Electronic Waste Essay

Electronic Waste is the disposal of any kind of technology which ultimately produces hazardous radiation that is lethal both for the environment and to people who expose themselves to this waste. Since 1992 worldwide society has been becoming increasingly aware of the dangers of Electronic Waste. People are throwing away so much because manufacturers of phones, computers, laptops, televisions and ipods are making and constantly updating technology as there is such a large demanding consumerist society and businesses that have an unceasing amount of money to make. People buy and discard so much so often to have the newest and the best technology has to offer - which leaves the issue of Electronic Waste.

Electronic Waste is a serious problem because an alarming 87.5% of technology is discarded in landfills or incinerated yearly in comparison to a pathetic 12.5% that is actually recycled. Disposing of electronics in landfills only causes extreme complications environmentally as none of the major components in electronics are biodegradable and over time will only cause serious radiation problems and generally make hectares of land a toxic waste ground. Incinerating technology is just as dangerous as people inhale lethal fumes daily, particularly in Ghana; the biggest electronic waste dump in the world. This kind of pollution makes its way into peoples food and water supply making daily life a challenge in itself. The fumes emitted from the burning of electronics include lead, found in circuit boards, television and computer monitor glass, which is fatal to the central and peripheral nervous systems, blood systems, kidneys and has severe effects on the fetal development and nursing of infants. Mercury is found primarily in all fluore...

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... to collect any amount of copper (which is quite expensive). They are forced to daily persevere through all the toxins, radiation, pollution and inevitable deadly health risks just so they can live. This is the desperation and extent to which these people essentially living in poverty and toxic land must expose themselves to without the assistance of health insurance, first aid, easy access to hospitals or even clean water.

Ms Simmons should recycle her abundance of computers responsibly to Electronic Waste recycling services Australian councils are now providing. Dumping her waste into any dumpster can ultimately cause her to be fined for disposing recklessly a potential toxic threat on the environment and if anything alarming was to happen to those trashed computers endanger people to radiation and likely irreparable damage to their organs - worst case scenario.