E Waste Case Study

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Policy Problem Statement
PADM
Scope of the Problem
E- Waste is made up of discarded electronics and electrical devices of which most of the waste is made up of computers and mobile telephones. These two products have the shortest life span which causes these amounts to grow quicker. Electronic Waste is described as “discarded electronic or electrical devices or their parts”. (Webster’s Dictionary 2014). The scope of how far this issue goes is even deeper than just in the United States. Much of the waste that the United States use to accumulate was sent to other countries. Many of those countries have people that just were not able to afford top end equipment so , our equipment that still worked but could be donated was sent there. They did not know how to dispose of it so landfills begin to fill up and health concerns rise. E- Waste includes cell phones, LCD monitors, plasma televisions and any electronic or electrical device that has mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, beryllium, brominated flame retardants and any other harmful substance. The major problem with E-waste is how to dispose of it and not fill up landfills with it. Larger manufacturing countries such as the United States and China have the biggest issue of waste from electronics.

Effects on the Society
E-Waste has been shown over time to cause many health concerns for the public. Many landfills are filled with chemicals and hazards because of e-waste. Many countries especially developing ones do not have proper disposal and recycling techniques to dump their e-waste. Electronic waste contains many toxic elements including but not limited to : mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, beryllium and brominated flame retardants. Sometimes when the e-waste goes to a landfill it ...

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...e changing cell phones before their contract is up or buying new and improved laptops every year because of one upgrade, it may cut down on what people throw away or not use anymore. Or if stores allowed them to trade in their older equipment for the new equipment all the time they would be more likely to bring it in to avoid the extra cost in buying brand new electronics. Verizon started a service where you can get money back towards your next phone if you turn in your old one. That allows customers to dispose of their phones properly and get an incentive for it. More programs like that will definitely improve electronic waste.
References
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956053X13000147 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2796756/ http://www.unep.org/pdf/Recycling_From_e-waste_to_resources.pdf
http://www.e-stewards.org/the-e-waste-crisis/

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