Electronic Junkyards
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Recycling has become popular. People stand in long lines to feed their soda bottles back into machines at grocery stores to get their five-cent deposit back. We might assume that whatever we recycle is going to get smashed up and reconstituted somewhere else, saving precious resources. We feel good about ourselves and wonder what the environment would do without our helping hand. However, modern technology is a bit more difficult to recycle than plastic water bottles. Sometimes, items like our old computer monitors are shred into dust and mixed with the asphalt in our roads, giving them that nice sparkle. Other times electronic items are recovered to be reused and resold back into the market as new products.
There are states pushing for companies to take responsibility for what they make, from the cradle to the grave, to reduce the growing electronic junkyard. These laws force retailers to take back the hazardous goods that they’ve sold, which in turn encourages them to make products that are recyclable. Due to the fact that this trend is not a national one as of yet, product recovery is the best we’ve got as of this moment.
The electronic products generally used most often for repurposing are cellular devices, computer equipment, and medical equipment. The majority of this equipment is repurposed back into its original usage, but it is also possible that a particular piece of equipment is broken down because one part of it is useful in a different industry. Typically, single components are used in repairs; anything that gets repaired needs parts, ranging from networking equipment to cell phones. When we hit a wall is when we realize that everything is made in China and there are no parts available for repairs. The only way to get parts to repair anything is from the waste stream, which are then resold back to service companies and reused in products. There are times when this equipment is distributed to third world countries, but it is not uncommon that these repurposed materials circulate within our own country.
Yes, you read that correctly. Tier-one manufacturers in the United States are selling you products with remanufactured parts. However, the fact that your new computer may not be exactly “new” isn’t the problem. Too many devices are getting tossed aside for the latest edition. This cycle is unending, partially because electronics are so disposable these days. It is actually cheaper to purchase a new laptop then to pay a few hundred dollars to have a specialist tell you what is wrong, especially when the prognosis is either costly repairs or a declamation that your electronic device is DOA.
How many times have you ditched a device to purchase a new one, without giving it a second thought?
Your choices are limited. You can try in vain to repair a device that, in reality, has no parts in the vicinity unless you live in China; you can purchase a new electronic device every time the previous device breaks down. But what do you do with your old electronics? Do rid yourself of them improperly, allowing lead and other harmful substances into the environment? As consumers, what are we supposed to do? The electronic junkyard is growing. With the constant need for the latest electronic item on the market combined with the lack of proper recycling, all the repurposing in the world is not going to be able to keep up with the rate we exchange devices.
Can we find ways to put a stop to this trend?
EU Gets Tough On E-Waste with WEEE
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More stringent limits are in place thanks to the EU passing the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive. Members of the EU will be required to collect 65 to 85 percent of their e-waste by 2019. Read more.
massive toxic ewaste bust in indonesia
By · CommentsIndonesia officials sieze over 100 containers of toxic and contaminated materials labeled as dry metals. This is an ongoing trend. The magnatide of which is only now being piblocally exposed. http://resource-recycling.com/node/2499
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Paying the Price for E-Waste Disposal
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E-recycling is expensive, and as cities across the country pass ordinances that prevent dumping electronics in landfills, it is bound to become more expensive. The question becomes, who should pay for e-waste disposal? Many municipalities in the U.S. are adding a fee to the sale of certain electronics, but countries like Hong Kong simply ship the waste to poorer communities.
The Monitor Challenge
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There are many challenges we face when it comes to recycling electronics: accountability, security, enforcement are but a few. One of the most pressing issues is the monitor recycling challenge. When I say monitors, I mean old CRT’s such as computer monitors and TV’s – the big boxy tubes that are very quickly disappearing. It’s been a problem for years because there are millions and millions of them buried in landfills.
What happens to the environment (and by the environment, I mean the groundwater, food systems, and ecological systems that keep human beings alive, not just some esoteric idea of “green”) when technological equipment like monitors are not properly recycled? Every old monitor contains 10 or so highly carcinogenic chemicals like mercury, cadmium, chromium, barium, and bromide along with 10-15 pounds of lead. The lead in the monitors is what makes them so heavy, but lead is also a neurotoxin. The chemicals from old monitors seep into the groundwater, affecting the food we eat and the water we drink. These chemicals cause birth defects, brain damage, and other neurological problems.
There is no industry-accepted recycling solution, but states are passing laws to prevent more monitors from ending up in landfills. Sure, newer technology means monitors are safer and somewhat easier to recycle, but that doesn’t address the millions of existing monitors. Solutions that some companies are trying, such as shredding old monitors and mixing them with asphalt, aren’t really solutions. All that does is make the asphalt sparkle with crushed glass. It doesn’t take care of the carcinogen or lead problem.
The only acceptable solution is one that makes manufacturers responsible from cradle to grave, requiring retailers such as Best Buy to recycle hazardous material they’ve sold. That’s what states like Wisconsin and California are trying to do. It forces retailers into the take-back and recycle business. It forces them to take responsibility for the entire manufacturing process both domestically and with imports because they don’t want to build something they’re legally required to later recycle. And it’s forced them to develop national programs. They have volume of product at the national level, and volume of product has value. It becomes a revenue stream. If they do it at a regional level where there’s limited volume, it becomes a cost center.
What do you think? Will solutions that force cradle to grave accountability transform the business model? Are there other solutions that could keep monitors out of landfills?