Daily consumers are confronted with advertising campaigns trying to lure their slightly used electronic devices into retirement by being swayed into upgrading to the most recent model. A 2007 study conduct in the United States revealed “500 million used cell phones that are stockpiled in closets and drawers will eventually end up in landfills as electronic waste (E-Waste).” As E-Waste continues to spread across the globe it is growing faster than leaves can grow on trees and it is posing a threat to human health and the environment (E-Cycle).” Consumers recycling cell phones to reuse materials is environmentally and socially beneficial in reducing E-Waste.
E-waste is an enormous problem around the world and according to the “United Nation Environment Program 20 to 50 million tons of E-waste is generated worldwide annually (Ford)”. In fact, “ten thousand cell phones wind up in a landfill every day (Weston)”. When electronic waste is improperly dispose of it can cause problems to the environment and human health. Human health could be affected by toxic materials leaking into the drinking water or food supply. The materials in cell phones “contain lead, cadmium, and mercury that can potentially leak contaminant into the soil and groundwater (Mosieur)”. “Lead exposure to humans will damage to the nervous system, blood and kidneys and mercury exposure will cause brain damage (e-Catcher)”.
The export of used cell phones to Africa and Asia are becoming commonplace because “it is cheaper to recycle in developing countries. The demand in these countries has grown to extract precise metal but “there are no proper facilities or environmental standards in place for proper disposal (Ford)”. Used cell phones are brought to scra...
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In the article entitled, “Our Cell Phones Ourselves”, Christine Rosen describes how cell phones have changed the way we communicate. Rosen tells the readers the main purpose for cell phone use in the past, versus present day. Her purpose is to make society aware of how cell phones have influenced our lives in order to inspire change as to how we view our cell phones. Rosen directs her writing to everyone in the present day by describing the negative results of cell phone use and how it impacts our lives and those around us. Without a doubt, cell phones are going to be a part of our world, but it is the responsibility of every cell phone owner to exercise self control and understand that a cell phone is nothing more than a device.
Even though electronic waste contributes one percent of waste as discussed earlier, it poses a significant threat to the environment. “RCRA does not, however, cover electronic waste except CRTs, nor does it regulate electronic devices donated for educational or charitable reuse.” The RCRA should implement rules to govern e-waste because e-waste not only affects lives in the United States, It affects everyone globally. E-waste typically finds its ways out of the United States and ends up in developing countries like
The article, “Our E-Waste Problem is Ridiculous, and Gadget Makers Aren’t Helping,” by Christina Bonnington, focused the process of electronic devices to be recycled, the challenges of recycling electronic waste, and making devices more recyclable. First, Bonnington described the recycling process. Depending on the condition on the product will determine if it will be reused or stripped down to be destroyed. According to the author, having a simpler design makes the reprocessing easier to bare the electronics for turning into materials. Next, the author mentioned the challenges of recycling. One challenge is how electronics are becoming more compact and tougher to strip apart to separate the materials. Conferring to Bonnington, batteries are
Electronic waste, or any waste for that matter is an inevitable part of an economic system where the destruction of an ecosystem is the primarily source of resources that are used to create the product. The waste that occurs from this process has to be disposed of in some way and more often than not, it is disposed of carelessly with out consideration to the affect it would have on the environment or the very people that create and let capitalism live on, “The political economy approach also defers progress on environmental issues to a pint after economic ones are solved” (Robbins et al. 2010, 114). And if this continues there may be no place left for the excess waste created by capitalism.
Cellphones have become an asset in people's everyday lives. Gone are the days when cellphones are depicted as luxurio...
In a world that is rapidly becoming faster paced, finding various means to keep up with the changing environment is a must. Cell phones are one of the most practical inventions of time that make this possible. However, the subtle effect they have on our culture today, their invasion of our privacy, and the possible health risks they may cause are reasons to reassess the value of this intriguing device. While cell phones may be valuable, they are also potentially harmful.
The average cell phone is used less than 18 months and 140 million of them end up in a landfill each year.(Statistics) The landfills are slowly filling up with our obsolete cell phones. The phone’s circuits are coated with lead, and the lithium ion batteries often explode in landfills creating craters of heavy metal toxic waste for future generations to have to deal with. Even though there is an effort to recycle this waste, the problem is going to get worse before it gets better as more and more of the world’s citizens embrace cellular
The environmental performance of numerous tech companies has been evaluated and since Apple has grown over time, it has received more attention. There has been a frequent campaign against Apple by different environmental organisations such as Greenpeace requesting for the elimination of hardware components that are non-recyclable hardware components, a comprehensive plan that would make the products of Apple not end up in the waste and the removal of toxins from iPhone hardware (Apple Inc. 2016). As much as such campaigns affect the operations of Apple Inc., they are good since they help in the conservation of the environment thus having a good impact on the
Many of us see cell phones pessimistically, but really haven’t looked at them optimistically. We all know that "with every good, comes a bad, and with responsibility, comes consequences".
The year is 2014, the markets are changing constantly, and they always have to meet the needs of new consumers as well as old consumers. Mobile telephones have been in the retail and wholesale business for quite some time, and are only evolving from here on out. There are things that these cell phones can bring us that are major benefits in our everyday lives. Cell phones bring us maps, radios, address books, and even flashlights now. Cell phones have taken shape from a huge portable device to a more convenient thin device that can fit in your pocket. With time in any consumer market, the consumer adapts to the technology that makes their life easier. The constant innovation of cell phones has led us to smart phones, and these smart phones are capable of putting certain businesses out of the market. Businesses that engineered PDAs in the past were met with challenges because smart phones are able to match their productivity. Land lines have become useless since everyone can afford a mobile device now. Listening to music has also switched from a traditional CD Player/MP3 Player to an everyday smart phone.
As humanity develops new technology, the magnitude and severity of waste increases. When computers were developed, it widely was believed that the need for paper would be eliminated. On the contrary this was widely proven false and we are now utilizing more paper than ever. Canada is not an exception as the typical Canadian generates an average of three pounds of solid waste each day1. This alone shows what a careless species we have become- using and disposing materials without even considering the damage we are causing. With half a trillion tones of waste around the world, only 25% may be reused for a second or third time and less than 5% can be renewed limitlessly1. These facts are true only in developed countries. Since these traditional waste reduction methods have been proven inefficient, we must endorse new innovative technology to arrive at a solution.
Electrical and electronic equipment lead to a variety of chemical toxins to be released into the environment. Even if the compound
Preserving the environment is very important. One way that would be possible is by recycling. Recycling is the recovery and reprocessing of waste materials for use in new products. There are important environmental and economic benefits connected with recycling. Common materials that are recycled consist of aluminum cans, glass, paper, wood, and plastic (“Recycling”). Cleveland, Ohio joined the ranks of requiring recycling and also fines the homeowners for not disposing of waste correctly or leaving cans out too early or too long (McElroy 1). Michele McCay says that recycling is one of the easiest, most tangible ways of taking action for the planet (par. 1). If that is the case, why is it not required in all states? Recycling should be mandatory because it saves natural resources, it conserves energy, and it reduces pollution.
Many people assume that the environment is not in danger. They believe that as technology advances, we do not need to worry about renewing natural resources, recycling, and finding new ways to produce energy. They state that one person in the world does not make a large difference. In reality, each individual's contribution greatly affects our environment. Our natural resources are slowly disappearing, and we must work together to save them and the Earth from ruin.
Wastes are the products of our consumptions in our daily life routines such as lunch, work, school and other things we do. Little things such as throwing out a piece of paper, we are producing waste by the seconds. After we consume a product we usually throw out what’s left that can’t be consumed any further. Results in producing waste, substance that are born after it’s been use or consume by us. At the end of each day we throw out a bag full of garbage, all of the materials in that bag (paper towels, cans, leftover foods and many other material’s) all of these are waste. Hospitals produce medical waste such as use needles for treating patients. Corporations produce papers, plastics, tires, steels, cans and many other type of solid waste which contribute to the pollutions that cause health risk and other environmental issues.