The Negative Aspects of Technology What Happens to Your E-Waste in REAL LIFE?

How many phones, computers, or other electronic gadgets have you owned over the years? Was it because we needed to improve or simply because we could? Electronics and modern technology have become indispensable tools for communication, entertainment, and other purposes. On a larger scale, technology has provided emerging economies with unprecedented chances to transition to'smart' cities, which might potentially speed progress toward the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Although technological advancements have aided in the smartening of cities and the creation of a more digital and interconnected world, they have also come at the expense of environmental issues and threats to human safety and wildlife.

Ocean plastic pollution has been a hot topic of debate as one of the world's most pressing environmental issues. Electronic trash is a new 21st-century pollution problem that is now directly linked to our dependency on technology (e-waste). Precious and rare-earth materials, metals, and resources from outdated and outmoded electronic devices are being thrown into landfills in poor developing countries all over the world.

Global e-waste is the fastest-growing trash source on the planet.

In only one year, the globe produced 53.6 million tonnes of e-waste, with that number expected to rise to 120 million tonnes by 2050. What effect does this have on the environment? The amount of e-waste created throughout the world, as well as the absence of infrastructure for managing e-waste recycling, poses a threat to the environment and human health. Open burning, incineration without protective precautions, and dumping are all part of the recycling process in landfills, especially in underdeveloped countries where norms and regulations are not implemented.

Given that the rise in e-waste is a relatively new topic, governments and international organisations have made several efforts to develop particular policies related to e-waste management. However, because of their strong policies addressing labour safety and the environment, many industrialised countries consider recycling e-waste to be ineffective. As a result, the vast majority of wealthy countries choose to dump or recycle their e-waste by sending it to countries like Ghana, Bangladesh, and India, where e-waste management rules and practises are more lenient.

Rare-earth metals, which are vital components in many common products such as phones and computers, are mined as part of the technology and electronics production process. As the need for new technology grows, so does the demand for rare-earth metals, which are becoming increasingly scarce. Mining for rare metals and resources is hazardous to the environment. China is the world's largest producer of rare-earth metals, and its large-scale production has demonstrated that mining heavy metals containing radioactive materials is not environmentally sustainable, as it consumes a lot of water and energy and emits radioactive materials into nearby water bodies, soil, and air. Simultaneously, transport is required to transfer those materials and resources for the next step of production, which contributes to global carbon emissions.

Despite the numerous recycling facilities and choices provided by businesses such as Apple, which encourage trade-ins or buybacks of obsolete gadgets, the e-waste problem does not end here. E-waste is now treated the same as regular waste, with only a small percentage being recycled and ending up in landfills.

Only 17.4 percent of e-waste collected and recycled in 2019 was formally collected and recycled.

The remaining 80% of worldwide e-waste is frequently burnt or dumped in landfills like Agbogbloshie, which is located in the heart of Ghana's capital city, Accra. Agbogbloshie slum is one of the largest e-waste dumps in the world, covering around 20 acres and containing a never-ending flood of metal scraps, screens, cables, chips, and motherboards. For a living, the world's lowest employees are manually dismantling hundreds of tonnes of e-waste in this urban landfill. The minerals and metals found in e-waste are extremely dangerous, and without a reliable and long-term waste management system, poisonous compounds like mercury and brominated flame retardants pollute the environment and endanger people who live, work, or play in e-waste scrap yards.

Obsolescence is another key aspect that adds to the rise of e-waste. E-waste is mostly driven by an increase in the number of people purchasing electronic equipment with shorter life cycles and fewer repair alternatives. Current or older devices become obsolete when the need for new ones grows. What this means for consumers is that when newer gadgets grow more advanced, their current or older devices may become unusable, whether due to software incompatibility or wear and tear. What options do we have?

Recycling may appear simple, yet it can have significant environmental advantages. For manufacturers, recycling obsolete electrical items is 13 times more cost-effective than mining new minerals from natural reserves. Apple has made attempts to promote carbon-neutral activities, such as circular supply chains and recycling programmes, in order to encourage people to engage in sustainable consumerism.

What options do we have?

Recycling may appear simple, yet it can have significant environmental advantages. For manufacturers, recycling obsolete electrical items is 13 times more cost-effective than mining new minerals from natural reserves. Apple has made attempts to promote carbon-neutral activities, such as circular supply chains and recycling programmes, in order to encourage people to engage in sustainable consumerism.

Consumers are just as important as manufacturers. As a result, when it comes to purchasing new technology, we need be more conscious of our decision-making process. This could be accomplished by taking into account the products' environmental impact and only acquiring items that are really necessary. Apart from recycling, we might buy used electronic gadgets from local organisations that specialise in electronic refurbishment and repair to extend the product's life cycle.

Nonetheless, in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goal 12 of Sustainable Consumption and Production, technological businesses and governments around the world should address the negative effects of the device manufacturing process and the post-consumer stage of the product's life cycle. In poor developing nations, environmental rules and regulations directly related to e-waste management should be enforced to provide the necessary infrastructure to better manage the recycling process and reduce environmental and health impacts. Manufacturers should also be urged to use an Extended Producer Accountability (EPR) strategy, which ensures that the producer's responsibility extends to the post-consumer stage of a product's life cycle, which includes final disposal.