E-Waste
Creates Economic, Environmental Problem for Developing Nations
Societies are producing more and more electronic goods, and therefore more and more electronic waste, or e-waste. The United Nations' Environment Program has released a report that warns of a dangerous rise in the amount of such waste, which is often simply dumped in developing countries, posing health hazards to residents.
Every year
the world produces 40 million tons of electronic waste: from TVs to
refrigerators to cell phones and computers. And this figure will only
increase.
For instance, by 2020, China is expected to throw away seven times more cell phones than now, and India 18 times more.
For instance, by 2020, China is expected to throw away seven times more cell phones than now, and India 18 times more.
These
high-technology goods not only are bulky, they often contain toxic materials
such as lead and mercury. If the e-waste is not taken care of properly, it can
cause pollution and health hazards.
The Basel
Action Network is a private group focused on halting the trade in toxic goods,
particularly waste goods. Executive director Jim Puckett says the world needs
to take urgent measures to end toxic trash.
"The
industry has built in obsolescence unfortunately, so we're seeing things become
waste quicker than every before," Puckett said. "Computers now have a
life span of about two years now in the North; many mobile phones are turned
over within six months when somebody wants to newest model. So we are creating
a mountain and we're not going to stop people from consuming. So the first
thing we need to do is to get the toxic materials out of the equation".
The issue of
e-waste is one of several topics being discussed this week at the United Nation
Program for Environment's conference in Nusa Dua, Indonesia.
Achim Steiner, the agency's secretary-general, says much of the e-waste should be recycled. Beyond the environmental reasons, there is also an economic incentive, he says: for example, three percent of the gold and silver mined worldwide is used in personal computers and mobile phones.
Achim Steiner, the agency's secretary-general, says much of the e-waste should be recycled. Beyond the environmental reasons, there is also an economic incentive, he says: for example, three percent of the gold and silver mined worldwide is used in personal computers and mobile phones.
"If you
start investing and recycling and reusing these materials, you actually begin
to look at turning a problem into an opportunity; you start creating jobs, you
start reducing the amount of metals that leaves the cycle of our economy, you
can reuse them," Steiner said. "So those are all advantages if you
begin to manage electronic waste not as we see from industrialized countries to
least developed countries without legislation”
The Basel
Convention is an international agreement setting global guidelines on handling
e-waste. But it is not without weaknesses. The United States, the single
largest producer of e-waste, has never ratified the convention. Also, e-waste
has become a highly profitable illegal trade. Some companies get rid of their
trash by exporting it to poor countries where, instead of being treated or
recycled, it piles up in landfills, and the toxic materials can leach out into
water and soil. The problem today is compounded by the growing complexity of
the trade. E-waste used to be produced by developed nations and then dumped in
poor countries. But today poor countries without recycling capacity export
their e-waste to nations like China, and emerging economies are also
increasingly net producers of e-waste: China for example has become the second
larger producer after the United States.
Electronic
waste is more than an economical problem. It also affects the health of
millions of people who make a living by stripping out the waste dumped in their
countries. Environmental experts say it will take new funds and manpower to
solve the problem, by establishing safe recycling facilities and curbing
illegal exports.
Waste (n) ของเสีย
Dump (vt.) เท ทิ้ง
Hazard (n) สิ่งอันตราย
Resident (n)
ผู้พักอาศัย
Trash (n) ขยะ
Obsolescence
(n) ความล้าสมัย การพ้นสมัย
Incentive
(Adj.) ที่เป็นสิ่งกระตุ้น
Invest (vt.)
ลงทุน
Legislation
(n) การออกกฎหมายบังคับ
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