E-Waste Reuse

Re-use/Re-purpose

• Reusing/re-purposing electronics extends life of products and keeps valuable materials from entering waste stream

• Donating working electronics helps schools, nonprofit orgs, and lower income citizens, tax reduction for donation

In my previous post on the microwave study, the authors suggested several manufacturing techniques that would make repair much more feasible.  However, if the old electronics are beyond repair there are many other options out there to consider before throwing it in the trash or recycling it

Re-purpose

Old TV = Dog bed

MacBook = Light fixture

OR here's something I did with an old 1980's era electric organ.  I took wired and circuits from the inside of the organ, and used them to create this light sensitive primitive synth.  Check it out in the following videos

This video encompasses the way Dell has/is attempting to be as sustainable as possible. The main part I was focused on when viewing the video was when they talked about shipping the products. They use recycled materials such as detergent and milk containers and as little boxes as possible to lessen the shipping load. By lessening the shipping load it leaves less room for unrecyclable materials. Dell isn't the only company doing this type of sustainability, I believe many other companies do as well. The reason they do this because they may otherwise lose consumers and they are more interested in where they're technology is going to go after it has died. Consumers have become much more interested in where things come from and where they will be going then they were a couple of years ago and because of this many companies have had to enhance their sustainability to make customers happy.

Sarah Silver

Citation:
Dell, , dir. Sustainability: Dell's Lifecycle Approach. YouTube, 2012. Film. 1 Dec 2013. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG7Vea3PdiM.

Laws/Regulations of Shipping Technology

Here is a link that goes over every possible detail of what can be shipped, how it can be shipped and what it has to go through before actually getting into the country:

http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/newsroom/publications/trade/iius.ctt/iius.pdf

I'm going to summarize the most important part which is the shipping of technology. Certain technologies give off radiation such as TVs, microwaves, cellphones, etc. Because of this the Food and Drug Administration require both parties, the people sending the technology and those receiving the technology, to file a form called the FDA 2877. This form is required for technologies manufacture in the United States and shipped into the United States. This document doesn't only focus on technology, it focuses on everything that can be shipped into the United States and what importers and exporters need to do in order for everything to run smoothly.

Sarah Silver

Citation:
United States. Customs and Border Protection. Importing into the United States: A Guide for Commercial Importers. 2003. Web. http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/newsroom/publications/trade/iius.ctt/iius.pdf.

Small Informal Interview

On Wednesday November 20th I conducted a small very informal interview with a woman who works at the UVM bookstore. She is responsible for the ordering and knowledge of when particular technologies would arrive. The bookstore was also extremely convenient and the visit was easy to carryout. Here are a few questions I asked her:
Question: So the UVM bookstore sells both Dell and Apple, do either of these products come from the United States? As in are they manufactured and shipped in the United States?
Answer: Dell is manufactured in Texas, at the large headquarters. From there it's transported to somewhere in the Midwest and finally it gets shipped to Vermont. Apple products are usually right from overseas.
Question: Do u know if that is just because workers are cheaper overseas or because it's easier to ship to Vermont from overseas rather than within the country?
Answer: Most likely cheaper workers.
From there this sparked my interest in looking up laws/regulations that come with shipping particular items such as technology.

Sarah Silver

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