INTRODUCTION Toxic waste colonialism refers to the practice of exporting hazardous waste from developed countries to underdeveloped ones for disposal. It is the practice of developed nations who rid themselves of toxic or hazardous waste by shipping it to less developed areas of the world. The affected communities typically lack the resources, knowledge, political organization, or capital to resist the practice. There is a difference between toxic colonialism and environmental racism. Environmental racism is the inequitable distribution of environmental hazards based on race. Toxic colonialism can be seen as micro as it focuses on a specific area or group of people. Environmental racism can be seen as macro, examining the issue on a larger, Only 12.5% of E-Waste is recycled. 85% of E-Waste are sent to landfills and incinerators are mostly burned, and release harmful toxins in the air. Electronics contain lead which can damage our central nervous system and kidneys. E-waste contains hundreds of substances, of which many are toxic. This includes mercury, lead, arsenic, cadmium, selenium, chromium, and flame retardants. 80% of E-Waste in the US and most of other countries are transported to Asia. 300 million computers and 1 billion cell phones go into production annually. It is expected to grow by 8% per year. Cell phones and other electronic devices contain precious metals like gold and silver. The US alone throws away cell phones with $60 million worth of gold/silver yearly. Recycling 1 million laptops saves energy equivalent to the energy used by 3600 homes in the US annually. Most of the components of E-Waste are electronic equipment that can be re-used and recycled for materials recovery. REASONS FOR INCREASE 1. It requires low skilled labors which results in increase in employment opportunities in developing countries. 2. Complying with the environmental regulation in the waste producing country increases the cost of A large number of loop holes in the export and import policies of the developing countries. All these transactions related to toxic waste take place under the table and hence has no impact over the foreign exchange or Balance of Payments of such countries. 5. Rapid increase in the amount of e-waste, and materials like mercury are removed from the waste sludge for reuse which is used as a raw material for making other gadgets. NEGATIVE IMPACTS 1. Unusual health problems including acute respiratory infections, heavy dry coughing, mouth bleeding, abdominal hemorrhage, chemical skin reaction. 2. Contamination of the environment where the waste is exported. It affects the soil, water as well as the air around it. 3. Most of the workers employed in extraction of important materials from this waste is young labour. 4. Workers on e-waste sites are paid an average of $1.50 per day. They are unprotected while working with the toxic substances on the site. They are the first to inhale the toxins that are released in the air when electronic parts are
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 piece of legislation that is responsible for enforcing and regulating the production of hazardous waste, its type of management and disposal methods is known as The Hazardous Waste (England and Wales)Regulations 2005. According to The Hazardous Waste (England and Wales)Regulations 2005 part 1 of the legislation it states in article 4 of the waste directive is that the waste must be disposed of in a way that doesn’t harm human health or resorting to ways which would degrade the environment such as the surrounding surface such as soil, the natural flora in the area and the local fauna of the surrounding environment.
On March 22, 1989, after 18 months of intense negotiations, leaders from 105 nations unanimously adopted a treaty restricting shipments and dumpings of hazardous wastes across national borders. The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and their Disposal, conducted under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), is the first international convention to control the export of hazardous industrial wastes (Ruloff, 1989). A driving force behind the convention is the steady increase in international trade of hazardous waste over the past decade. There is a growing number of tempting, but environmentally questionable waste disposal contracts being offered and taken by nations (Ruloff, 1989). To combat this trend, the convention has three main objectives: to reduce transboundary movement of hazardous waste while minimizing their generation; to promote the disposal of such wastes as close as possible to their places of origin; and to prohibit the shipment of hazardous wastes to countries lacking the legal, administrative, and technical capacity to manage them in an environmentally sound manner. Since the Convention celebrates its 10th anniversary in December 1999, it is an appropriate time for an appraisal of how the Basel Convention has effected international trade of hazardous waste.
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.
b) Businesses tend to implement Reverse Logistics. This means that if a product goes bad, it does not go straight to trash, instead, it comes back to the Supply Chain in order to be fixed. c) Some companies found new ways of disposing of hazardous materials that save them money as well as benefit the environment. IV:
I. Significant amounts of waste is generated in society and that waste has a detrimental effect on society,
When it comes to the seven wastes overproduction is said to be the leading waste. In it's most simplest terms, overproduction is the act of manufacturing or producing an item or product before it is really necessary. When it comes to manufacturing one might think that producing inventory ahead of time would save time and money but in fact the opposite is true. It is said that overproduction is deadliest of the seven deadly wastes because it contributes or recreates a ripple effect on to th...
environment. How is the waste affecting us? Otis L. Graham used secondary sources in making
The phenomenon of discarded electronic or electrical waste has generated worldwide attention and concern as it is a global problem that is getting bigger by the day. This concern is justified due to the effects of environmental pollution that e-waste causes. An estimated 50 million tons of e-waste is produced each year, globally, and this is projected to rise even further. America is the world’s largest producer with China a close second.
Recycling has been an ordinary practice in the history of human beings, with its evidence dating back to 400BC during Plato era. During the periods when materials and resources were scarce, archaeological studies regarding ancient waste dumps indicate less household wastes, including broken tools, pottery, and ash, which imply that more wastes were being recycled due to the absence of raw materials. During pre-industrial times, evidence indicates that scrap metals were collected in European countries and melted down for continuous reuse. The industrialization era create...
The National Safety Council estimates that 300 million computers will be discarded by the year 2007. The recycling company BTTF estimates that 63 million computers will become obsolete in the year 2005. BTTF also estimates that ink cartridges for computers are being discarded at a rate of nearly eight per second. Another recycling company estimates that about 1 billion floppy disks, CD’s, and DVD’s are discarded of and eventually end up in landfills (Parsons, 104). This is important information because many people do not realize how harmful computer waste can be to the environment. With all these “old” parts of computers being thrown away at such a rapid rate it is critical to weigh your options for disposal because if everyone simply threw their old computers in the Wednesday trash we would have a problem in the very near future.
- It can harm the environment and add to pollution. Some environmentalists express their views on the adverse effects of globalization, including free trade. They emphasize that this will lead some countries to disregard the environment when it comes to producing products and getting rid of waste materials just so they can compete in the industry. With more competition, others might cut their costs like proper dumping of wastes and their process of
About 27 percent of the trash is recycled, 16 percent is burned, and 57 percent is buried in landfills. A landfill by definition is a carefully designed structure built into or on top of the ground in which trash is isolated from the surrounding environment. This isolation is made possible with a bottom liner and covering of soil. Most landfills use a synthetic plastic liner to isolate the trash from the environment. In a landfill, not all of the land is used for dumping trash. Some areas are used for runoff collecti...
Efficient waste managing approaches help with reducing and avoiding unpleasant impact on the environment and human health, while allowing financial development and progress in the quality of people’s life. People do not even imagine what is the size and capacity of their activities and the impact they produce on the environment. Garbage is an important ecological problem. It is seems amazing that approximately all of the citizens of the world identify rubbish as a major environmental problem and yet these people still litter. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (2008), an American produces 250 million tons of garbage per year (para.2). There are different circumstances that are based on the society, environmental conditions, occupation and size of each of the different family. As Richmond (2010) stated, if no administration organizations has the responsibility or resources to concentrate their efforts on the waste disposal, then the responsibility to do that is on ...
America and Europe are at the top of the list for most waste generated according to Waste (4). This is very visible because there’s litter on every street in the towns and cities, as well in lakes, beaches, and rivers. The book Waste by Rob Bowden states that the amount of waste produced is increasing at a rate faster than population growth. About 1.5 million computers, in the U.K, are thrown away each year and most end up in landfills. There are 3 types of waste which are Municipal Solid Waste, Industrial Waste, and Hazardous waste. MSW includes waste from public garbage cans and local dumpsters. Industrial Waste includes massive amounts of waste water that is contaminated with chemicals. Hazardous waste is the most dangerous as it presents a danger to human health and the environment. Solutions for waste disposal take time because people need to consider their lifestyle and limit the amount of waste they generate. A good start is to recycle items such as paper, cans, plastic, and clothes. This way they don’t end up in landfills, beaches, or streets. Another solution is to join organizations that go around places to recycle, or organizations that demand the reduction in the amount of products that are being