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By Ellen Pearlman
Recycling has become a part of the American vernacular and many of us do our best to recycle our household glass, plastic and paper that we no longer need. But far too many individuals and organizations are uncertain about how to get rid of electronic equipment that is obsolete, broken or just plain old. Worse still, some companies make it a point to send their e-waste to recycling companies, but have no guarantee that the equipment they turn over to recyclers won't end up in landfills or shipped to developing countries for dismantling, burning and recovery of precious metals inside.
This wouldn't be such a problem if it weren't for the fact that e-waste is toxic to humans and the environment. According to the Electronics TakeBack Coalition briefing book e-waste is made up of many toxic materials and known carcinogens, including: lead, mercury, cadmium, brominated flame retardants, PVC and beryllium. When the products housing these chemicals-computers, printers, cellphones, televisions, monitors, PDAs and other electronic equipment-are shipped overseas they often end up in places like Guiyu in Southern China. Here men, women and children dismantle the equipment and salvage valuable metals using their hands or primitive retrieval methods. A 60 Minutes program filmed the recycling process and noted that "Guiyu has the highest levels of cancer-causing dioxins in the world." Pregnancies are six times more likely to end in miscarriage and 70 percent of the kids have too much lead in their blood.
For concerned IT executives that want to be sure their e-waste doesn't end up being shipped illegally to places like Guiya or to prisons where inmates are exposed to dangerous levels of lead and cadmium there are resources that can help identify responsible recyclers. The Basel Action Network (BAN) and the Electronics Takeback Coalition have created the e-Stewards Initiative to help consumers, organizations, governments and businesses find companies that have pledged to recycle responsibly. And last November, one day after the CBS 60 Minutes program on the dangers of e-waste aired, the two environmental groups announced that they were launching an extension to the e-Stewards program by creating an e-waste accreditation and certification program. Computerworld reported in November that BAN will push for federal legislation this year to prohibit dumping of e-waste to developing countries (the U.S. has not ratified the 1992 BAN treaty). While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has rules against shipping CRT monitors overseas, a U.S. Government Accountability Report said several U.S. recyclers appear to be breaking the rules.
Next: A Roundup of Resources on eWaste
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