Creating A Better World

Computers, TV’s, monitors and other electronic equipment contain  substances such as lead and cadmium in circuit boards; lead oxide and cadmium in monitor cathode ray tubes (CRTs); mercury in switches and
flat screen monitors; cadmium in computer batteries; polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in older capacitors and transformers; and brominated flame retardants on printed circuit boards, plastic casings, cables and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) cable insulation that release highly toxic dioxins and furans when burned to retrieve copper from the wires.

Where does all this stuff go when we’re ready to “upgrade” or just buy the “latest, greatest and newest”?

Since manufacturers refuse to eliminate hazardous materials or design for dis-assembly and government policies fail to hold manufacturers responsible for end-of-life management of their products, the US has found a suitable dumping ground: The developing countries of Asia.  Few of us realize that the obsolete computer we pay someone to take, in hopes it would be recycled, might end up in China or some other far-off Asian destination.

Vast amounts of E-waste material, both hazardous and simply trash, is burned or dumped in the rice fields, irrigation canals and along waterways. The poorest workers in the  E-waste recycling and disposal operations found in China, India, and Pakistan are exposed to toxins that are extremely polluting and
very damaging to human health. Examples include open burning of plastic waste, exposure to toxic solders, river dumping of acids, and widespread general dumping.  For more information and possible solutions go to the full report entitled Exporting Harm: The High Tech Trashing of Asia.