Ghana: Digital Dumping Ground

Ghana: Digital Dumping Ground
This video encompasses most if not all of the impacts that e-waste has on developing countries, when we think its all being recycled. It tells a story of the people in Ghana that are stuck in a place where all they see, breathe and live within is techno trash. It is a very sad documentary, but it is also very real. It is a harsh realization of what impacts our old technologies have on children's development, adult workers, the environment, even the safety of our sacred pictures, documents, and important information that we thought we "got rid of". What I found particularly interesting was when it talked about the government documents getting into the wrong hands, and just how easy it was to do so.  I think everyone should see this video because it truly is something that at least I never considered happened to the things I threw out. Americans and really everyone who owns technology should be aware of all of the negative affects that we have on other people's lives.

Citation:
"Ghana: Digital Dumping Ground." Youtube. Youtube:PBS, 4 Dec. 2011. Web. Nov. 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1oyFaOpJOo>.

Environmental Impacts of E-Waste

The following information has been gathered from these two documents: "The Global Impact of E-Waste: Addressing the Challenge" and "Not in Our Backyard"

Hidden Flow
I found a number of alarming facts about e-waste's harmful effects on both the environment and people, when not properly disposed of. Unfortunately, this is more common than not as a result of 75% (6.6 million tons) of techno waste having a "hidden flow". Hidden Flow used in this case means there is no data available on what happens to this technology, it is essentially the waste that escapes all means of responsible disposal. Whether it is exported to another country to be disposed of, reused, or recycled, or even just stored or thrown away in its original place of use, it is unknown what exactly happens to it. In the United States, the hidden flow percentage is five percent higher than the world's average, and it is actually legal to export e-waste to other countries. With only 20% of e-waste actually being recorded and properly disposed of to be recycled and reused, how can the environmental impacts from this be under control in developing countries? It isn't. What all this talk about hidden flow adds up to is emphasizing how a substantial amount of our techno waste is left to cause negative affects to the people left to dismantle, breathe, and live with our mistakes.

Know Your Chemicals
It is fairly well known (at least I hope) that there are many chemicals and metals used in the process of making and are also directly placed into technology: computers, cell phones, lighting fixtures, batteries, etc. When these items can no longer be used and are then added to the growing number of e-waste in the hidden flow, these items can then be placed somewhere to either be dismantled for the precious metals, or left to "die" in a plot of land, water body, or covering the streets of developing countries simply waiting for their fate. In the cases where the technology is dismantled, chemicals are released into the air, water, ground, and in the lungs of the poor people who are inhaling it. Although there are many chemicals that can be extremely harmful to whatever or whomever is exposed to them, just a few are being named here:

• Mercury is found in lighting devices and monitors. It has been known to cause damage to the central nervous system and the brain. 
• Components of Hexavalent Chromium is used in the production of metal housings. It is a known human carcinogen and is extremely toxic. 
• Cadmium is found in monitors, rechargeable computer batteries and light switches. It is known to accumulate in the environment over time and become incredibly toxic and can negatively affect bones and kidneys in those who are exposed to it. 
• Cathode Ray Tubes are found in computer monitors and contain lead. It's known affects include brain impairment in the developmental cycle in children, and can be detrimental to the blood, reproductive and nervous systems of the body. 

As well as being ingested and inhaled, all of these chemicals and more can mix and accumulate in the environment and seep into the ground and the surrounding water bodies to pollute them to an almost irreversible extent. 

An important aspect of techno waste's harmful affects is how it can reach the food that affected communities are eating. When the waste is left to be exposed to environmental elements, in turn, it can also be exposed to the animals eating those same environmental elements. Picture this: cows grazing on a field and the same field that they are grazing on is right next to or is even partially covered with old computers, cell phones, monitors, lightbulbs, and everything of the sort. The ground and the water running through a portion of the field is infested with chemicals that have leaked out of those technologies. The cows are drinking the water and eating the grass, unaware of what they have just ingested which in turn will affect whomever gets the meat, cheese, milk, etc from those cows. In the end, the unfortunate people who got to eat and drink from those cows are now infected themselves with chemicals from improperly disposed technology. This is a huge problem in developing countries and it only continues to get worse. 

Effects on Developing Countries (Women and Children)
To get to the metals and valuable materials within techno waste, people are set to cooking the parts away to retrieve what they need. A lot of the time it is women and children who are the work force in this process. In developing countries, these same women and children do not work in well ventilated areas that are clean and safe. They work in places that are small, dark, dirty, dangerous, and have little to no ventilation at all. The kinds of jobs that these people have are gathering and sorting the electronics, burning them, manually dismantling them, and even selling the parts they separate.
Women and children are the majority who are harshly affected by the dangers that come with techno waste. They are the ones who are inhaling most of the chemicals, and are impacted the heaviest by health problems like cancers, diseases, deformities, and all sorts of other issues. Although it is already very sad, their situation is made worse by the fact that all of these issues are preventable with the correct  processing, handling, and recycling of technological waste.

Citations:
Cobbing, Madeleine. "Toxic Tech: Not in Our Backyard." Greenpeace (2008): N. pag. Web. Nov. 2013. <http://www.greenpeace.org/international/Global/international/planet-2/report/2008/2/not-in-our-backyard.pdf>.

Lundgren, Karin. "The Global Impact of E-Waste: Addressing the Challenge." International Labour Office (2012): N. pag. Web. Nov. 2013. <http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_dialogue/---sector/documents/publication/wcms_196105.pdf>.

Like the DRC, Tanzania has abundant sources of some of the world’s most important minerals like, “gold, diamonds, salt, gypsum, gemstones, iron ore, natural gas, phosphate, coal, nickel, cobalt and tanzanite” (Kitula, 2006). In 1998 the government implemented a mining act that allowed for foreign investment in the mines, and industrialization of Tanzania became apparent.

In 2006, while Tanzania was the 3^rd largest continental gold producer, only behind South Africa and Ghanna, a study was performed in the Geita District, one of the largest gold districts in the country (Kitula, 2006). The studies objectives were to, “identify and assess socio-economic activities which are significantly influenced by mining activities, to examine local community’s perceptions on how mining activities impact the environment, to suggest interventions that can assist in mitigating the negative impacts of mining” (Kitula, 2006). The study found some interesting results involving both positive and negative effects on the local community.

 Although the mining industry boom was a large change for the region, the majority of Geitas inhabitants experienced positive economic activity, through employment, improved road work, increased food sales, and school constructions. There are still environmental concerns, the most prevalent being water purity in the region. Local indigenous groups identified clean drinking water as the largest environmental impact from the mining activities, with pollution sources coming from “mercury and cyanide, dust, mine pits, cracking and the collapse of buildings” (Kitula, 2006). The collapse of building is correlated with mining explosions, which shows that the living conditions of this community only as good as the strength of their buildings (Kitula, 2006).

The mine workers often face injuries as well, especially during extreme weather conditions and gold rushes (Kitula, 2006). These injuries and fatalities often occur because the mine workers have little to no training. In the Gieta district, there are an average of 11 deaths from mine related activities per year (Kitula, 2006).

The study recommends that the Government take basic precautions to protect the community and mine workers:

·         “The government should aim at providing technical support to local mine stakeholders such as training in facilitation and management tasks to local stakeholders. New technology has to be developed that uses fewer chemicals during extraction and processing, and mine waste should be regulated and turned into a non-harmful form before it is discharged to waste ponds.” (Kitula, 2006)

·         “It has to be mandatory for all mining activities taking place in Tanzania, at both a large- and small-scale, to submit environmental impact assessment reports before a license to mine or explore can be granted. Improved regulations and independent monitoring teams should be commissioned to intervene before environmental and social problems spiral out of control.” (Kitula, 2006)

·         “Strategies to eliminate illegal mining and to promote other income-generating activities like agriculture and agro small-scale industries may reduce pressures on mining, thus helping to improve the social, economic and environment management of natural resources.” (Kitula, 2006)

This study was done in 2006, yet still Tanzania is experiencing major problems from the small scale gold mines. For example the Human Rights Watch has visited 11 mines, and found that there were huge amounts of child labor exploitation occurring (Human Rights Watch, 2013). All of these children risk lifelong disabilities, and have been exposed to toxic mercury fumes (Human Rights Watch, 2013). The Tanzanian Government now has another task to accomplish on the long list, improve education so that children can escape this harsh environment.

Works Citied

Kitula, A. (2006). The Environmental And Socio-economic Impacts Of Mining On Local Livelihoods In Tanzania: A Case Study Of Geita District. Journal of Cleaner Production, 14(3-4), 405-414.

Tanzania: Hazardous Life of Child Gold Miners. (2013, August 28). Human Rights Watch. Retrieved November 29, 2013, from http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/08/28/tanzania-hazardous-life-child-gold-miners

Conflict Minerals in the DRC

Conflict minerals are minerals mined in the presence of militia power and human rights abuse. The four main conflict minerals are currently are classified as, Columbite-tantalite, Cassiterite, Wolframite, and Gold. All of these minerals have at least two things in common. They are all key components in electronic devices, used every day in developed nations, and they are all mined in the DRC. The Columbite-tantalite is the source of the element tantalum, which is used for capacitors in electronic equipment. Cassiterite is the ore needed to produce Tin, which is used in the circuit boards of electronic devices. Wolframite is the source of Tungsten, which enables cellphones to vibrate. These are referred to as the 3 T’s, and are overall very valuable. Lastly, Gold is used as a conductor, and is now the number one conflict mineral for the region.

The Voice of America citied that “the International Peace Information Service (IPIS), in partnership with the DRC registry of mines, found armed groups are involved at about 200 out of the 800 mines they surveyed, while the army is involved at 265 mines. Furthermore, researchers say both the army and militias impose illegal taxes on miners” (Long, 2013). This news is not shocking, but has estimated numbers that make the analysis concrete, with militant groups controlling about 25% of the mines in the area. With stricter international guidelines on the purchase of these conflict minerals, many of these mines have turned away from the 3 T’s as they are more easily tracked through supply chains. However, the trade restrictions do not apply as heavily to Gold as its weight-to-value ratio is higher. Gold is more easily smuggled across the region since even a small amount is very valuable. Gold is also easily smelted, thus making it difficult to track its origin, unlike the 3 T’s.

While many companies have boycotted the regions minerals, some are still in business. The U.N. was able to trace a group of these businesses and “has documented links between gold buyers and armed groups in the region, but so far these buyers have not been sanctioned by the states where they operate”(Long 2013), meaning that the state law does not prohibit the trade of conflict minerals. In order to help end this black market trade, the source government must focus on reprimanding the gold buyers of the region, as ending the demand may end the supply.

Works Citied:

Long, N. (2013, November 21). Congo-Kinshasa: Map Shows Gold is Top Conflict Mineral in Eastern Congo. Voice of America . Retrieved November 27, 2013, from http://www.voanews.com/content/new-map-shows-gold-is-top-conflict-mineral-in-eastern-congo/1794975.html

Vermont eCycles

According to the Vermont e-waste disposal law passed in 2011, it is illegal to dispose 
of techno-waste in landfills.The techno-waste must be brought to one of the Drop-off Centers located around the state as part of the Vermont e-Cycles program.

Waste Not - Vermont's Good Point Recycling plant

Robin Ingenthron established the Good Point Recycling center and its sister company  American Retroworks in Middlebury Vermont. They collect TV sets, computers, photocopy machines, radios and any digital discards from facilities around the state and parts of New England. Some electronics are salvageable and can be refurbished for reuse. Others are taken apart and their insides are sorted by the types of materials they are made of. These recyclable components then get shipped to reprocessors in the United States or abroad to countries such as Mexico, Malaysia and other developing countries that have low supply of information-age tools. 
In Mexico, Good Point partners with a cooperative made up of middle-age women who call themselves Las Chicas Bravas who repair and recycle machines. Ingenthron says electronic recycling is environmentally beneficial for it reduces mining-a process that emits 45% of all toxins by the US. Good Point handled 4.5 million pounds of used electronics in 2008, mostly comprised of analog TV's discarded due to the switch to digital transmissions.

Check out the full article here: http://www.7dvt.com/2009waste-not

Kelley, Kevin. "Waste Not." Seven Days:Vermont's Independent Voice. 24 Jun 2009: n. page. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.

The "Illustrious Recycling Industry" at UVM

       Walk through any college campus and see students on Smartphones, computers, and listening to iPods as they stroll from class to class. Today, that is as normal as Sony Walkmans were in the 90s. So when I go to meet Corey Berman, manager of the Recycling and Solid Waste Department at University of Vermont, I am so accustomed to the sight of everyone on their Apple computers, headphones plugged in and consequently silencing the world around them, that to even think about what this scene would have looked like just ten years ago is difficult. Luckily for me, Corey remembers well.

“Before cellphones, everything was landlines,” he recalls. Corey prefers to call his job “resources recovery.” “The term solid waste is icky, whereas resources recovery tells it the way it is because everything is a resource,” he explains. It is exactly what he deals with on a daily basis, and has been for many years at UVM as he nomadically works on-call, tending to the various places around campus.

            Corey Berman has experienced life during the initial boom of technology and now gets to see its effects in his daily work in “electronic waste” or “e-waste.” “In the 1990s, recycling was ‘it’,” he tells me. When asked about how he found his path in the recycling management business sector, he jokingly calls it his “illustrious recycling industry.” It began many years ago as a work-study student at a small college where it was his job to wheel out large cans from tomato sauce and put them through a crusher to be recycled. This, he says, is where he became “environmentally aware.” After many years of various jobs, both environmental and not, his interest in recycling and other forms of sustainability ultimately led him to apply for the open position that he currently holds at the University of Vermont. It seems that he has found his niche. 

There are 21 depositories found around the University of Vermont campus specifically for “e-waste.” They are convenient tall black or green boxes labeled TechnoTrash, with differing-shaped holes on the front, located in residence halls, academic buildings, and the Davis Student center on campus specifically designed for electronics recycling. Once the cellphone enters the black box, it is dropped from the mind of the former owner and into the hands of the university’s Recycling and Waste Management team.

            There are three processes to take when working with “e-waste” at the university. The most common is, “student waste which is about 85% of the electronics recovered and sent to Good Point Recycle,” he says. He references the Technotrash bins in the Davis Center that are collected by work-study students from the Office of Sustainability. When a deceased cellphone is tossed into the collection bin, it mixes with the computer parts, cords, iPods, and empty print cartridges. “4 or 5 years ago, we didn’t deal with it [“e-waste”], but the times have changed,” he points out. All of the “e-waste” is then carted to a trailer on campus that is collected by a Middlebury-based company called Good Point Recycling.

“Electronics diversion for last year was 25.31 tons, that's about 50,000 lbs., collected for recycling,” Berman says. The average is about 3 tons per month with that number increasing when students are on campus and decreasing over the summer months and during December and January over winter break. The current overall recycling rate at the University of Vermont is just under 44%. That represents the percentage of overall materials that was diverted from the landfill and that is from fiscal year 2012-2013. Not just bottles and cans and paper, but everything else such as food waste and electronics, etc. Once the electronics reach Good Point Recycling, this progressive business then dissects the waste, sorts it, and organizes it into bulk containers to be sold back to companies that will reuse the parts sustainably.

Corey’s enthusiasm for his job is apparent as he tells me about how Vermont is such a special example when it comes to progressive recycling infrastructure, on par with other cities like Boulder, Colorado and San Francisco, California. Over the last ten years, the university has increased by about 200 students a year, yet the amount of waste generated has stayed stable. “Recycling has gradually increased, which is good,” he says, “but ideally you’d see it go down, meaning less products are being used.” It seems as if this type of information would bother Corey, meaning less work for him. “There’s a saying in our office,” Corey says enthusiastically, “that we eventually want to put ourselves out of work.”

Mining in Vermont and Worldwide

Interview with Gina Acoursi

What is your name and what do you do?

My name is Gina Acoursi and I’m a 1^st year masters student here and my thesis is actually on conflict metals, metals like tin, tunscon, tanilon, and gold coming out of the DRC. I focus a little bit on mining and the environmental part of it, but mostly my project is on mineralogy and traceability of minerals and the social impact.

What are the main minerals for electronics?

So I would say gold and tin. Maybe cadmium, maybe tellurium, copper is a big one, platinum definitely a big one.

What does process of mining them look like?

These are sulfide deposits, these metals, so you can get them from veins in rock bodies, but usually there is an ore deep in the earth and it usually involves drilling and extraction from the ground where you are pulling up cores of the materials.

I know for an example in the DRC it is a really crude operation. There are people basically sifting through rocks and water and hoping for little specks of gold and tungsten. So it really depends on what country you are mining in, what their techniques are and how developed they are.

Where do you think most of the mining goes on?

So I know a lot of mining of rare earth elements, which goes into phones and computers, come from China. I know the mineral wolframite, which contains a lot of tungsten, which is used a lot in cars and capacitors, comes from Bolivia. So not really here is the point. And we consume a lot of those things.

It also depends locally on the geology. I know for example a lot of gold is mined in Canada. The United States has more petroleum, because of the shale.

Anything from Vermont?

I know that there is a lot of gravel mining.

But nothing for technology?

I don’t think so, lots of sand and road aggregates. There used to be a lot of slate mining used here for roofs. There are carbonate rocks here, but I don’t think there are any metals mined here. There might have been pyrite mined here at one time, which is not great for the environment, unless you take really good care of the clean up.

So what are the lives of these people who are mining these minerals like?

So I guess again that it depends. Say you are working at, Kirkland Lake in Canada and you are mining gold there. There are people my age, to age fifty or sixty, because it can be physically laborious. Right? That’s kind of the deal.  And so you have health benefits, maybe three weeks on two weeks off. Its a lifestyle, and you’re usually in a remote place, which is not ideal, but they pay you well if you are in Canada or the US. So, you can fly to you family if they don’t live around there, which they probably don’t, and there are a lot of environmental and health precautions. [These workers] are compensated for and they have new equipment.

But obviously for the people in Congo, it is completely unsafe. There are no benefits and they are forced into doing this. It is like slavery basically. Even probably in China, there are environmental regulations, but there are just so many people and they have a lot to keep track of, so the conditions there aren’t as good as over here. I think places where there is less money in general and there are more people in general, people are more willing to accept less, as far as safety and money, for the sake of having a job at all.

This can range from really good to really bad, just like any industry.

What are the environmental impacts on the mining area?

Well also it depends on the type of mining, and how proactive you are in the clean up after. So for example, I think Vermont has regulations on e-waste, like you can’t mine unless you have a clean up procedure that’s certified and checked by the epa. You have to have all your ducks in a row before you even start a project. And when you own the land, you don’t have freedom to do whatever you want with it. You have to take into consideration the surrounding areas.

So in other places, places maybe where there’s not as much regulation, I’m sure that maybe not the open pit mining so much because that is easier for vegetation to re-inhabit in if there is not a lot of toxic leftover, but in places where there is not a lot of clean up, like at a pyrite mine where there are tailing piles that just are filled with chemical residues that if left in the ground would not be harmful, but are now brought to the surface and exposed to rain and acidity, maybe the river nearby, and the general ecosystem, the animals, the planets, are affected.

Normally it’s in a remote area, so generally the people aren’t affected, unless the river flows downstream where people get water, which is totally viable, especially in developing countries. A lot of times the ecosystem can recover if the damage isn’t horrible and the scale of the mine isn’t so large, but it does take time and you have to let it be. Sometimes the EPA will want to come in after a certain amount of time, if the company themselves didn’t clean it up. And sometimes it can be more destructive to do a complete overhaul of the ecosystem and remove things, and treat things with other chemicals. It can be really harsh and shocking to the environment even more. Other times it is totally necessary and there is no way you can leave it untreated.

Gina followed up her interview with this note: 

I forgot to mention the whole refining process as a really substantial component of the environmental burden associated with mining. Often times when minerals are mined, it entails harvesting aggregate amounts of rock that contains trace or a profitable percentage of the desired mineral. Then, in what can be a very energy intensive process, the minerals must then be extracted, which is usually done by chemical separation. This can both involved and creates undesirable chemical bi-products. So clean up at the mine, clean up after refinement of ore, and then smelting of materials together are all things to consider when trying to calculate an energy budget, in terms of total consumption.

Planned Obsolescence

David Pogue, New York Times columnist on personal technology wrote a short piece in the Scientific American about planned obsolescence called Death to the Upgrade. Well written and has a couple interesting points and facts. For example, americans on average buy a new phone every 22 months.

Check out Death to the Upgrade

Pogue, David. "Death to the Upgrade." Scientific American 309.3 (2013): 32. Ebscohost. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

In the Journal of Industrial Economics, a man by the name of Jay Pil Choi attempts to depict the financial motivations for companies to incorporate planned obsolescence into their products. He shows the thought process as to why companies do this and possible answers for why companies aren't invested in long term durability, quality, and longevity.

I really like that this is an article from 1994 showing that the problem of planned obsolescence has been around as long as I have. This is not a new issue and yet we, as consumers, fall for it every time. We continuously buy technology we know was made to fail.

Click this link to see the Journal of Industrial Economics study.

Choi, Jay. "Network Externality Compatibility Choice and Planned Obsolescence." The Journal of Industrial Economics 42 (1994): 167-82. JSTOR. Web. 11 Nov. 2013

The Dirty Game of Planned Obsolescence

We all love the new, improved, and snazzy technology that comes out every week. We have to have it. Many older models are running slower than snails pace and it's just that easy to buy a new one for the same price as replacing the battery. Plus, you get the new design and keep with the trends. However, big companies have us trapped in a dirty game where they have the upper hand. Planned obsolescence, when technology is designed to fail.

Here are a couple really good news articles that showcase the issue of planned obsolescence and how big companies like Apple have us right where they want us - continuously buying new phones.

http://sustainablebusinessforum.com/green24/51989/planned-obsolescence-products-designed-profit-not-planet

Apples recent phone - now a failure.
http://www.inc.com/erik-sherman/planned-obsolescence-a-good-way-to-make-your-business-obsolete.html

What do we do about this? Is there any way to stop the vicious cycle we are stuck in? Of course! Check out one persons plan for a better future for electronics and phones! Phonebloks - build your phone the way you want, personalized, by combining lego like design to battery, camera, or data storage. When something fails just replace one part, not the whole thing.

CHECK OUT this awesome design here: Phone Bloks