Stop being E-responsible!

By Jeongwook Na

Figure 1: Ghana boy dismantling a PC (Palmer 2012).

            Companies like Samsung recommend  buyers to upgrade their electronic appliances every two years, for new technologies are getting invented in rapid pace that history has ever seen. In order to match this demand, companies in developed countries are producing electronic appliances at an astronomical rate while producing numerous e-wastes as byproducts. These e-wastes end up being disposed at many underdeveloped countries such as India, and Africa, for these countries lack regulation—this lessens disposal fees of e-waste— in disposing e-wastes comparing to developed countries (Wang and Zhang 2016). However, regulation is not the only factor that underdeveloped countries are lacking, but also proper disposal systems. When valuable materials such as steel, iron, copper, and gold are stripped from electrical appliances from these e-wastes, the dismantled components are disposed into disposal plants. Since developing countries lack technology to properly dispose e-wastes, this process releases toxins, and harmful chemicals along with heavy metals (Wang and Zhang 2016). This does not solely act against the undeveloped countries, but ultimately harms the earth in the end. Thus, the article suggests four plausible solutions for this e-waste problem. First, presuming every developed countries including United States are participating, a formal global protocol on e-waste trading needs to be built. Second, domestic regulations should be strengthened and enforced. Third, transferring of processing and recycling technology from developed to developing nations should be encouraged. Lastly, deposit mechanism—consumers receives their money back when they turn in their e-waste to certified collectors— should be more frequently utilized by consumers (Wang and Zhang 2016). With these four solutions in action, the earth will be much greener place free from E-responsible companies.

Reference

Palmer, B. 2012. Ghana boy dismantling a PC. photograph, Bahru. doi: http://www.electronic-recycling.ie/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Ghana-Boy-dismantling-PC-130711.jpg

Wang, Z., B. Zhang, and D. Guan. 2016. Take responsibility for electronic-waste disposal. Nature 536:23–25.