E-Waste and Exports

E-Waste is the term that refers to any electronic waste. This includes your outdated iPod, cell phone, computer, television, etc. This area of waste is quickly growing because of the new technology age where an 'new and improved' cell phone or iPod comes out every month. The disposal of this kind of trash is particluarly important becasue, if just left in a landfill, the toxic chemicals inside these products can leak into the earth and harm the environment. Instead, the electronics can be carefully stripped apart so that the chemicals and metals inside them can be reused for other products.

We need to reduce and reuse electronics as much as we can, but then we need to make sure that the recycling of electronics is actually happening...80% of collected American electronic waste is exported to foreign nations like China and Africa. In these countries, the electronics that you "recycled" will either not be recycled at all or stripped apart in such a way that is harmful to the workers and environment.

The best solution to prevent exportation of e-waste is to first of all Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle at an individual level. Donate to Goodwill if electronics are still usable. There are numerous websites dedicated to the collection of electronics for the poor. Just because someone finds something obsolete doesn’t mean it can’t suit another’s needs. If the life of the electronic is through, however, try and return them to a store for collecting. You can donate old cell phones and tvs to Best Buy or Home Depot. Also, you can return your iPods to any Apple Store. There’s even companies online who will send you pre-paid packaging for free so you can send them your electronics like cell phones!

After you do your part at home, the next step in the solution is at a community and national level. We need to be able to trust recycling companies that collect electronics are actually reycling them here in the U.S. and not just dumping the problematic waste on a Third World developing nation. To ensure this, strict laws should be passed on a natinal level. International exports should be monitored and prevented if the shipment is electronic waste going to be "recycled". America should not just look the other way. If we decide not to deal with our toxic waste, fine. But we should not under any circumstances be content to just ship that toxic waste to another country simply because we can.