![]() ![]() Today some 80 percent of unwanted electronics are disposed of improperly. "And throwing away metal components, such as the copper, gold, silver and palladium in cell phones and other electronics, leads to needless mining for new metals." Meanwhile, a recent study conducted by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on behalf of the United Nations found that the growth in demand for and manufacturing of new electronics will result in a 33 percent increase in e-waste globally between 20.īut why is e-waste any more of a problem than old fashioned garbage? "Some of the materials in personal electronics, such as lead, mercury and cadmium, are hazardous and can release dangerous toxins into our air and water when burned or deposited in landfills improperly," reports the non-profit Natural Resources Defense Council. Most of us discard such items within three years of purchase, and this is driving the global growth in e-waste by some eight percent a year. According to BCC Research, consumers around the world purchased 238.5 million TVs, 444.4 million computers and tablets and a whopping 1.75 billion mobile phones in 2012 alone. With electronic equipment and gadgets the fastest growing waste stream in many countries, how to deal with so-called "e-waste" may in fact be one of the most pressing environmental problems of the 21st century. “We need to get manufacturers to think about the life cycle of their products.We must really be swimming in electronic waste, what with all the iPhones and other devices that are so common. “We really do need states to take action,” says Kyle. They are harder to take apart and the stuff electronics are made of is less valuable. And we’ve seen a wave of other activities to promote electronic recycling.” That said, more and more products are being designed in a way that is harder to recycle, says Kyle. ![]() For one, “the 25 states with laws already cover two-thirds of the population. Producer responsibility laws are not necessary to boost e-waste recycling, says Linnell. ![]() In addition, NCER, along with the state of Minnesota, recently developed a guide of best practices in selecting and contracting with a recycler.ĥ. Kyle says there are two voluntary certification programs that cities can use as guides when picking a recycler - e-Stewards and R2. There are a lot of “bad actors,” says ETBC’s Barbara Kyle, pointing to companies that dump electronics in landfills or just get in over their heads. There have been several instances in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, for example, where contracted recyclers simply walked away, leaving governments with electronics and no way to recycle them. Absent electronic waste drop-off centers, cities can also hold recycling events.Ĥ. In Washington, according to the Electronics TakeBack Coalition (ETBC), 92 percent of residents have a convenient collection site within 10 miles of their home thanks to the law. Several states, including Oregon and Washington, require that every city and county with over 10,000 people must have a collection site. Municipalities see high collection volumes when collection is convenient. This method is so far only in use in California, which was the first state to establish an e-waste recycling law in 2003.ģ. The fee, in turn, is deposited in a statewide recycling fund. The other approach is fee-based, in which consumers must pay retailers a fee at the time of purchase. Under this model, the manufacturer pays to collect and recycle the products under the law. The first, which is on the books in all but one of these states, is called a “producer responsibility” approach. The laws primarily fall under two models. The good news is that 25 states and the District of Columbia have electronic recycling laws in place. At the same time, the United Nations reported that the world’s electronic waste would grow by 33 percent, from almost 50 million tons to more than 65 million tons, between 20. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that in 2011 only one-quarter of all the electronic waste generated was recycled. So what happens to all those gadgets once we’re done with them? But trading in the old for the new is quickly becoming an almost yearly ritual for many: Rapid advances in technology mean that our cellphones, tablets and TVs are “obsolete” in 18 months. That “incredible quarter,” as Apple CEO Tim Cook called it, was due in large part to the debut of the iPhone 6, which prompted millions of people to swap out their old smartphone for a new one. Apple sold a record 74.5 million iPhones in last year’s fourth quarter.
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