Poison Leeching Near Water
The problem is that there is so much e-waste that trace amounts have increased over the years. That toxic water at the bottom of the landfill doesn't stagnate at the bottom of the landfill. It continues to groundwater and all freshwater sources in the surrounding area.
This is not only bad for anyone using a natural well, but it also harms the surrounding wildlife. In turn,
the high concentrations of these minerals cause wildlife to become ill from lead, arsenic, cadmium, and another metal poisoning.
Mining for new metals also causes
Not only is this a problem for e-waste in landfills, but it is also a side effect of mining for new sources of metal.
An eco-friendly source of recycled metal is better for the environment than a company digging up new sources of ore. Every time you recycle your electronics, you're keeping your e-waste from letting toxic metals into your groundwater. But you're also preventing it from happening somewhere else in the mine.
How you can help
Fortunately, there is a proven solution. Recycling e-waste serves many useful purposes. Include protecting human and environmental health, for example, by keeping those equipment out of landfills. Or recovering parts within equipment that still have value, and providing manufacturers with recycled metals that can be used to make new products.
Virtually all electronic waste contains some form of recyclable material. This includes materials such as plastics, glass and metals, which is why they may be considered "junk" or "obsolete" to consumers, but they still serve an essential purpose. It is ironic, in some ways, that these devices are called "e-waste", because they are not waste at all. But in a lot of cases, they are thrown away.
With an electronic recycler like GLEC, we have a solution. The challenge is still too small to increase recycling rates.
E-waste problem
The definition of e-waste is likely to continue to expand. In the era of rapid technological progress, more and more sophisticated electronic goods are being invented and manufactured. Just think of the concept of "smart home". It's easy to recognize how many electronic devices can now do everything from providing protection to turning lights on and off, to preparing fresh coffee before we wake up.
Unfortunately, the skyrocketing amount of e-waste is being written off by owners as junk. There is no more important example of this than computers, laptops and smartphones.
New models arrive even when the current one is working fine. Despite this, the latest version always offers additional features that make it look too tempting to resist.
So in answer to the question, "What is e-waste?" A good response today might be, "It depends."
Technology innovators continue to create electric devices designed to make our lives easier and more convenient in every imaginable way. Still, we all seem susceptible to quickly pitching the machines we already have. It doesn't matter how satisfied we are with them so far.
0 Comments