E-Waste

ETEC 525
Melissa Misenhimer & Tom Tran

Please take this short

survey before we begin:
http://goo.gl/forms/YZfgCXWVub

What is e-waste?
Consumer electronic
equipment that is no
longer wanted

Why are we talking about

e-waste?

EPA data from Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling and Disposal in the United States, 2013 Feb 2015

What happens to e-waste

American
households
- 26% and 74.1%
of the electronics being
in
the
United
States?
recycled in the America from business
Landfill disposal of e-waste
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
8085% of the e-waste end-of-life management

Exportation of e-waste
Advanced recycling fees (ARFs
E-waste collection options:
curbside, special drop-off event, permanent drop-off, takeback and point-of-purchase

E-Waste and
Developing
Countries
E-waste gets sent to
developing countries
like Pakistan, India,
China and West
Africa

The workers are not trained

properly or treated fairly

Much of the e-waste erodes

into the soil, water and
air

Ghana: Digital Dumping

Ground
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/ghana804/

E-Waste Outside US
Europe
25 Member States of the European Union
70 - 80% by weight recovery rate
Relegation against export of e-waste

Japan
Require manufacturers and importers to take back end-of-life
e-waste
televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioner
Fee paid $23 - $46 US Dollar recycling fee and $4 - $9 transportation

What are the negative

60% of discarded of
electronics
go into the trash
effects
E-waste?
Many states do not have laws against trashing electronics

In 2013, 1.87 million tons went into landfill and incinerators

What are the negative

effects of E-waste?

What can we do about Ewaste?

Resources
Sthiannopkao, S., & Hung Wong, M. (2013). Handling e-waste
in developed and developing countries: Initiatives, practices, and
consequences. Science of the Total Environment, 463-464. Retrieved from ScienceDirect.
Klein, P. (2009, June 23). Ghana Digital Dumping Ground. Retrieved November 3, 2015, from
http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/ghana804/
Is America Exporting a Huge Environmental Problem? (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2015, from
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Technology/story?id=1479506
Wastes Banned From the Trash. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2015, from http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/HomeHazWaste/info/
Facts and Figures on E-Waste and Recycling. (2014, June 24). Retrieved November 3, 2015, from
http://www.electronicstakeback.com/wp-content/uploads/Facts_and_Figures_on_EWaste_and_Recycling.pdf
Exploring E-waste Management Systems In The United States
Ramzy Kahhat - Resources, Conservation, and Recycling - 2008 - pp. 955-964