May 21, 2002
Ever heard of E-Waste? ... Let's take five with Moira Gunn. This is "Five Minutes".
Ever heard the word "E-Waste?" It's the waste created by electronics products. Listening to this commentary on your radio, right now? Or on your computer? There's E-Waste right there; at least, it will become E-Waste, once it's lived out its useful life.
According to a report and film prepared by the Basel Action Network and the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, E-Waste includes lead, mercury and cadmium, as well as brominated-flame retardants and PVC's. These are only a few of the some 1,000 different substances that are found in typical consumer electronics.
Without knowing any more, you have to wonder how recyclable these products are really capable of being. After all, there's no technology compost heap on which to place your computer, preparing to fertilize next spring's cell phone and VCR.
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While some of us go out of our way to pay organizations to responsibly re-cycle our computers, what actually becomes of them?
It turns out that somewhere between 50 and 80 percent of the E-Waste generated in the United States is simply shipped out of the country, most frequently to Asia. And it is at this point that waste brokers consider the problem solved.
But we're all smarter than that, aren't we? Independent of what happens to this toxic stew, we know that there is no place so distant, no area so remote, that dumping or burning this kind of waste will not affect planet Earth and all the humans, animals and life forms it supports.
The report itself is a lot to take in. Some 50 pages, its official title is "Exporting Harm ... The High-Tech Trashing of Asia." And while it looks at detailed case studies in China, Pakistan and India, it's far broader in scope than its title suggests.
It reviews the specific toxic breakdown of computer electronics, U.S. policy and law, specific actions taken by various states, and the efforts being implemented by the European Union. In this latter case, manufacturers will be held responsible for the "entire life cycle" of any product.
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Years of sweeping a problem under the carpet would make anyone reticent to lift it up, but I think we all know -- it's time. How many personal computers have you gone through in your lifetime? And your family and friends?
Where are these marvels of technology today? Even if the answer is your basement, we're talking about electronic tar babies here. The E-Waste they represent simply won't go away.
Today, with the rapid changes in technology, the current life expectancy of a new computer is just 2 years. And estimates predict that in 5 years some 500 million personal computers will be obsolete.
And most of these computers will be obsolescing right here in the United States. After all, we are the world's largest consumers.
Before we rush to legislation, let's not forget that this is a technology problem, and it can't be solved by simply dictating results.
We need to redefine the design drivers of engineering to include such values as the ultimate responsibility for products we produce. And scientists need to focus on what role they can play, as well.
It binds together individual responsibility with corporate, national and global responsibility.
That being said, I'm not prepared to give up my computer until one can be built responsibly. And something about that worries me.
I'm Moira Gunn. This is Five Minutes.
