July 2008 Newsbrief
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An article on Government Technology website explores the continuing, and growing, problem
of electronic waste.
The United Nations estimates that roughly 20-50 million tons of e-waste are generated
worldwide each year. An estimated 70% of that waste ends up being dumped or crudely
processed in developing nations.
Workers in poorer Asian and African countries are exposed to the toxic elements of the electronics as they take apart
the items with their bare hands and separate the reusable and valuable parts from the waste.
The scrap is then incinerated in large cauldrons or dumped in nearby sewers or garbage bins.
The largest producers of electronic waste, the United States and Canada have done
little to stop this flow from reaching developing countries. Old computer and electronic
equipment are not considered hazardous waste so they are not controlled.
However, e-waste contains 1,000 different substances, many of which are toxic. And with
the continuing evolution of technology, coninuously larger amounts of scrap and obsolete equipment
will continue to be generated. Greenpeace estimates that global electronic waste will
triple by the year 2010.
In today's economy, electronic equipment is significantly cheaper
to recycle in foreign countries. Unfortunately, until greater regulation is enacted,
the economics of e-scrap will cause the flow of electronics to continue to poorer nations.
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