Research Paper on E-Waste Recycling

Charlotte Schiff

Frances M. Sweeney L&CS 122 Environmental Responsibility in Global Community

Electronic waste has become a major concern in the past few years in the United State.

For as long as I can remember, I have been working at my familys recycling company, which

was started by grandparents 30 years ago and continues to be run by my parents to this day. As

the years have gone by, I have watched the recycling industry grow, including the development

of electronic waste or e-waste, the newest form of recycling. Since the family business only deals

with regular recycling, I grew an interest to e-waste naturally. In this research paper, I will

inform my audience on how damaging e-waste can be to the environment and to the health of

people, and investigate how to properly recycle e-waste. In the process, I will be talking about

what e-waste is and what people can do to limit the e-waste in out landfills.

Background Information on E-Waste:

Did you know an estimated 50 million tons of e-waste are produced each year globally?

A study done by the United Nations Environment Program in 2013 estimated that only 15-20%

of e-waste is recycled; the rest goes directly into landfills. In fact, a large part of heavy metals in

landfills comes from discarded electronics.

According to Cal Recycling, there is no clear definition for e-waste, but it often includes

discarded electronic appliances such as cell phones, computers, and TVs, as well as those

electronic products nearing the end of their useful life. However, microwaves, ovens, and

similar household appliances are not yet considered to fit into the e-waste category. Cal

Recycling and the California Department of Toxic Substance Control are two Major

organizations that have been working on enforcing more regulations on e-waste to keep it out of

landfills. The first regulation in California was implemented as The Mercury-Containing and

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Rechargeable Battery Management Act in 1996, which required mercury to be phased out of the

making of batteries.

According to California Department of Toxic Substances Control:

In 2003, the Electronic Waste Recycling Act (EWRA) was signed and then amended in
2004. This act is one of the biggest and well-known acts for the e-waste issue. The major
objective of this act was to limit the amount of toxic substance instant in electronics that
are sold in California. The levels of lead, mercury, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium
allowed in materials that make up covered electronic devices are limited by Californias
Restrictions on the use of Hazardous Substances. The Manufacturers of covered
electronic devices are required to provide information to the CIWMB, demonstrating
their efforts to: reduce the levels of toxic substances in electronic devices they produce;
increase the use of recyclable materials in their products; and provide outreach programs
to consumers. The amended part of the acts major objective was to establish a funding
system for the collection and recycling of discarded covered electronic devices. This is
done by retailers who are required to collect a fee from the consumer upon the purchase
of covered electronic devices. An approved recycler receives a payment from the
Electronic Waste Recycling Account based on the weight of covered electronic devices
recycled. Many electronic wastes are not included in the Electronic Waste Recycling Act
but are still considered hazardous wastes and may not be discarded in the trash. These
electronic wastes are not eligible for payment. (Web Article on Electronic Waste
Recycling Act)

However, since many e-wastes are not included, people do not realize that they should not be

discarded to landfills.

Environmental Impact:

According to a 2009 Times article on E-Waste Not, Americans every day throw away

more than 350,000 cell phones and 130,000 computers and about 80% of this ends up in the

trash. Why should we care? Many electronics contain toxic chemicals, such as lead, mercury,

and cadmium. Most of Americas e-waste is sent overseas to poor developing countries where

they use manual labor to break down and pull out all the precious metals that are involved in

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electronics. This process is can release many toxic chemicals, which leak into the water source

and poison the land. Many of these developing countries do not use the appropriate practices to

break down this electronic waste in a safe manner. Most often our electronic waste gets dumped

on open land where people, including kids, sort through it and pick apart the electronics for the

metals. When they are done, the entire pile is burned. During this smash-and-burn process, the

electronics release chemicals into the air that the rest of the town must breathe. Most companies

then take the ashes and dump them into the canals, which are the primary water source for many

communities. Not only is this practice unsafe health-wise for the people, but also it damages

their environment. Although people can profit from this process, the detrimental side-effects far

outweigh benefits.

Impact on the People:

Many of America's electronics and import developing countries such as China and India,

as well as throughout Africa. The e-waste is often dumped in poor towns where people scavenge

the precious metals through the smash-and-burn process. When not handled properly, many of

the release toxins are absorbed by the body, affecting all those nearby, including children. The

health effects of this have been noted to cause brain damage, kidney disease, cancer,

handicapped mental development within children, and asthma. This affects not only those

working with this toxic waste, but also surrounding community. One town in particular, Guayu,

China, is known to be the capital of e-waste dumping. In this city, the contamination levels in

their water are so high, they have to truck in their water. In addition, according to Shantou

University, the miscarriage rates are rising. Along with many other health issues affecting

children, including lead poisoning.

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 E-waste is shipped to these poor developing countries to access cheaper labor and avoid

strict laws regarding this toxic waste. In the United States the Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) does regulate the exportation of cathode-ray tubes, the only type of e-waste that can be

shipped overseas legally. Unfortunately, a great deal of e-waste is exported illegally since there

are insufficient resources devoted to regulating this industry. Despite all the negative side effects

that these countries may see in their people. Many believe that recycling e-waste is their only

way of making money and supporting the economy. According to a Times article that was

published in 2009, Guayu makes about 75 million dollars per year from the extraction of metals

from e-waste.

Solutions:

Despite all the negative effects that e-waste is causing, there are plenty of solutions that allow

the consumer and producer to be responsible recyclers when it comes to electronics. Jim

Puckett, founder of Basel Action Network, runs a program to help recyclers understand their

ethical obligations to recycling e-waste. There is also a pledge program that lists responsible

recyclers, allowing consumers to learn about the recyclability of their purchases. Furthermore,

Cal Recycles website has links to find recyclers in your locally responsible e-waste distributors.

Also you can require any recyclers you know or think are not being responsible e-waste recycler.

As consumers we must be mindful of the disposal. Ask if your city has an e-waste recycling

program for when you want to get rid of your electronics.

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 Literature Review

Environmentalists Teach Dos and Donts of E-Waste by Michel Martin from NPR

In this article Michael Martin interviewes Barbara Kyle, from Electronics Take Back

Coalitions, and Garth Hickle, from a Minnesota Pollution Contra Agency. They explain what

happens to electronics after recycling events. Often, the e-waste is sent to Asia or Africa. Which

ends up wreaking havoc on the health of the people who live there. Kyle says the e-waste is

shipped abroad because recyclers can make money selling it there. And there is a market for

this very primitive system of recycling where they can make money off removing the metals.

And many of these countries just don't have the kind of regulatory infrastructure where they can

prevent it from happening - prevent it from coming in. So if it comes in in a way that the

government knows about it, they will say, no, we won't take it. But it's all illegal import.

The reason why a lot of are e-waste ends up in Asia or China is because recyclers can make

money selling it to the primitive recycling programs in Asia and China. Many of these

developing countries don't have regulations on how to extract these precious metals from our

electronics. Much of the e-waste is dumped recycling yards, where people smash open the

electronics, remove the valuable metals and when burn the remains, which releases toxic dioxin

gas. Throughout this process, the people are not wearing protective equipment, and the entire

community must breathe in these chemicals. Kyle and Hickle suggest that the consumer can help

eliminate change illegal backyard recycling in developing countries by not buying product from

companies have not committed obligation to collect and recycle their electronics

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 Following The Trail of Toxic E-Waste by 60 Minutes of CBS News

Due to our love of consumerism and believe that newer is better, Americans annually

throw out about 130,000 computers every day and over 100 million cell phones annually. Many

of these electronics contain toxic chemicals, like lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium, and

polyvinyl chlorides. Which can cause brain damage, kidney diseases, cancer and many other

diseases. Since it is against United States law to export e-waste without special permission,

including the cathode-ray tubes from TVs, many recyclers resort to smuggling containers full of

e-waste over to China.

Unfortunately, even those who recycle their e-waste at local advents are unable to know

where their waste is going. They recycle their e-waste continuously, believing theyre doing the

responsible thing. At a recycling event then in Denver, people waited for hours to donate their e-

waste to Executive Recycling, who claimed to recycle their e-waste in the United States.

When asked what people thought happens during recycling, a lot said I would assume they

would break it apart take all the heavy metals and then recycle what is necessary. However,

upon investigation, 60 Minutes found that even they ship containers full of e-waste to China for

disposal.

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 A collection of articles on e-waste by David W. Wooddell, published throughout 2008 in
National Geographic

In the collection of articles addressing a number of topics regarding e-waste, including

the difficulty to recycle electronics, the dangers involved with harnessing the precious metals,

and the percent of e-waste that actually gets recycled. In one article, Wooddell investigates how

much trash the world throws away. In the United States, 1,631 lbs. of trash per person are

disposed of each year. Wooddell also investigates the history of recycling. Due to many

personal experiences in the recycling industry, I found it particularly enlightening. Although the

content recycling has existed for some time, the industry only grew to encompass plastics such as

polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in the 1970s. E-waste rose to the forefront of the field in the

early 2000s at accessibility, consumable technology proliferated. Wooddell also touches on the

bigger picture that is easily lost among the facts and numbers. The toxicity released through the

improper disposal of e-waste affects society on a global scale, not just single countries or cities.

Furthermore, mainly of the metals that are being harvested from e-waste are turn into other

products and shipped back to the United States. Some of these metals are still leaking toxins,

and can be harmful to the consumer.

Conclusion:

In this fast-paced growing era of technology and consumerism always trying to keep up

with the new and latest products, we need to keep in mind of the waste trail we leave behind us.

This is why electronic waste has become a major concern in the past few years in the United

State. Since I have watched the recycling industry grow, including the development of electronic

waste, I am much more mindful of my waste in general but more specifically my electronic

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waste. In this research paper I have inform my audience on how damaging e-waste can be to the

environment and to the health of people, and investigate how to properly recycle e-waste. In the

process, I also have talked about what e-waste is and what people can do to limit the e-waste in

out landfills.

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 Bibliography
1) "Policy Brief on E-waste." International Environmental Technology Centre, 5 May 2013.
Web. 21 May 2014.
<http://www.unep.org/ietc/Portals/136/Other%20documents/PolicyBriefs/13052013_E-
Waste%20Policy%20brief.pdf>

2) "What Is E-Waste?" Cal Recycle, 16 Oct. 2013. Web. 3 May 2014.

3) "Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003: Covered Electronic Waste Payment System (SB
20/SB 50)." Cal Recycle, 15 Jan. 2013. Web. 3 May 2014.
<http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/Electronics/Act2003/>.

4) "Electronic Hazardous Waste (E-Waste)." State of California, 1 Jan. 2010. Web. 3 May 2014.
<http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/HazardousWaste/EWaste/>.

5) "E-Waste More Information." State of California, 1 Jan. 2010. Web. 3 May 2014.
<http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/HazardousWaste/EWaste/MoreInfo.cfm>.

6) "Batteries." Cal Recycle, 20 May 2013. Web. 4 May 2014.

7) "Batteries." US EPA, 19 Nov. 2012. Web. 4 May 2014.

8) Following The Trail Of Toxic E-Waste." 60 Minutes, 27 Aug. 2009. Web. 4 May 2014.
<http://www.cbsnews.com/news/following-the-trail-of-toxic-e-waste/>.

9) Wooddell, David W. "E-Waste More Information." National Geographic, 1 Jan. 2008. Web. 4
May 2014. <http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/geopedia/E-Waste>.

10) "E-Waste Not." Time, 9 Jan. 2009. Web. 4 May 2014.

11) "Environmentalists Teach Dos and Don'ts of E-Waste." NPR, 10 Jan. 2008. Web. 5 May
2014. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17988109>.