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Electronic Waste


Think back to all the iPod’s, TV’s, radio’s, video games, cigarettes, food wrappers, gas, tires, and grocery bags you’ve ever used. Where did they go? “Neanderthals are an extinct species of humans from about 300,000 years ago”. (Finlayson) 300,000 years ago sharpening a rock and using materials from the ground to tie it to a stick for hunting purposes has minimal additions and withdrawals to our environment. “In 2006, the world's production of E-waste was estimated at 20–50 million tons per year, representing 1–3% of the global municipal waste production of 1636 million tons per year". (Kang) I know that’s 1-3% percent doesn’t sound that scary but this might blow you away. A graph inside the article "The ecological footprint of cities and regions: comparing resource availability with resource demand." Shows the population count and the ecological footprint for selected countries. China has a population of about 1302 (millions) in 2002 and a footprint of about 1.6%. The U.S. has population of 291 (millions) 2002 and makes up for 9.7% of the ecological footprint, now that’s scary. “In rich countries, E-waste may constitute some 8% by volume of municipal waste, China receives some 70% of all exported E-waste, while significant quantities are also exported to India, Pakistan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Nigeria and Ghana and maybe even to Brazil and Mexico”. (Kang) It is time to create approaches in the recycling of e-waste, ideally this will reduce the amount of environmental impacts already caused and reuse equipment and parts that have already been used before. Being able to create a society’s view that takes electronics and other technologies conservatively and want to re-use materials found in e-waste is the most responsible play we can make. If we want to use and profit from technologies the population must adapt to the idea of the limitations of the biophysical environment. (Moldan)

Finlayson, Clive. Neanderthals and modern humans: an ecological and evolutionary perspective. Vol. 38. Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Kang, Hai-Yong, and Julie M. Schoenung. "Electronic waste recycling: A review of US infrastructure and technology options." Resources, Conservation and Recycling 45.4 (2005): 368-400.

Moldan, Bedřich, Svatava Janoušková, and Tomáš Hák. "How to understand and measure environmental sustainability: Indicators and targets." Ecological Indicators 17 (2012): 4-13.

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