E-Waste: The New Worrying but Easily Solvable Pollution
- Irvine Atlas Publication
- Sep 1, 2020
- 5 min read
By: Akshika Kandage, Assia Tej and Jacob Tan
Introduction
You have maybe heard the word “E-waste” before without knowing what it refers to. [1]E-waste is the unwanted, inutile electronic products, including but not limited to: computers, televisions, VCRs, stereos, copiers, and fax machines. In 2019, 53.6 million tonnes of e-waste were dumped globally and only 17.4 % of it was recycled, according to a UN report. Having such a substantial amount of discarded e-waste is alarming because most electronics contain toxic materials, including beryllium, cadmium, mercury, and lead. These toxic materials pose a serious environmental risk to our soil, food, water, and air and have been known to poison humans and wildlife especially if the toxins are in high concentration. The bittersweet reality of e-waste is that there are a number of direct solutions to combat the detrimental effects of discarding it, however e-waste is not given widespread attention because little is known and understood about it.
Therefore, the aim of this article is to raise awareness about e-waste by providing a detailed explanation as to what e-waste is, why it deserves attention, and the response to the issues posed by e-waste from nations, organisations, and youths.
What happens when you throw away your e-waste?
If you want to understand and take action regarding e-waste, you need to understand how you may be contributing to it. Figure 1 shows what happens to electronic devices when they are discarded in a landfill as opposed to being recycled or repurposed.
Figure 1. Effects of E-waste landfill disposal
As Figure 1 demonstrates, a used MacBook is thrown away and ends up in a landfill. The e-waste is then incinerated which causes a large release of metal toxins in the air, soil and water. These toxins are then absorbed by plants, animals, and humans, causing detrimental effects to each.
Fortunately, there is a simple solution to the crises caused by e-waste and one that is constantly reiterated: Recycling.
[2]It is imperative that e-waste recycling rates (which are still stubbornly low) increase. If we do not act now and take pre-emptive actions to resolve the disposal of e-waste, it will be too late and the damage to the environment will be irreversible.
Recycling e-waste includes measures such as recovering the parts within devices which may still have value and providing manufacturers with these recycled metals that can then be used to make new products (See Figure 2).
The most obvious impact of e-waste recycling is keeping the harmful devices out of landfills, preventing the leaching of toxic materials and hence, protecting human and environmental health.
Figure 2: Diagram explaining the process of recycling e-waste
Mitigating E-Waste
As established, there is a growing production of electronic devices, particularly for households and businesses. [3]To mitigate the negative effects of increasing production and the resultant wastage, legislation targeting sustainable e-waste management has been adopted by some nations. For example, the UK implemented Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations in 2013 to manage production and reduce the amount of e-waste entering landfills. To facilitate implementation, the UK has designed a recovery facility responsible for recycling e-waste in all its forms, such as laptops, printers, and other appliances. This facility not only prevents hazardous waste by diverting e-waste from landfills, but also processes several hundred tonnes of electronic waste each year.
Similar to UK legislation, there are many organisations and electronics producers acting to manage the negative impacts of e-waste. The following organisations and companies are examples of this.
Reuse Orbis – A youth led social organisation which tackles the problem of e-waste and its mismanagement by increasing awareness on the issue and organizing recycling drives. Reuse Orbis has impacted e-waste management at a global level, with operations in the United States, the United Kingdom, India, China, Canada, Australia, and France. The organization acts as a middleman between consumers and recycling facilities, creating a partnership network consisting of governments, companies, recyclers, schools, universities, youth organizations, banks, and more. What makes Reuse Orbis particularly innovative is that its drive stems from passionate students, who are given the ability to schedule and design their own projects to raise awareness and organise sustainable e-waste management. In schools and universities, students collect unused and discarded electronics from consumers and deliver them to recyclers who separate and extract metals, which are then melted down instead of incinerated to release harmful gases.
Students have also taken initiative to approach the commercial sector, by hosting awareness and collection events in company offices to educate employees on the risks posed by e-waste.
Panasonic – As a producer of electronics, Panasonic has donated various recycling bins to schools and Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) to encourage young and old alike to commit to the safe disposal of electronic waste.
Apple – To tackle e-waste mismanagement, Apple has come up with a highly innovative solution via Daisy – the recycling robot (see Figure 3). Daisy disassembles and recycles used iPhones returned to Best Buy stores throughout the US and KPN retailers in the Netherlands. Each robot can disassemble 1.2 million devices per year, recovering important materials that are recycled back into the manufacturing process.
Figure 3: Apples’ Daisy in Action
Customers can also turn in their eligible devices to be recycled at any Apple Store or through Apple’s website as part of the Apple Trade In programme.
To contribute to recycling research, Apple also announced the opening of its Material Recovery Lab, dedicated to solving e-waste recycling challenges. The new 9,000-square-foot facility in Austin, Texas, will look for innovative solutions involving robotics and machine learning to improve on traditional recycling methods of targeted disassembly, sorting, and shredding. The lab will work with Apple engineering teams as well as academia to address and propose solutions to today’s industry recycling challenges.
International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC) – IETC provides technical and advisory support to national and local governments to enhance their use of environmentally sound strategies and approaches. IETC has initiated the development action-oriented policy for e-waste management in Sri Lanka to support the government in sustainable e-waste management. The policy will cover waste management issues such as institutional aspects, sustainable financing mechanisms, infrastructure, stakeholders, gender, health, and environment. The IETC will also be holding an “E-Waste Academy” in Sri Lanka to raise awareness and facilitate discussion regarding e-waste management.
The actions carried out by these companies and organisations are vital for the sustainable progression of e-waste management. However, the current statistics on e-waste provided earlier on in this article indicate that mitigation of e-waste needs to take place on a global scale and at a more rapid rate in order to effectively minimise issues of hazardous e-waste disposal.
Conclusion
The global consumption of electronics is increasing as industries and consumers generate more e-waste each year, as a result of growing demand, increase in sales, and the absence of a mentality to reuse and recycle instead of simply disposing. If the world proceeds with a ‘business as usual’ attitude, the amount of e-waste is projected to double by 2050, resulting in dire consequences to the environment and human life. To avoid such a result, electronic producers need to make sustainable and immediate changes to the production, use, and disposal of e-waste material. Consumers can do their part by becoming familiar with and utilizing the many initiatives offered to minimise and recycle hazardous e-waste.
References
[1] Parajuly, K. et al., 2019. Great Lakes Electronic Cooperation. [Online]
Available at: https://www.ewaste1.com/what-is-e-waste/
[Accessed 3rd August 2020 August 2020].
[2] M. N. MUNDADA, S. K. &. A. V. S., 2004. E‐waste: a new challenge for waste management in India, International Journal of Environmental Studies,. Taylor & Francis Online , 61(3), pp. 265-279.
[3] Erica Plambeck, Q. W., 2009. Effects of E-Waste Regulation on New Product Introduction. [Online]
Available at: https://pubsonline.informs.org/action/doSearch?text1=Plambeck%2C+Erica&field1=Contrib
[Accessed 3rd August 2020 August 2020].
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