THE NEWS

According to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released last year, the EPA is doing a pretty lousy job of regulating the export of e-waste from U.S. companies to the developing world, where junked electronics are often dismantled and discarded in all sorts of hazardous ways. The biggest concern is over the export of old computers, monitors, and televisions, all of which contain lead-rich cathode-ray tubes (CRTs), and which—once in China or Nigeria—are often burned or cooked in acid baths in order to extract trace quantities of recyclable materials such as copper and gold. Doing so can release significant quantities of lead and other toxins into water sources and the ground at large.

What are Manufacturers Doing About E-waste?

The Electronics Manufacturers Coalition for Responsible Recycling (Coalition) represents sixteen of the largest consumer electronics companies in the world who have come together to support the use of an advance-recycling fee (ARF) to pay for a consumer electronics-recycling program. The coalition members are Canon, Epson, Hitachi, IBM, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp, Sony, Thompson, and Toshiba. The Coalition supports an ARF because experience in California, a number of European countries and some Canadian provinces has clearly shown that an ARF provides a sustainable and adequate source of funds to local governments and recyclers for recycling end of life electronics in the most cost-effective manner possible while a maintaining level playing field in the market. Many states currently use ARF type funding mechanisms for lead acid batteries, tires and beverage containers.

What to do with your unwanted electronics?

Getting rid of unwanted electronic equipment is a serious problem. The equipment contains hazardous materials, which are released when the equipment is broken down. If the equipment goes into landfills, it will pollute the ground and the water. If it's shipped off to third-world countries, as it often is, it creates lethal hazards for the people working with, and living near, the mountains of electronic waste that are a growing problem in poverty-stricken areas..

What do we do now?
If it's still usable, you can donate it to a charity or to an individual. If it's broken, or so obsolete that not even a charity will take it, then look for reputable recyclers.

There is no guarantee that even the most honest-appearing companies will dispose of the waste properly, as a shocking recent investigation by 60 Minutes revealed. However, you can increase the odds that your equipment will not end up in an illegal dump by dealing with well-known companies.

When you buy new equipment, check to see whether the manufacturer will accept your old equipment back for recycling. Some of the computer companies do this routinely, as do some of the phone manufacturers. Also check with your local city or county government to see if they have special electronic-equipment recycling days.

Manufacturer and Retailer Programs

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is working to educate consumers and others on why it is important to reuse and recycle electronics and what the options are for safe reuse and recycling of these products. State and local governments, manufacturers, and retailers, who are already aware of the pressing need to better manage these materials, are providing more opportunities to recycle and reuse this equipment. Many computer manufacturers, TV manufacturers, and electronics retailers offer some kind of take back program or sponsor recycling events. Many states have passed some sort of legislation to manage end-of-life electronics, and more are expected to follow suit.

Retailer on the go!

Recycling grant program – As U.S. largest retailer of consumer electronics, Best Buy now offers grants to help increase the recycling opportunities available in communities across the country. Grants range from $500 to $1,500 per event, depending on the size of and scope of the program hosted by nonprofit organizations, cities, counties, or public-private partnerships.

Earth Day-"WE" must go green! April 22, 2009

Check up my newly established blog in honor of "Earth Day," it's very interesting!...

Electronic Junks in India

The News

PHILADELPHIA – Purchased a new computer over the holidays? Don’t know what to do with the one you had? You aren’t alone. As the computer age grows up, computer recycling has arrived. Where do old computers go when they have outlived their usefulness?

FREQUENT ASKED QUESTIONS

Every day you hear the phrase "Electronic Waste" or e-waste and begin to build up questions. "The United States Environmental Protection Agency-EPA" has answers to all your frequent asked questions. Enjoy the site!

E-Waste Poisoning?

Yes, e-waste is poisoning the poor in Ghana, click View to read more on the article "Chemistry for a Sustainable World" very interesting....

Where does e-waste end up?

Please click the following link Here to learn more about e-waste from Greenpeace, very cool stuff. Yes, you can also watch videos that explain all.

E-waste continues to make impact: very interesting video from "Youtube"

manufactuters are responsible for their products

THERE IS A SOLUTION TO EVERY CRISIS, SEE BELOW:

I believe that manufacturers of electronic goods, who have benefited from sales of their products, should take responsibility for them from production through to the end of their lives. To prevent an e-waste crisis, manufacturers must design clean electronics with longer lifespan, that are safe and easy to recycle and will not expose workers and the environment to hazardous chemicals.
Clean up: Electronics manufacturers must stop using hazardous materials. In many cases, safer alternatives currently exist.

Take back: The taxpayer should not bear the cost of recycling old electrical goods. Manufacturers should take full life cycle responsibility for their products and, once they reach the end of their useful life, take their goods back for re-use, safe recycling or disposal.

consumers' task

* Support companies that make clean products.
* Think twice before buying whether you really need a new device.
* Return your equipment to the manufacturer when you have finished with it.

E-Waste Fears in Las Vegas from Popsci.com

Protesters on the strip:click e-waste to read more!

The News

As the e-waste industry proliferates, it has also become enmeshed in questionable practices that undercut its environmentally friendly image. In China and elsewhere, electronic gear commonly is stripped for reusable microchips, copper, and silver; dangerous metals are dumped nearby, often close to farms or sources of drinking water.
Ravi Agarwal's article: "Lead and Cadmium-global impact through e waste" gives some clear ideas on global life-cycle on e waste.

E-waste: the heart of this blog: Welcome everybody!

What is e-waste? How does e-waste affect our health as well as our environment?
There is no clear definition of e-waste. For purposes of this project, e-waste can be defined as electronic products approaching the end of their useful life, such as office and communication equipment (PCs, printers, phones, faxes, etc.), entertainment electronics (TVs, portable CD and DVD players, etc.), and surveillance equipment.

E-waste poses a unique dilemma for our nation where landfill disposal is concerned. Computers and other electronic equipment are a complicated assembly of more than thousand materials, many of which are highly toxic such as toxic metals, chlorinated and brominated substances, toxic gases, biologically active materials, acids, plastics, and plastic additives. When disposed in aggregate, many of these substances can leach into our soil and water sources, thus affecting our environment and potentially affecting our health.