Today, the de-manufacturing and recycling industry for electronic devices lacks standards and accountability. Many companies and individuals calling themselves “recyclers” will just strip out the valuable components of electronics and sell the rest to brokers who, in turn, sell them to lower-tier scavengers. When irresponsible de-manufacturers can’t easily dump less lucrative remains in local landfills, they ship these highly toxic remnants to poorer developing nations, taking advantage of cheaper labor and a lack of environmental and safety regulations.
Living With Toxins
Vice reports on the steep price drop each time e-waste changes hands — and that’s before it even leaves the U.S. By the time your discarded TV or printer is unloaded on the dock of a developing country, the workers there can expect to earn about $0.17 per day salvaging whatever usable raw materials are left. They wade through the highly toxic remains, which are often dumped in the waterways, on farmland, or along roadsides. Local air quality suffers when CRT circuit boards are desoldered outdoors or piles of e-waste are set on fire to melt the plastics away from more valuable raw materials.
A report from the Public Affairs Information Service provides further depth: “All e-waste contains Mercury and Lead, and the practices of open burning of plastic waste, exposure to toxic solders, river dumping of acids, and widespread general dumping has become a threat to villagers’ health, environment, and culture.”
National Public Radio reports: “About 50 percent of the electronics waste sent into these areas is discarded. Lead levels in some rivers have been found to be 190 times higher than levels considered acceptable by the World Health Organization. Villagers report stomach and breathing problems, and have to ship in their drinking water.”
Poorer communities receive less dependable supplies of fresh drinking water, and those who rely on fishing for their survival and cultural identity are negatively impacted by toxic pollutants in their fishery. All of this serves to widen the considerable gap between the wealthy individuals who bring e-waste into the region and the exploited poor who work for them — as well as those who don’t. Environmental toxins affect everyone in the environment.
A Movement Toward Global Health
Organizations often collect used computer systems with the stated intent of bridging the “digital divide” in developing countries. In some cases, this might be a sincere intention rather than a cover story, but much of this equipment still ends up in shipping containers en route to an overseas dumpsite. Ultimately, it causes more harm than good for the citizens of these countries.
The Basel Action Network (BAN) shares this finding: “In Lagos [Nigeria], while there is a legitimate robust market and ability to repair and refurbish old electronic equipment including computers, monitors, TVs, and cell phones, the local experts complain that of the estimated 500 40-foot containers shipped to Lagos each month, as much as 75% of the imports are ‘junk’ and are not economically repairable or marketable.”
BAN is a charitable non-governmental organization focused on combating the export of toxic waste as part of its mission for global health and environmental justice. It was inspired by the United Nations’ 1989 conference in Basel, Switzerland, to address the growing problem of internationally shipped hazardous waste. E-waste is a major factor driving the growth of this toxic overflow, with generation and management becoming issues that must be managed globally. BAN also created the e-Stewards Certification, which has since become a standard used by today’s electronics recyclers when sourcing environmentally responsible collectors and refineries.
At GreenCitizen, we understand the root cause of the global dumping crisis: an accumulation of waste materials that developed nations simply aren’t equipped to handle. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, we have a front-row seat to the tech innovation that results in a constant flow of new electronics, as well as the high standard of living that encourages consumers to replace their devices rather than repair or upgrade them. By offering an easy alternative to the strip-and-dump method that fills those outbound shipping containers, and by educating our customers about the growing e-waste problem, we’re working to minimize this crisis.
Read more about how GreenCitizen is working to change the way electronics are discarded.
400,077Consumer Drop-off Customers Served 58,239Business Pickup Customers Served 28,587,261Pounds of Electronics Recycled 258,054Units Responsibly Reused
Awesome find and great customer service. Dropping off a large TV and 1980s electronics was incredibly easy and the person that helped me unload was very courteous and helpful. VHS players were charged by pound, TVs and miscellaneous cords were...
—Christine P. – Daily City, CA
I have completed two e-waste recycles with GreenCitizen now and I have nothing but praise for their whole operation. From the easy to use website with explanations of what can be recycled free of charge to the awesome rep who...
—Thor G. – San Francisco, CA
These guys are great! They come to the building I work in a handful of times a year to collect eCycled items from all the tenants. I’ve also contacted them separately for an additional pick up with a quick and...
Indigenous rights’ groups and WWF International are beginning to train Andean tribes people deep within the Amazon rainforest in the use of drones so that they, as forest-dwelling specialists, can help protect wildlife, and identify, compile evidence for, and report on, illegal logging activities. The WWF teamed up with the Kaninde Ethno-Environmental Defense Association, a
The post Amazon Tribes Are Excited to Use Drones to Detect Illegal Deforestation in Brazilian Rainforest appeared first on Good News Network.
One might expect local entrepreneurs to be the ones who might open a second-hand furniture store, not the world’s largest furniture chain. Swedish giant Ikea will buy back your old Ikea furniture provided it’s in good condition, by offering vouchers up to 50% of the original value. The deal, meant to stimulate some circular economy
The post Ikea to Buy Back Used Furniture Worldwide in Recycling Push For Black Friday appeared first on Good News Network.
One of the global leaders in PV solar panel production and installation is also working hard to tackle the future of solar panel recycling, a reality that is already becoming apparent as the first generation of panels reach the end of their life cycle, and that will become all the more important in the 2020s
The post America’s Largest Solar Panel-Maker Leads the World in Panel Recycling–Recovering 95% of Materials appeared first on Good News Network.
International shipping and air freight have each played significant roles in the globalisation process of our world. Our choices and access to goods have increased, distances have been reduced, jobs have been created and economies have prospered. With all these
An electric vehicle is a useful tool that would allow us to start controlling CO2 emissions and other pollutants produced by transport activity. Electric cars are today considered by many people as one of the most effective ways to combat
As more and more companies are using resources and creating products that are not safe for the environment, it’s important that we all do our part to seek out the brands that put the planet first. Take a look at
Modern enterprises increasingly focus on improving the sustainability of their operations for two key reasons. First and foremost, responsible industries consider how their business impacts the environment, society, and the world around them. However, sustainability is much more than an
Fashion is an industry that sometimes flies under the radar in terms of its environmental impact. And while it has always had these effects, the industry has increased production drastically in the last few years alone. With this change comes
As natural resources deplete and carbon emissions increase at an alarming rate, sustainable living should be on everyone’s mind. Whether for energy sources, transport or even food sourcing, each sustainable undertaking does contribute to the cause. What Is Sustainable Eating?
Global Dumping
Global Dumping
Living With Toxins
Vice reports on the steep price drop each time e-waste changes hands — and that’s before it even leaves the U.S. By the time your discarded TV or printer is unloaded on the dock of a developing country, the workers there can expect to earn about $0.17 per day salvaging whatever usable raw materials are left. They wade through the highly toxic remains, which are often dumped in the waterways, on farmland, or along roadsides. Local air quality suffers when CRT circuit boards are desoldered outdoors or piles of e-waste are set on fire to melt the plastics away from more valuable raw materials.
A report from the Public Affairs Information Service provides further depth: “All e-waste contains Mercury and Lead, and the practices of open burning of plastic waste, exposure to toxic solders, river dumping of acids, and widespread general dumping has become a threat to villagers’ health, environment, and culture.”
National Public Radio reports: “About 50 percent of the electronics waste sent into these areas is discarded. Lead levels in some rivers have been found to be 190 times higher than levels considered acceptable by the World Health Organization. Villagers report stomach and breathing problems, and have to ship in their drinking water.”
Poorer communities receive less dependable supplies of fresh drinking water, and those who rely on fishing for their survival and cultural identity are negatively impacted by toxic pollutants in their fishery. All of this serves to widen the considerable gap between the wealthy individuals who bring e-waste into the region and the exploited poor who work for them — as well as those who don’t. Environmental toxins affect everyone in the environment.
A Movement Toward Global Health
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Indigenous rights’ groups and WWF International are beginning to train Andean tribes people deep within the Amazon rainforest in the use of drones so that they, as forest-dwelling specialists, can help protect wildlife, and identify, compile evidence for, and report on, illegal logging activities. The WWF teamed up with the Kaninde Ethno-Environmental Defense Association, a The post Amazon Tribes Are Excited to Use Drones to Detect Illegal Deforestation in Brazilian Rainforest appeared first on Good News Network.
One might expect local entrepreneurs to be the ones who might open a second-hand furniture store, not the world’s largest furniture chain. Swedish giant Ikea will buy back your old Ikea furniture provided it’s in good condition, by offering vouchers up to 50% of the original value. The deal, meant to stimulate some circular economy The post Ikea to Buy Back Used Furniture Worldwide in Recycling Push For Black Friday appeared first on Good News Network.
One of the global leaders in PV solar panel production and installation is also working hard to tackle the future of solar panel recycling, a reality that is already becoming apparent as the first generation of panels reach the end of their life cycle, and that will become all the more important in the 2020s The post America’s Largest Solar Panel-Maker Leads the World in Panel Recycling–Recovering 95% of Materials appeared first on Good News Network.
International shipping and air freight have each played significant roles in the globalisation process of our world. Our choices and access to goods have increased, distances have been reduced, jobs have been created and economies have prospered. With all these
An electric vehicle is a useful tool that would allow us to start controlling CO2 emissions and other pollutants produced by transport activity. Electric cars are today considered by many people as one of the most effective ways to combat
As more and more companies are using resources and creating products that are not safe for the environment, it’s important that we all do our part to seek out the brands that put the planet first. Take a look at
Modern enterprises increasingly focus on improving the sustainability of their operations for two key reasons. First and foremost, responsible industries consider how their business impacts the environment, society, and the world around them. However, sustainability is much more than an
Fashion is an industry that sometimes flies under the radar in terms of its environmental impact. And while it has always had these effects, the industry has increased production drastically in the last few years alone. With this change comes
As natural resources deplete and carbon emissions increase at an alarming rate, sustainable living should be on everyone’s mind. Whether for energy sources, transport or even food sourcing, each sustainable undertaking does contribute to the cause. What Is Sustainable Eating?