What is E-waste?听听
Our beloved Mother Earth is facing increasing听dangers to her health听as听environmental听problems are听mounting.听If you could do something to help save your planet, wouldn鈥檛 you? One听easy听way you听can听help听the听environment is by disposing of your electronic waste听(E-waste)听safely. With technological advancements coming at an unprecedented rate, shrinking lifespans of consumer products,听and society鈥檚听constant demand听for the latest technologies,听we are producing听a听giant听amount of听E-waste.听
E-waste is any waste consisting of discarded electronic products.听Greentec听is the company that听U蓝莓视频听uses to safely recycle its听E-waste.听According to听Greentec,听E-waste recycling听is the word used to describe the 鈥渄isposal of all electronics in a safe, secure and regulated way that helps keep these devices from piling up in landfills or being shipped to foreign countries鈥� [闭.听听
The听University of 蓝莓视频听accepts a wide range of electronic waste,听including听monitors, processors, printers, TVs,听and audio-visual equipment.听The university听does not听however听accept any hazardous or chemical waste听through the E-waste program. This is a full list of what听Greentec听and the university do and do not accept:听听
听
Greentec听
Greentec听was founded in 1995 and is located in Cambridge, Ontario. At the time of its founding, the company had听four employees, but has now grown immensely and has around 70听employees [].听Greentec听prides itself in being completely transparent about its compliancy with government regulations听and听it is licensed by Ontario Minister of the Environment. According to Tony听Perrotta, CEO of听Greentec, 鈥渘othing goes to the landfill鈥�. Products that can鈥檛 be refurbished are dismantled, separated and then sold听for their parts (e.g. metals and plastics)[]. 听
E-waste at the University of听蓝莓视频听
At听the听University of听蓝莓视频,听Central Stores has an听E-waste program in place so that electronics do not go into landfills.听Any university staff, students, or faculty are encouraged to drop off their听E-waste at East Campus Hall听(ECH)听from Monday to听Friday听between 7:30am and听4:30pm. 鈥疶his听drop-off is also open to the general public, so any family or friends from the community are more than welcome to drop off their听E-waste. 鈥疉nnually,听this program diverts over 30 tons of e-waste [2闭.听听
If you are interested in seeing the types and the quantities of e-waste that听the university听disposes of, you can read听past听E-waste reports听published by Central Stores.听Just a听little reminder:听before disposing of your听E-waste at Central Stores always听make sure听that you have completely wiped听data from听your听device.听听
E-waste in Canada听
45 % of听E-waste in Canada is stored or reused, 11%听is recycled,听and the remaining 44%听is sent to landfills.听The majority of听E-waste听is听household electronics, which make up about 30% of听E-waste. Consumer electronics makes up around 15% of Canadian e-waste听and听125 million kg of听E-waste ends up in Canadian landfills a year. This amounts to around 4.5 kg per person. []听
E-waste on a Global Scale听
41.8 billion听kilograms听of听E-waste was听generated around the globe in 2014. Sadly, only 12.5% of this听E-waste is currently recycled []. This number is far too low; as a society, we must work together to reduce the amount of听E-waste that gets sent to the landfills. Currently, in the UK, for example, only 5% of companies opt to recycle their electronics, with the rest sending it to the landfills [].听
鈥淒esigned for the Dump鈥澨�
E-waste is the fastest growing part of the waste stream [].听This is largely because electronics are 鈥渄esigned for the dump鈥�. What this means,听is that products听do not听last long and are cheaper to replace than to fix. Companies should听instead听be making electronics more durable and modular so that they are easier to听upgrade [].听This听would also allow parts of the product to be repaired as needed.听听
Nevertheless,听24% of laptops will fail in the first three years due to hardware malfunctions听and the average life of a cell phone in the U.S. is around 18 months []. Another problem听is that a lot of resources are being used to make these electronics. It takes 530听pounds听of fossil fuel, 48听pounds听of chemicals, and more than 3000听pounds听of water to make just one computer and monitor听[].听
Consequences of E-waste听
The largest consequence of听E-waste not being recycled听properly听is the amount of pollution it causes. In fact, even though听E-waste represents a mere 2% of America's trash in landfills, it equals 70% of听the听overall toxic waste. The toxins that leech out from听E-waste contaminate our air, water and communities. Lead and mercury are two of the largest toxins released from听E-waste and they both have adverse health effects,听particularly听on children and developing听fetuses [闭.听听
Another听consequence is the amount of valuable resources that are听wasted. Cell phones and other electronic items contain high amounts of precious metals like gold or silver. Americans dump phones containing over $60 million in gold/silver every year. For every million cell phones that are recycled, 35,274听pounds听of copper, 772听pounds听of silver, 75听pounds听of gold, and 33听pounds听of palladium can be听recovered.10听In addition, recycling听E-waste saves a lot of energy. 鈥疐or every million laptops that are recycled instead of being sent to the dump, the energy equivalent of electricity used by 3,657 U.S. homes in a year is saved. []听
What You Can Do听
Try to see if your electronics can be upgraded so that you can continue using it instead of getting rid of them. If this is not possible, you can try to re-sell or donate them. If neither of these options work, be sure to recycle your electronics听with a government approved company or here at the university!听
References听
[1] Greentec听Discusses E-waste Recycling. (2016, December 9). Retrieved June 24, 2017, from听听
[2] University of 蓝莓视频.听Waste. (2017, January 10). Retrieved June 19, 2017, from听/sustainability/projects-and-initiatives/waste听
[3] Greentec.听(n.d.).听About Greentec Company -听Greentec.听Retrieved June 12, 2017, from听
[4] Howitt, C. (2010, December 08).听Greentec听Expanding Electronics Recycling Operations. Retrieved June 16, 2017, from听听
[5] Mortillaro, N. (2015, September 14). Electronic waste is piling up. Here鈥檚 why you should care. Retrieved June 14, 2017, from听听
[6] 95 percent of UK companies do not recycle computer equipment. (2013, July 10). Retrieved June 18, 2017, from听听
[7] Electronics听TakeBack听Coalition.听Quickly Obsolete. (n.d.). Retrieved June 7, 2017, from听听
[8] Leonard, A., Sachs, J., & Fox, L. (2010, November 04). The Story of Electronics. Retrieved June 22, 2017, from听听
[9] Leonard, A. (2010, November 09). The Story of Electronics: Make听'Em听Safe, Make听'Em听Last,听Take听'Em听Back. Retrieved June 23, 2017, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/annie-leonard/the-story-of-electronics_b_780978.html听
[10] Electronics听TakeBack听Coalition, A Project of the Tides Center.听(2014, June 25)听Facts and Figures on E-Waste and Recycling.听Retrieved June 17, 2017, from听听
[11] Environmental Protection Agency.听Protect Your Family from Exposures to Lead. (2017, May 23). Retrieved June 13, 2017, from https://www.epa.gov/lead/protect-your-family-exposures-lead#products听
[12] [Electronic Waste]. (n.d.). Retrieved from听
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