The amount of electronic waste has more than doubled in the past five years. The bulk of this waste – old computer monitors, TVs – is being stored, sent to landfills or smelters, or disposed of in other ways that experts say are environmentally destructive. This predicament highlights how small changes in the marketplace can suddenly transform a product into a liability. Most experts say that the larger solution to the growing electronic waste problem is for technology companies to design products that last longer, use fewer toxic components and are more easily recycled. Much of the industry, however, seems to be heading in the opposite direction.
And if we keep buying the latest electronics, we are creating more and more waste that is difficult to dispose of, creating a danger for the environment and the health of workers. Unwanted Electronic Gear Rising in Toxic Piles by
Ian Urbina,
New York Times, 18 March 2013
Last year, two inspectors from California’s hazardous waste agency were visiting an electronics recycling company near Fresno for a routine review of paperwork when they came across a warehouse the size of a football field, packed with tens of thousands of old computer monitors and televisions.
Read more »
