The Guide to the Green Life: Don't be an E-Waster

For the savvy cell phone user, a new phone every year is
quickly becoming the norm.

Cell phones, along with digital music players, computers,
electronic organizers, digital cameras, and just about
anything else you can think of are not made to last more
than a few years.

Batteries run low and need more frequent recharging, silver paint chips off, buttons break. This, combined with the drastically updated model available is able to convince most people to simply toss this expensive product.

Technology is allegedly the about making our lives easier, but this
type of planned obsolescence is less motivated by how our lives
will be improved with the latest gimmik than by the need to continue the cycle of constant consumerism.

Using cell phones as an example shows us just how massive the phenomenon is. There are approximately seven billion cell phones in the world and only 1.3 billion users (source: bbc.co.uk). This means that the majority of cell phones are obsolete and being discarded, or waiting to be purchased.

Most Americans are get a new cell phone every year.

There are similar statistics for other popular gadgets and electronics. This cycle has produced so much garbage that it has its own description: e-waste.

When the internet first went mainstream (which wasn’t that long ago kids, ask anyone over 30 what “microfiche” is), many environmentalists hailed it as the solution to our landfill crisis. Instead of magazines and newspapers, they reasoned, everything will be electronic, and therefore never thrown away.

The reality is that instead of (or in addition to) throwing away newspapers and magazines, we are also throwing away computers.

The problems caused by e-waste are numerous. The major one is that much of it contains harmful chemicals if not processed properly. Lead, mercury, and cadmium are the major chemicals involved, but a typical computer monitor is made of 6% lead, and a typical e-waste item may contain up to 36 separate chemical elements.

For disposal, these devices are usually sent back to where they were made: less developed countries.

Computer monitors are six percent lead, and contain up to 36 harmful chemicals.

Besides the social issues inherent in exporting toxic waste from the rich to the poor, lower environmental standards, uncontrolled disposal and burning are causing increased air and water pollution, as well as contributing to greenhouse gases.

There is also the problem of landfill space. E-waste is not biodegradable, and will remain in our landfills for many generations. The largest manmade structure in the world is a landfill, and the middle of the pacific ocean is six times more abundant with plastic waste than zooplantkton. It does not take much to realize this is an unsustainable situation.

What can you do?

Buy Less - Do you really need a new cell phone? Before replacing a computer, check to make sure it isn’t still under warrantly, and could be fixed for free. Don’t let advertising talk you into buying products you don’t need or want.

Buy Green - When do you buy a new product, think about where it will end up. Ask retailers and

The solution to the e-waste problem is simple: reduce, reuse, recycle.

manufacturers if they have a take-back and recycling program for their electronics, and let them know this is influencing your decision. Also, check to make sure their “recycling” program isn’t simply sending the device to China to be thrown out.

Donate - If your computer still works, contact local schools, community centers, or nonprofits to see if they could use it. Don’t just drop it off, though, it may end up just going in the trash. For more information on computer donation, check out this article.

Recycle - If the device no longer works and the manufacturer won’t take it back, take it to an electronics recycling center. It may still end up in a landfill, but it has a better chance of being put to use, or at least disposed of properly.

For information on electronics recycling, visit: www.electronicsrecycling.org

For more information on e-waste, visit www.gonetomorrow.org, and check back for The Guide to the Green Life's chapter on waste.

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