Image source: https://fic-services.com/what-should-you-do-with-your-electronic-waste/
Background
Electronic waste, commonly referred to as e-waste, is a rapidly growing subset of waste in today’s world. In 2016, there were 49.3 million tons of e-waste world wide, which pose extreme potential harm while also being a potential economic resource [1]. The United Nations University estimated that the raw materials present in e-waste around the world are worth up to $61 billion [1]. Phones, computers, and other electronic devices contain materials such as copper, tin, iron, aluminum, fossil fuels, titanium, gold, and silver [2].
However, the current system and rate of recycling is completely broken. Only around 12 percent of e-waste is appropriately recycled worldwide, and the United States is an especially poor cooperator [2]. While being one of the two biggest producers of electronic waste, the US is the only developed country that has not signed the Basel Convention on hazardous waste, which restricts exports of e-waste [1]. Additionally, there is no are no federal laws regarding e-waste, leaving the matter to state governments, 25 of which have some sort of regulation [2]. The result is disastrous. Without receiving very much attention in the media, tons of e-waste are shipped each day from North America to developing nations all over the world, particularly in Asia. The importing of e-waste is even illegal in some of these importing countries, but it occurs nonetheless. Due to the economic value of the materials present in this waste, the e-waste is sorted, scrapped, and recycled by people without adequate training or safety equipment. Workers in many
Agbogbloshie, Accra, Ghana [4]
How it works
Technologies do exist, at least in the United States, to recycle e-waste in a responsible, safe, and environmentally friendly way. In most communities of the country, recyclers place collection bins at certain drop off locations. Reputable recyclers take this waste to facilities that shred the devices into thin pieces. The shreds then go through a series of separation processes. Overhead magnets are used to remove iron and steel. Aluminum, copper, and circuit boards are removed via mechanical systems. Water is used to separate glass from plastics. Once categorized, the waste is then prepared to sell as a raw material [2]. The more “backyard” styles of many e-waste dumps in the developing world vary much more and often unfortunately involve burning many materials in open air. The best option for a user who is done with an electronic product is to find a way for it to re-used, either by donating the device or finding a recycler who will refurbish and then sell items. If an item must be recycled, reputable recyclers should be sought out to ensure that the waste will not simply be sold overseas [4].
[1] B. Larmer, “E-Waste Offers an Economic Opportunity as Well as Toxicity,” The New York Times, 05-Jul-2018. [Online]. Available: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/05/magazine/e-waste-offers-an-economic-opportunity-as-well-as-toxicity.html. [Accessed: 10-Feb-2020].
[2] T. Haque, “Introduction to Electronics Recycling,” The Balance Small Business, 07-Oct-2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.thebalancesmb.com/introduction-to-electronics-e-waste-recycling-4049386. [Accessed: 10-Feb-2020].
[3] M. Robinson, “Disturbing photos of the toxic graveyards where your old gadgets go to die,” Business Insider, 02-Jun-2017. [Online]. Available: https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-of-e-waste-in-developing-countries-2017-6#the-living-conditions-in-the-e-waste-hubs-are-vicious-workers-in-agbogbloshie-ghana-make-shelters-out-of-scraps-and-waste-inside-the-parameters-of-the-landfills-7. [Accessed: 10-Feb-2020].
[4] N. P. R. Staff, “After Dump, What Happens To Electronic Waste?,” NPR, 21-Dec-2010. [Online]. Available: https://www.npr.org/2010/12/21/132204954/after-dump-what-happens-to-electronic-waste. [Accessed: 10-Feb-2020].