1. Sustainable development electronic waste B101, The technology context Coursework 1 451738

2. Presentation purpose In this presentation I am going to analyse the sustainable development issue of electronic waste. I have selected a particular article which describes the issues associated with electronic waste. The article I have selected to analyse is “How to throw away that broken Ipod” David Talbot, 2007, how to throw away that broken ipod, retrieved December 4 th, 2009 from http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/17968/?a=f

3. Format The presentation will follow this format; Electronic waste, what is it Article overview Legislation comparison Environmental impact Conclusion

4. What is electronic waste Below is a description of what electronic waste is; E-waste is any refuse created by discarded electronic devices and components as well as substances involved in their manufacture or use. http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid80_gci1060172,00.html#http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid80_gci1060172,00.html# (search data center 2007)

5. The article The article titled “How to throw away that broken Ipod” gives an incite to the recycling process taken by manufacturers in the US electronics industry. I have picked out key points from the article. The following slides will elaborate.

6. Taking back electronics The articles main concepts is on the taking back of electronic waste by companies in the US. The computer take back campaign has begun and is pushing for companies to recycle. Company by company guide Recycling their electronic products Computer take back campaign

7. Improper practices Rather then recycling goods in the US, companies are shipping to China, Nigeria and India for cheaper solutions. Prison labour is used in these countries as its cheaper, workers salvage copper, gold and other materials. Workers use acids and other chemicals to extract gold and copper, this Is poured into water systems. Workers are not under strict health and safety regulations.

8. US Industry The US electronics industry is valued at $400 billion dollars from when the article is dated. The US electronics industry is trying to increase the consumer knowledge of responsible disposal of electronic products. The following site is the directive that they are using to improve consumer knowledge www.EcyclingCentral.com.www.EcyclingCentral.com Certain electronic waste companies have agreed on this and has decided to recycle all products properly.

9. Awareness Four consumer awareness issues are trying to be raised by the US electronics industry. Consumer awareness Who to trust No national agreement on recycling Irresponsible countries Improper management

10. US waste Estimates from the article suggest that 300 to 500 million discarded computers lay at waste, with 20 to 24 million being put into storage centres each year. The graph below indicates total storage for 2007.

11. Legislations The article suggests that although no legislation exists certain bodies with the US have taken action while others have not. The table shows companies and states being proactive, while the reactive column shows that others have not taken action. As of 2009 19 states now have recycling laws on electronic waste. ProactiveReactive Dell and Hewlett Packard have created there own take back policies. No federal legislation that forces companies to recycle their products in the US meaning companies don’t have to join the computer take back campaign. Maine and Washington are two states who have created legislations for manufacturers to take back electronic waste. No federal legislation for the US government allows electronic waste to be thrown away in general waste.

12. Legislation comparison to the EU Waste electrical and electronic equipment directive (WEEE) is an EU directive. It regulators and enforces legislation about the disposal of electronic waste by manufactures. Its purpose is to reduce the amount of generally disposed electronic products by, recycling, recovering and reusing.

13. Environmental impact Electronic waste has a significant environmental impact and is a cause for concern in many countries. Electronic waste is a pollutant, improper disposal can cause the following to be extracted or leak increasing pollution; Lead Mercury Cadmium

14. Environmental impact Table indicating US recycling of electronic waste compared to disposal of electronic waste. The recycle rate indicates how of overall product is recycled rather then disposed. Recycle vs. disposal, 2007, retrieved 4 th December 2009, from http://www.epa.gov/waste/conserve/materials/ecycling/manage.htm http://www.epa.gov/waste/conserve/materials/ecycling/manage.htm

15. Conclusion To conclude this presentation the main areas for concern are illustrated within this article; No US national legislation means companies do not have to be proactive with electronic waste Electronic waste keeps rising year on year yet the recycling rate is still low in the US Consumers knowledge of ill practiced recycling processes must be increased Companies and states themselves have become proactive to counter act no legislation

16. References David Talbot, 2007, how to throw away that broken ipod, retrieved December 4 th, 2009, from http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/17968/?a=fhttp://www.technologyreview.com/computing/17968/?a=f Recycle vs. disposal table, 2007, retrieved 4th December 2009, from http://www.epa.gov/waste/conserve/materials/ecycling/manage.htm http://www.epa.gov/waste/conserve/materials/ecycling/manage.htm Units in storage table, 2007, retrieved 4 th December 2009, from http://www.epa.gov/waste/conserve/materials/ecycling/manage.htm What is it, 2009, retrieved 4 th December 2009, from http://www.environment- agency.gov.uk/business/topics/waste/32084.aspx http://www.environment- agency.gov.uk/business/topics/waste/32084.aspx Current electronic recycling laws, 2009, retrieved 4 th December 2009, from http://www.ecyclingresource.org/ContentPage.aspx?Pageid=28&ParentID= 0 http://www.ecyclingresource.org/ContentPage.aspx?Pageid=28&ParentID= 0