manufacturers have devised new

E Waste Management
E–Waste Management in Pakistan
Zaigham Abbas Technical Officer (Chemicals) Ministry of Environment Government of Pakistan
Regional Workshop on WEEE/E–Waste Management, 6 – 9 July 2010, Osaka, Japan
1
INTRODUCTION OF ORGANIZATION
Ministry of Environment is responsible for National Environment Policy, Planning and International
Environment Coordination.
2
PAKISTAN: STATUS OF ENVIRONMENT
п‚§
Constitution of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Council (PEPC) headed by the Prime
Minister of Pakistan is the highest forum responsible for strategic policy decision in environment
and sustainable development Establishment of Federal & Provincial Environmental Protection
Agencies (EPA), Enacted the Pakistan Environmental...show more content...
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Management of Mercury & Mercury containing Waste Project (2009–10).
11
Electronic Waste in Pakistan
п‚§
In Pakistan, the computers and other obsolete electronic goods are imported under the pretext of
'second–hand equipment. A small percentage of the items imported are usable. In practice, after
removing the working machines and usable parts, the bulk of the consignment is sent to the recycling
industry Hundreds of workers, including teenage children, earn their livelihoods by dismantling the
electronic scrap and extracting valuable components E–waste has Environmental repercussions of
the various highly toxic elements like lead, cadmium, barium, mercury and chromium which are
released during the dismantling of these used computers. There is no proper system to recycle and
dispose e–waste in Pakistan, which is a serious issue.
12

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Electronic Waste in Pakistan
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The circuit boards originate from all over the world, including the US, Kuwait, Australia, Japan and
the UK. Only 2 percent of the computers can be reused; for the remaining computers, all of the
metals and plastics are taken out to be re–sold, according to Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition and
Basel Action Network. All of the work is done by hand and no protective equipment is used
Sorting is done and only 15 to 40 per cent of these computers can be used and the rest is recycled.
The go–downs working condition

A Solution to E-Waste Essay
Over the past decade there was a profound development achieved in the sphere of high
technologies production. Now the scale of electronics market becomes wider and spins up day by
day with a cyclic launch of new electronic appliances with enhanced features. "According to the
Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), consumers were expected to purchase 500 million units
of consumer electronics in the US in 2008." (Electronics Takeback coalition, 2010) Consequently, a
clear tendency toward rapid substitution of electronic appliances can be observed. A high rate in
electronics upgrading shortens their lifespan and results in following stockpiling of needless
gadgets, which become a part of municipal waste. These end–of–life electronic devices...show more
content...
Now consumers are not supplied with enough opportunities for proper disposal of e–waste. Recycling
management is not sufficiently developed. Consequently, instead of being recycled a growing
number of end–of–life electronics with a variety of hazardous components in their structures, such
as lead and mercury, is dumped in landfills or incinerated. Umesi and Onyia (2008) suggest that 20
acres of lake can be contaminated just with 'one–seventieth of a teaspoon of mercury' so that the fish
becomes unsafe to eat. Thus, such practices as disposal of e–waste in dumping ground or
incineration substantially expose the whole environment to contamination with toxins, which in its
turn leads to expansion of different human health problems. Binns (2006) reports that people's
exposure to mercury toxication through food, through eating fish in particular, may lead to the
whole range of diseases such as impaired neurological development, kidney damage, respiratory
failure and affection of cognitive abilities. Embryos and small children are at the largest risk to be
affected with mercury toxins, especially their nervous system. Therefore, pregnant women are
recommended to forgo eating fish. (ibid, 2006) Hence, it is essential to take drastic measures
concerning e–waste issue. However, it can be claimed that currently there is no any relevant
approach being successfully developed and applied to the problem.
One of the ways

E-waste Essay example
Over the past decade there was a prominent development observed in the sphere of high
technologies production, so the scale of electronics market becomes wider and spins up from day
to day. "According to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), consumers were expected to
purchase 500 million units of consumer electronics in the US in 2008. US households spend about
$1407 per year on hardware." (Electronics Takeback coalition, 2010) Accordingly, there is a clear
tendency of rapid substitution of electronic appliances observed, as every other day producers offer
consumers more efficient and powerful gadgets instead of their predecessors. Consequently, high
rate in electronics upgrading results in shortening of their lifespan and following...show more
content...
Now consumers are not supplied with enough opportunities for a proper disposal of e–waste, i.e.
recycling management is not sufficiently developed. Consequently, instead of being recycled a
growing number of end–of–life electronics with a variety of hazardous components such as lead,
mercury set in their structure is turned out to be simply dumped in landfills or incinerated, which
substantially exposes the whole environment to a serious problem of contamination with toxins. For
example, 'milligrams of mercury that are used in LCDs structure, can be so toxic that as little as
one gram of airborne mercury deposited per year to a 20–acre lake is enough to maintain mercury
contamination at a level where the fish are unsafe to eat'. (Takeback coalition, 2009) Besides, such
placement of toxic e–waste in landfills leads to expansion of different human health problems such
as 'elevated risks of cancer and developmental and neurological disorders'. (Binns, 2006) Mercury
can serve as a glare example as even in a small dosage it is very toxic and may bring about brain and
kidney damage. In 2000 the National Academy of Sciences stated in its report that as mercury is
able to be passed through breast milk, each year there are approximately

The Problem Of E Waste
E–Waste may be described as a broad and growing range of electronics ranging from large
household devices such as refrigerators, air conditioners, cell phones, personal stereos and consumer
electronics to computers, which have been discarded by their users. (Puckett and Smith, 2002).
While this description is accurate, it is slightly ambiguous about the length of time before a device
can actually be considered waste. Often, owners discard their electronics long before they have
reached the end of their actual life cycle in order to upgrade to a newer model. In most cases the
outgoing device finds its way into the used market. This may prolong the life of the product by a
few years, however all electronic items eventually reach a point...show more content...
With devices becoming increasingly affordable, the replacement time for common consumer
electronics has also become shorter. Planned obsolescence is a significant contributor to the increase
in purchase of consumer electronics. Many companies these days limit software updates and
features to only a handful of new phones or tablets they offer, thus perpetuating the need to go out
and purchase the new model. The average use time before a consumer replaces their mobile phone is
only 18 months even though it's actual life cycle may be much longer than that. PCs and laptops are
usually considered outdated within 3–4 years of purchase and are then replaced by their owners for
newer and faster models. Studies have estimated e–waste generation worldwide at 20 to 50 million
tonnes per year with a steady increase of 8% to 10% annually. One of the methods to estimate the
potential volume of e–waste in the present and the future is by analyzing sales figures of
commercial electronics. By taking into account how much we are buying, we may be able to
approximate how much will be added to this waste stream a few years down the line when newly
purchased devices become obsolete and are discarded. On the release of the latest iPad, electronic
buy back firms stated that consumers were trading in their older tablets at an unprecedented rate for
the new iteration even though their older tablets were completely functional and working.

Essay about E-Waste
E–waste is the term which relates to all types of electronics, which can evolve into waste in the near
future. (STEP) Although E–waste is a general term, it can be assumed to cover all types of items
which use electricity. Today, electronic waste becomes a very formidable and significant problem
around the world. Environmental protection agency contends the idea, that there are 4 most common
ways of solving electronic waste problem: landfilling, incinerating, reusing and recycling. This essay
will firstly discuss key reasons of e–waste to be a comprehensive problem. This paper will argue,
that there are 4 most conventional approaches to solve electronic waste problem and to prove that
recycling is the most benefit one....show more content...
It will take a lot of energy and resources to mine them again.(Environment protection agency,2000)
Thus, it is very perilous to environment and economically unprofitable not to manage electronic
waste. There are 4 most common ways of solving electronic waste problem: landfilling, incinerating,
reusing and recycling.(European environment agency,2002) The most wide spread of them is
landfilling, the process of burying electronic waste. There is only one advantage of this approach – it
costs significantly less than other ways. That is why landfilling is very popular among countries
like Poland, Greece, Cyprus, Malta and USA. The EPA report on management of electronic waste in
USA mention that 1422.1 tons are landfilled over of 1824.8 produced.
Although landfilling is significantly cheap, it has rather serious negative impact to environment.
European Environment agency discusses the idea, that it is impossible to predict precise influence of
landfilling to environment. Then it mentions that electronic waste can store for a long time being
buried.Furthermore conditions of landfills are distinctive from conditions of natural lands.
Therefore, hazardous elements like Cadmium or Mercury can spread and cause a serious havoc

Speech On Electronic Waste
E–waste, as known as electronic waste, is the fastest growing waste on the planet. Any discard
with a cord or battery is considered electronic waste. People have been creating effective
electronic gadgets and appliances to improve the quality of lives. However, once the equipment is
used and old, the amount of waste increases. The waste problem cannot be ignored since the Earth
is having more environmental issues. For instance, from my personal experience in working at a
manufacturing factory, the smell of the processing metal gave me a hard time. I was wondering
why other workers do not wear a masks until they answered, "We are used to it, and have no
choice; that is our job." That response accorded me a clearer understanding of how helpless
employees can be. Similarly, in the area with much electronic waste, citizens who live near landfills
have to be negatively affected by the polluted environment.
E–waste is created and destroyed by people. Although some may not realize how much waste they
have made in the environment, the ones who suffer under the electronic contamination are humans
themselves. In the United States (U.S.), which is the main producer of e–waste, everyone should be
responsible for the appropriate disposal of used electronics because e–waste can cause health issues
for humans and the environment, but recycling e–waste could lead to more job opportunities and
future profits for society.
Main Producer of E–Waste and Where Waste Ends
The U.S. is one of the

Essay On E Waste

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