Recycling Electronic Waste Promoting Awareness of Removing E-waste from Landfills Tag Words: e-cyling, electronic recycling, electronic waste, Ghana, China, India, Nigeria, landfills Authors: Connie Hwang, I Han Du, Dinah Jammal, Nilar Win with Julie M. Fagan, Ph.D.

Summary (IHD) When electronic wastes are not properly recycled, heavy chemicals and carcinogenic chemicals make their way into our drinking water, land, air, food, and eventually into our bodies. With the availability of and the constant switch to H.D.T.V.s, more and more “old” televisions and monitors are being thrown out. These “old” television sets and computer monitors contain high amounts of harmful heavy metals, including the well-known mercury and lead, among other chemicals. With the constant demand for faster and smaller computers, a large number of computers are also being thrown out. Computers also contain harmful chemicals, as with almost every electronic product. A new generation of electronic waste programs was set up by the government, environmentalists, and electronics industries in response to the influx of electronic wastes filling up landfills. Some are recycled within the United States and others are illegally shipped to other countries, such as Ghana. Each of these countries are dealing with electronics consumerism in very different ways. It is safe to say, however, that these different ways are collectively detrimental to the environment and the people inhabiting these countries. Video Link Electronic Recycling- The Truth Exposed: http://youtu.be/rL8dOdTPt9A

The Issue: Recycling The Origins of E-Cycling (DJ) In January of 2008 New Jersey legislation took a turn in support of, what appeared to be, a greener environment. It was in this month nearly three years ago that the Electronic Waste Recycling Act was signed into law. Electronic waste, otherwise known as ‘E-waste,’ consists of discarded laptops, computers, cell phones, televisions and other consumer electronics. These particular electronics have been found to be recyclable which brought about the process of Ecycling. The Electronic Waste Recycling Act was introduced in 2008 to further promote electronic recycling into actual legislation. The Booming of Technology in Today’s Society The origins of such an act stem directly from the recent boom of technology in modern society. From the iPhone to the new 3-dimensional Sony high-definition television, technology has, without a doubt, advanced profoundly. This recent advancement has made electronic devices more appealing than ever in both their appearances, and user-friendly functions. One no longer needs to be a ‘nerd’ to understand these electronic devices and how they work. It is now common to have a seven year old explain to her parent how to schedule an important meeting on their Blackberry calendar application. This recent advancement has been equally met with an advancement of distribution of electronic devices all across the United States. According to the Media Literacy Clearinghouse Organization, which conducted several studies on electronic usage in the United States, roughly 85% of Americans own a cell phone. That is approximately 260 million Americans who own a cell phone. The organization also stated that 52% of Americans own a laptop device, which is approximately 160 million Americans. To an active consumer, these numbers would not appear staggering based on the amount of normality associated with owning these electronic devices in today’s society. What used to be considered a luxury has now become part of the status quo. When asking for a person’s phone number it is almost always assumed that particular person owns a cell phone. Although these numbers give an idea of the spread of today’s technology, they also provide an idea of the amount of resource consumption used to make these products. Electronics Do Not Last Forever The irony of technological advancement is that these advances do not last forever. Things break, particularly electronics. A new television can break and would eventually need to be replaced. Desktop computers, laptops, and cell phones can malfunction or simply be replaced by newer versions produced by computer companies like HP and Apple. Apple for example released the highly advanced original iPhone back in the year 2007. This particular phone is a touch screen device that has up to 64 gigabytes of memory and revolutionized the idea of phone applications. In the following year 2008, the iPhone 3G was introduced which provided constant Internet accessibility regardless of your location. In 2009 the iPhone 3Gs was introduced and provided

higher Internet speed. In 2010 the iPhone 4 was released and gave consumers the opportunity to FaceTime, or video chat, during phone conversations. Finally, the iPhone 5 is expected to be released sometime in the year 2011. Coming from a personal perspective and speaking as one of 260 million mobile consumers, I own every version of the iPhone. This particular evolution is not solely restricted to the iPhone but is also very applicable to other mobile devices such as the Blackberry and others alike. Computer software is also another area in electronics that is constantly transforming and thus bringing forth the development of newer computer devices and laptops that are eventually purchased. Changing Technology and the Development of Electronic Recycling The advancement in technology has increased electronic usage and this technology is not only just advanced, but it is also constantly changing and increasing consumption at a higher rate. The rapid consumption of electronics ultimately has a direct relationship to the recent development of electronic recycling in the Untied States. Americans own more plastic, metal, and aluminum alloys than they ever did before. These materials are indeed just some of the many components that are used to create the electronic devices that are consumed every year. The increase in production thus begs the question, where do all of these materials go when these electronics are deemed unusable? Before the introduction of E-cycling, the answer had been, for so many years, the regular trash. For several environmentalists this began to pose as a serious issue and thus conducted research to bring light to this issue and to further the importance of electronic recycling. According to Greenerchoices.org, “Tossing millions of computers, TV’s, and cell phones into landfills poses serious health and environmental risks.” Electronics particularly contain several toxic materials, which can be found based on location. To begin with the printed circuit boards of electronics contain lead, nickel and beryllium. The cell phone displays made from liquid crystals are comprised of mercury and the batteries running these devices are made up of nickel and cadmium. Finally, the plastics of the cell phone are highly capable of containing brominated flame-retardants, which are highly resiliant in the environment and are able to accumulate as household dust. In fact, according to ecoATM the number of phones Americans dispose annually contributes to 75,000 tons of material in landfills that again contain several of the previously mentioned toxins. To environmentalists in the United States, this sparked a new issue. They found that in addition to getting rid of the toxins, almost 90% of computer contents were able to be reused or later recycled. According to E-cycle Environmental, once the electronics are sent to be recycled they are able to produce products such as copper, aluminum, polymers, fiberglass and ferrous metals to be reused in the development of other electronic products. This in turn plays a huge role in conserving these natural resources. Also cellular devices contain precious metals such as gold, platinum and palladium, which, according to Articlesbase can be easily recycled. It is for this very reason that newly developed acts promoting e-cycling have been passed into legislation into states like New Jersey, California, Indiana, Hawaii, Maryland and several others. Effective on

January 1st, 2011, e-cycling programs in New Jersey were required to be fully implemented and successfully running. New Jersey assemblyman and one of the law sponsors, Reed Gusciora, was quoted as saying, "Many people don't realize that their television sets and computers are veritable compendiums of the periodic table, the circuit boards, batteries and liquid crystal displays can produce a threat to human health and the environment. This new law will make it as easy for New Jersey residents to responsibly dispose of these products as it is for them to be purchased.'' In an attempt to further enforce the process of E-cycling, several companies have taken it upon themselves to open up an electronic recycling chapter. AT&T has established the Reuse and Recycle Program for unused cell phones. Other companies such as Best Buy, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, LG Electronics, Office Depot, Samsung, Verizon and more have also each provided for their customers a means of recycling their unused electronics. One interesting development has been the recent invention of the ecoATM, created by EvoNexus and CommNexus. The ecoATM is a kiosk machine that allows a person to insert a portable device, such as a cell phone, and have the particular electronic automatically valued based on its condition. The machine will then bin the cell phone and provide the user with a trade-up coupon, a gift card, or even cash for the worth of their contribution. Like several other E-cycle missions, the ecoATM mission is geared toward keeping the environment toxic free while simultaneously making good use out of unusable electronics. What is also important to consider is that the ecoATM company, along with several others, have very tactically discussed financial benefits when advertsiing e-cycling. According to the ecoATM, “more than 12 billion dollars in unused phones can be collected with an additional 5 billion every year.” By recycling electronics, both the consumer and the company will be able to gain financially. The consumer is paid for their contributions and some companies are able to sell what was donated to them to other companies to make use of the precious metals within the electronics. The Truth Behind E-Cycling Overall the system of e-cycling has been proven to be nothing but beneficial for Americans. For environmentalists it is appealing granted electronic recycling can lower the amount of toxins contaminating the environment. For ordinary Americans, it has proven to be an alternative to making some extra fast cash. However, after thorough research of the topic, it has been found that the process of e-cycling has been advertised in such a way to really only benefit the environment within the Unites States. There has been very little mention of the earth’s environment as a whole. Although what has periodically been mentioned is that e-cycling can “help other people too” and that electronics are often sent to “poorer countries” for those not able to afford or access the luxury of electronics. This very subtle piece of information has turned into a much large controversy within the e-cycling business, establishing a very sad reality that was otherwise never properly explained. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKaj1N6Q8sI&feature=fvst http://www.frankwbaker.com/mediause.htm

http://www.greenerchoices.org/electronicsrecycling/el_home.cfm http://ecycleenvironmental.com/content/electronic-waste http://www.articlesbase.com/computers-articles/4-tips-for-proper-electronic-recycling-and-whyit-should-be-done-2985977.html http://www.politickernj.com/electronic-waste-recycling-act-becomes-law-15444 http://ecoatm.com/eco-atm.htm Process of ‘E-cycling’ (What Happens to our E-waste) (CH) With technology improving by the minutes, it’s only natural to realize that the television, computer, or cell phone that was bought only one year ago is already outdated. Because every person in a developed country realizes this, there is an extremely high turnover of used electronics. E-waste and its recycling is a problem that is relatively new, therefore there are not as many rules and regulations outlining the process (although the US Environmental Protection Agency is making progress). This is one of the reasons why when someone recycles a piece of electronic, it is often not recycled at all. It is instead thrown away as trash. E-recycling is often just e-waste with an eco-friendly name. Despite promises of various organizations to recycle old technology, it ends up in various landfills, incinerators, or on dumping grounds of developing countries. When thrown away, almost 2 million tons of electronics per year goes to United States landfills. Once they reach the landfills, they are treated like all other trash – strewn about on the ground. The electronics are then compacted to make the materials fit over a smaller area of space. Once a day, the layer of e-waste is covered with dirt or other chemicals to prevent the toxic substances from emitting from the trash. Electronics contain hazardous materials which may harm the population living around the landfill. E-waste can also end up in an incinerator. Many companies who claim that they are going to recycle refer to this method. The electronic waste is gathered and put into a machine which burns and fires the massive amounts of waste. At the end of the process, all that is left is ash as well as other rare metals that are collected for future use – hence recycling. However, most e-recyclables and e-waste ends up in foreign countries. The countries that house used electronics are mostly developing countries. Ghana Although the above methods are some ways that e-waste is handled, a more disturbing and more prevalent method of handling e-waste is by exporting them to developing countries. It is a horrifying sight to see when a lagoon located in Ghana is covered with computer shells, broken cell phones, and television sets. The bridge that once provided a path over the body of water is now providing a path over a sea of e-waste that seemed to have a perpetual stream of smoke. There are rules and regulation (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) – laws – that prevent the

export of waste to other countries but many companies are getting around these laws with loopholes or ignoring the law in its entirety to send the old electronics waste to Ghana and other developing countries as donations. Large quantities of waste arrive in trucks and containers from Germany, United Kingdom, and other countries from around the world including the United States. As soon as it arrives, workers first look through each electronic in order to determine whether it works or not – if it works then it is set aside in another container to be sold again. The hard drives, keyboards, computer monitors, and televisions are collected and set up outside to sell to those who can afford to buy them. Each hard drive is sold for what is equivalent to 35 U.S. dollars, and not only to an average civilian of Ghana. Instead, they could end up in the hands of criminals. Many people try their hardest to erase all their information out of their hard drives before throwing it away. Some may even neglect the process entirely – trusting that that it would be deleted in the process of recycling. Whatever the case is, high tech criminals buy the memory drives and comb them meticulously by hooking them up to a working computer. Using programs and hacks, the seemingly empty hard drive is now showing personal information about the previous owner. Pictures, music files, and old papers written are not exactly what the criminals are looking for. They are look for credit card numbers, social security numbers, passwords, names, and addresses that are saved on the computer that they could use. Unfortunately, more often than not, they are able to find the information without much struggle because the criminals know exactly what they’re looking for. Ghana is the number one country in which cyber crimes are committed. They use the banking numbers and credit card numbers they find to access money and worse – identities. In one case, the hard drive came from a contracted company in conjunction with the U.S. government. The hard drive contained information about contracts – clearly a confidential matter between the parties. On the other hand, the electronics that are deemed inadequate to sell are sent off to the outskirts of the mainstream city. Here, a town with civilians is treated like a common landfill. Next to house with children and their families, broken electronics are piled high up as well as strewn about – so thoroughly blended in with the dirt that it is hard to differentiate between them when walking. Children as young as thirteen years old work. They are paid for any valuable metals that they are able to scavenge from the e-waste. They grab whatever plastic compartment lying around (there is no dearth of them) and start a fire right on them. They act as a manual incinerator – the fire would melt away any plastic coatings and leave behind any metals that may be valuable to sell. Often, the kids would melt Styrofoam pieces on top of the burning electronics to speed the process of melting, unaware of the health repercussions of breathing in the toxic fumes or the damage it is doing to their environment. Younger children recover a piece of magnet, perhaps from old speakers or television sets and use them to swipe them across the ground where the metals are attracted. These metal pieces are collected by the children and sold to a salesman who comes by and collects the findings in exchange for little pay.

China A group of graduate journalism students tracked a container that carried their old computers which was promised by the e-waste company worker that it would be recycled in a safe and environmentally friendly manner. The students tracked the container to a city outside Hong Kong in China. There, the container that they tracked as well as millions of tons of other containers filled with e-waste was piled up one after the other making the containers look like Lego® pieces. The e-waste gave China an opportunity to create a business out of it. The e-waste would be dumped all over cities like Guiyu where the electronics pile up on the streets as trash. However there are shacks that are scattered among the trash. Behind the closed doors, the electronics are once again burned for the rare metals. Women equipped with nothing but maybe gloves literally ‘cook’ the electronic parts and melt off any metals that they could. There are walls and doors, which make the fumes linger inside the space and seep into the women who work. Brokers import e-waste into China illegally despite laws and regulations that try and prevent it. However without any strict regulations, it’s an easy concept to bring waste into a country like China. China exports many electronics to other countries – computers, music players, cellphones and televisions all are assembled and distributed from China to countries like America. They go out in large shipments in containers. In a perfect world, after a large shipment the containers would come back empty to the ports of China. Instead, the containers make an extra trip to a dumpster or e-waste factory where they fill up the container with the electronics they are throwing away. India Countries like India was one considered an adequate dumping ground. There were those in the country who would once again sort through the e-waste by hand to salvage any materials by hand like what is happening in Ghana or China. However, now India is generating e-waste at a faster rate than they once did before. Now the country is trying to cope with its own e-waste let alone the imports from other countries. There are many recycling companies that claim they are eco-friendly. The e-waste process is not as heavily regulated as it should be which makes it easy to find loopholes. Each e-recycling company should be scrutinized before recognizing them as a safe and environmentally beneficial process. http://www.recycleworks.org/ewaste/ewaste_process.html http://www.ecyclerecovery.com.au/theprocess.htm http://globalwarmingarchive.blogspot.com/2007/08/where-does-e-waste-recycling-go.html http://www.modernghana.com/newsp/285238/1/pagenum3/ghana-digital-dumpingground.html#continue http://www.modernghana.com/newsp/285238/1/pagenum3/ghana-digital-dumping-ground.html continue

http://www.modernghana.com/newsp/285238/1/pagenum3/ghana-digital-dumping-ground.html continue How Other Countries Are Dealing with Our E-waste (NW) Nowadays, electronic devices are enormously popular in both developed and developing countries. Electronic devices, such as refrigerators, TVs, computers and mobile phones, are common devices used in many countries. As new technologies expand, more and more of the electronic devices are produced annually in globally. Having the lower cost of producing electronic devices also makes highly producing rate of these devices. As a result, a tremendous amount of e-wastes is discarded all over the world since these devices are being constantly used and produced. Study shows that 50 or more than 20 million tons of e-wastes are disposed in the worldwide. Among these countries, China is dealing with its own e-wastes and others that come from other countries; Japan, Europe and the United States. Studies also shows that 50% and 80% of e-waste (re-cycled waste) comes from the U.S. However, China is one of the countries that produce many electronic devices, and has a recycling center for discarding e-waste. It is also a place in which 90% of these e-wastes are thrown from the U.S and China itself. 4 million refrigerators, 5 million TV sets and 5 million washing machines are thrown away in China in 2004. In fact, it is illegal for exporting of e-wastes to other countries. However, e-waste recycling is growing increasingly in China. It is because there are desperate workers, corrupt officials and careless environmental rules. Most of e-wastes are ended up in Guiya which is an industry town near Hong Kong. This town has become a site of e-waste recycling. Many piles of e-wastes are all over the town of Guiya, and there are also full with recycling workers on the streets. It is a good sweatshop for recycling workers because they can earn money for daily lives. Study shows that it employs more than 100,000 people where average worker can earn between $2 and $4 a day in some disposed sites. On the other hand, sweatshops or industries are making good profits for recycling e-wastes. They extract gold, copper, iron, silicon and nickel from discarded wastes. Study shows “1.5 million pounds of junks computers, cell phones and other devices in year, and generates $75 million a year for the town.” Although the recycling is a good for extracting reusable materials, it can also have negative conditions. Hazardous materials that come from extracting e-waste can harm the desperate workers, their neighboring community and the environment. On the other hand, working conditions is lethal for many workers. Most recyclers are only town families, and they are both men and women. In e-waste recycling, women are heating circuit board over coal fire to pull out chips whereas men are extracting gold and other valuable components from e-wastes by using acids. Especially, their jobs are to separate parts and to burn the unwanted ones in order to collect the valuable parts. This is the daily jobs for e-waste recyclers in Guiya, and how they earn

money for living. Study also stated that “the locals are more concerned about money, wages and struggle for survival.” Therefore, desperate people make desperate things like e-waste recycling. In addition, recycling in China has effects on people health and their community. It is because material made with all these electronic devices contains hazardous substances. Especially, there are six hazardous materials such as Lead, Cadmium, mercury, hexvalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDEs). Therefore, most of the e-wastes are toxic because of these substances. As a consequence, recycling workers have either long-term or short term health effect from working at e-waste sites. Another reason that workers can expose these toxic substances is from unprotected working environment. When people are handling with e-waste, there is no protective system; such as respiratory cover, protected clothes and gloves. The only thing they have is a portable household fan which is insufficient as their protection. The worst part is that they use their hands without gloved and they live without masked around the toxic environment. According to the article, it says “Unmasked and gloveless, Guiyu's workers dip motherboards into acid baths, shred and grind plastic casings from monitors, and grill components over open coal fires.” The consequence of e-waste recycling in town is that not only it affects to adult health, but it also affect to the children health. In Guiya, although men and women are working, they have their children with them. Sometimes, children are playing near the piles of e-waste, and sometimes they are sitting on them. Thus, they can expose to brain damaging chemicals, cancer-causing chemicals, and other toxic chemicals like lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium, polyvinyl chlorides. Senior scientist explained “All of these materials have known toxicological effects that range from brain damage to kidney disease to mutations, cancers.” Scientist also discovered that Guiya has the highest-level of cancer-causing dioxins in the world. Women have a highly chance of miscarriage, and children also have heavily contained lead in their blood. Health reports from Guiya say that Guiya’s children suffer from an extremely high rate of lead poisoning. In Guiya, e-waste recycling not only affect human health, but it affects to their living environment. Some metals from e-wastes are non-organic materials that cannot be broken down by micro-organisms, so it persists in environment in very long. As a result, it spreads into the environment. Thus, Guiya and neighboring area in China are facing the environmental concern from the air pollution and the toxic environment. In fact, the environmental pollution is caused by recycling e-wastes. From the site of e-waste, many different kinds of chemicals or toxics are released by different ways. Any burning can release toxic chemical into the environment because it is dangerous when they are melted. For instance; when women heat circuits over the coal fire, circuits made with hazardous material are released. Near the river of Guiya, key boards and monitors made with chlorinated and brominated plastics are burned openly. Thus, air pollution also occurs because these burned plastics produce the most toxic dioxin products on earth.

Sometimes, plastics that contain acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, high-density polyethylene, and polyvinyl chloride are separated from e-waste and mechanically shredded into small fragments. These plastic fragments are then spread out on roads to dry. In China, there are northwesterly and southwesterly wind in winter and summer, so the air bring the toxic chemicals around the city. Therefore, it makes a polluted environment in both town of Guiya and neighboring areas. The problem in China is that rules are not stable. E-wastes are continuously coming from other countries. Many people believe that e-wastes are recycled properly in the Unites States, but instead these are sent to the overseas by recycling industry. In fact, China is a great place for them to send dangerous and toxic e-wastes. According to the Basel Convention, every industrial country except U.S is not allowed to dispose e-wastes from developed country to developing country. Study proved “the basal convention of the United Nation was not ratified by the U.S” Thus, the U.S industry sends all e-waste to China easily because they are unrestricted by the international law. In addition, it is cheaper to send e-waste to China instead of following the rules of recycling processes in the U.S land. For example; in recycling of CRT (cathode ray tube), the costs of transportation of these hazardous materials are high. However, it is cheaper to recycle wastes in China. The study shows “the cost of glass-to-glass recycling of computer monitors in the U.S is ten times more than in China.” Although it is legal by exporting e-waste for the U.S under the basal convention, the recycling industries are violating the CRT regulations. According to CRT regulation, the U.S is allowed to send any e-wastes to the foreign countries. It is because CRT commonly contains two or five pounds of lead. GAO (government accounting office) investigated “43 U.S recycling industries were violating CRT regulations” in which materials are recycled in the Unites States. In addition, the U.S recycling industries are taking an advantage on where China has corrupt officials, weaken environmental law and desperate workers. Overall, electronic-waste recycling is constantly rising in China whereas electronic devices are produced in every year in worldwide. Although the government in China prohibit from importing e-wastes from other countries, e-waste recycling still exists. There are desperate workers who need money desperately for daily living. Therefore, they neglect the consequences of working at recycling site in which they can expose to different toxic chemicals. Second reason of growing ewaste recycling is having many corruption officials and careless environmental rules in town. Thus, sweatshop industries exist and, they can make profits from extracting gold and other valuable components from e-waste. Moreover, air pollution occurs from releasing toxic chemicals into the environment. Therefore, the consequences of e-waste recycling in China is having dangerous and toxic environment and increasing in concern of people and children health. http://www.terradaily.com/reports/China_e-waste_recycling_said_hazardous_999.html http://thejunction.net/justfacts/2009/02/11/worlds-electronic-waste-killing-chinas-people/ http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/toxics/electronics/the-e-wasteproblem/where-does-e-waste-end-up/

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100222081911.htm http://www.alternet.org/story/72529/?page=1 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/06/60minutes/main4579229.shtml http://www.fon.org.cn/greenchoice/index_eng.php?var1=content/waste/ewaste/ewaste_2.htm& http://www.terradaily.com/reports/China_e-waste_recycling_said_hazardous_999.html http://thejunction.net/justfacts/2009/02/11/worlds-electronic-waste-killing-chinas-peopl http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/toxics/electronics/the-e-wasteproblem/where-does-e-waste-end-up/ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100222081911.htm http://www.alternet.org/story/72529/?page=1 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/06/60minutes/main4579229.shtml http://www.fon.org.cn/greenchoice/index_eng.php?var1=content/waste/ewaste/ewaste_2.htm& Detrimental Effects (IHD) Among the long list of harmful heavy metals and carcinogens in electronic products are lead, mercury, cadmium, PCBs, beryllium oxide, polyvinyl chloride. This list does not include other trace substances found in electronic wastes that may be harmful when exposed in large quantities. It has been widely found that children are the most susceptible to these substances due to their body mass and easy absorption of these substances as their tissues develop. Lead is naturally found in soils in small amounts. In electronics, lead is usually used in solder and polyvinyl chloride cables that coat electrical cords. Lead is widely known for causing brain damage in both adults and children. Exposure to lead can lead to muscle weakness, small increases in blood pressure, severe kidney damage, miscarriages in pregnant women, decreased sperm production in men, and possibly death in children. It is not fully known whether or not lead can cause cancer, but animal studies have shown development of kidney tumors when exposed to different lead compounds. Mercury is often found in old television sets and computer monitors. Mercury severely damages the nervous system and the kidneys permanently. Exposure to mercury can also result in abnormal brain function and development in terms of irritability, shyness, tremors, changes in vision or hearing, and memory problems. Short term exposure to mercury vapors can cause lung damage, increase in blood pressure or heart rate, skin rashes, and eye irritation. Cadmium is a inorganic substance naturally found in soils in other forms (mostly as oxides and sulfides) and is extracted from the soil through the production of other metals. It is frequently found in batteries, metal coatings, plastic coatings, black and white television tubes, color television picture tubes for color, semiconductors, solder in electronics, and in polyvinyl chloride as stabilizers sets for color. Breathing high levels of cadmium can damage lungs and ingesting cadmium-contaminated foods can lead to severe vomiting and diarrhea. Long term exposure to

low levels of cadmium leads to a buildup of cadmium in kidneys and can possibly lead to kidney disease. Small amounts of cadmium can also cause lung damage, fragile bones, and possibly abnormal behavior and learning ability. Children are the most susceptible to cadmium since they easily absorb it, which can cause fragile bone development and lung damage at an early age.

Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) are used as coolants and lubricants in capacitors and transformers, which are in all major electronic products. Long exposure to PCB commonly results in liver cancer or biliary tract cancer. Women exposed to high levels of PCB are prone to having light-weight babies. Babies born to mothers with high levels of PCB show abnormal responses in motor movements and had a decrease in short-term memory. Some studies also show that babies born to and nursed by mothers exposed to PCB had weaker immune systems. In animal studies, exposure to PCB from food resulted in acne-like skin conditions and thyroid gland injuries. Beryllium oxide is a compound frequently used in semiconductor parts because of it's good thermal conductivity and electrical insulator. It is also used as a filler between silicon chips and metal mounting bases in computers or computer based platforms. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a common plastic that is usually used in the wrappings of electrical cables and wires. PVC usually contains stabilizers such as lead and cadmium for flexibility and softness in electrical cables and wires wrappings. The PVC itself naturally release dioxin and contains chlorine, and cannot be naturally broken down. PVC cannot be recycled because all the additives applied in PVC. The chlorine within PVC is linked to infertility, immune system damage, impaired childhood development, hormone disruption, and cancer. Humans and animals cannot efficiently “clean out” organochlorines from their bodies and accumulate in fatty tissue over time. Dioxins found in PVC also cause similar problems as chlorine. http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/materials/ecycling/faq.htm#impact http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2004/704/essentials/p70.htm http://www.nj.gov/dep/dshw/recycling/brochures/recycling%20brochures/ewaste.pdf http://www.lead.org.au/lanv1n2/lanv1n2-8.html http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/usa/press-center/reports4/pvc-the-poison-plastic.html http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-9604019_ITM http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/leadinfo.htm http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/toxics/polyvinyl-chloride/pvc-products/ http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/

The Service Project: Raising Awareness and Concern (DJ, CH, IHD) For our service project we wanted to focus on not just bringing awareness to the issues behind electronic recycling but also have people become genuinely concerned about those being effected by it. In most cases the best way to evoke sympathy from others is through the use of a form of media. Through doing some research we came across a recently filmed documentary called Waste Land. The documentary itself had just been nominated for an Academy Award so we knew that the content of the film must have been both inspirational and influential on society. The documentary Waste Land was filmed over a process of 2 years and follows Brazilian modern artist Vik Muniz in creating artwork out of one of the world’s largest landfills located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Although the film was not specifically geared toward the process of ecycling, it gave a clear overview of the detrimental effects the landfills have on society. The documentary portrayed the lives of the garbage pickers who are hired to rummage through the landfills for recyclable material. This particular lifestyle goes hand in hand with the adults and particularly children who are hired everyday in developing countries to sift through landfills of electronics. The documentary itself was helpful in exposing the working conditions and overall lifestyle of the hired workers. The original plan for the service project was to screen this film on Livingston Campus at Rutgers University (room 201B). We were able to contact the Arab Cultural Club who were willing to reserve the room for us. We extended invites to both our friends via Facebook as well as to Professors, specifically the Principles of Ecology course TA’s and instructors offered here at Rutgers. We wanted to give a short introduction about the issue (e-waste in developing countries) then proceed to watch the movie. After the movie which mostly focuses on landfills, we wanted to hold a discussion about e-waste and e-recycling if time permitted or even interview the audience members after watching to movie to see their reactions. Unfortunately when the day came we found out that although we booked the room without a fee, we had to book the projector separately. The fee for using the feature was too extravagant for the group to handle so we switched gears and decided to promote awareness for the film by creating a flier and sending it to different organizations to distribute. The following email was sent to several New Jersey based environmental organizations To Whom It May Concern, We are undergraduate students from Rutgers University currently working on completing a community service project for our Ethics in Society course. The main goal of this course is to bring awareness to a particular ethical issue prevalent in our world today. Our group chose to hone in on electronic recycling and the detrimental effects it is currently having on individuals,

particularly children, living in undeveloped countries. These countries include Ghana, India, China and several others. Every year hundreds of thousands of ‘recycled’ electronics are illegally transported from the United States and Europe and dumped into landfills located in these underdeveloped countries. It is there that children are hired for little pay to rummage through the electronics in order to retrieve the previous metals they contain in order to be sold. The build up and burning of electronics expose those living near these landfills to harmful heavy metals and carcinogens such as mercury, lead, and cadmium all of which are extremely detrimental to one’s health. In order to bring awareness to this topic and the overall issue of landfills we invite you to watch the Academy Award nominated documentary, Waste Land. Waste Land was filmed over a process of 2 years and follows Brazilian modern artist Vik Muniz as he creates artwork out of one of the world’s largest landfills located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This inspirational documentary portrays the lives of the garbage pickers who are hired to rummage through the landfills for recyclable material. This particular lifestyle goes hand in hand with the adults and particularly children who are hired everyday in under-developing countries to sift through landfills of electronics. By watching this documentary we hope to bring awareness to this issue and have those who watch it think twice about where their recyclable materials are going. The documentary is available for purchase on Amazon, iTunes and NetFlix for a small sum. Attached to this email is a flier we have created which advertises this documentary. Please feel free to distribute this to whomever you feel would want to bring awareness to this pressing issue. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Dinah Jammal Connie Hwang I Han Du Nilar Win This email was sent to the following organization representatives: Garden State Earth Institute [email protected]

Association of New Jersey Recyclers [email protected] - Recycling Coordinator NJ Department of Environmental Protection

[email protected]

INFORM- Building Environmental Literacy - this non profit organization based in New York has a specific section on their website dedicated to this issue: [email protected]

New Jersey School of Conservation - Montclair University Dr. William Thomas - [email protected] The Green Party of New Jersey - Personal and Global Responsibility [email protected]

Alliance for New Jersey Environmental Education [email protected]

Rutgers EcoComplex [email protected]

Electronics Take Back Coalition [email protected]

Waste Solutions Web Centre [email protected]

Forums: we also submitted a blog about E-Cycling and Waste Land to the following forums Environmental Issues Forum (currently awaiting approval) http://environment.about.com/

Environmental Law Forum http://www.topix.com/forum/law/environmental/TR287O0L4BKHL479E#lastPost

Editorials Connie Hwang Submitted to: Popular Mechanics Title: Where does our old electronics go? America is considered to be one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world. New phones, laptops, tablets, and televisions are being produced at an alarming rate replacing the

previous generation of electronics. It’s easy to throw the old phone and ancient computer screens to a local trash company, but what many people don’t know, is what happens to these electronics. Even those companies who claim that they “e-recycle” are often sending the waste to the same places that are being thrown away by trash companies. Often times, the previous generations of technology piles up in developing countries like Ghana and China. Children in Ghana pull apart the plastic cases and “cook” the wires and metals to salvage the precious metals. Their lagoon which was one blue and filled with water is now filled with electronic waste. The electronics that still work are sold to those who can afford them in the developing countries. Criminals are able to rummage through the products for sale and pick up hard drives or CPUs and expertly search through them to find out personal information that might be unnoticed by an untrained eye. Credit card numbers and social security numbers are used to the criminals’ advantage. Ghana is now the number one country where the most cyber crimes are originating from. It’s important to protect yourself as well as the developing countries. Doing a quick check on the e-recycling companies background and reputation can lessen the landfills in foreign countries and protect your personal information. ______________________________________________________________________________ I Han Du Submitted to: The Daily Targum To Whom It My Concern, The consumer culture in this country urges us to throw away the old and usher in the sleek, new televisions, computers, laptops, phones, and other electronics. Most people are simply too lazy to actually recycle or people have not been informed of the locations of their local electronic recycling center. They either dump their electronics on the curb or at a large garbage collection area for the sake of convenience. What they don't know is that they are poisoning themselves and/or other people overseas. Heavy metals and carcinogens are often found in electronic waste that can easily leak out and contaminate our food supply, water supply, environment, and our bodies. Some of the commonly found chemicals include lead, mercury, cadmium, P.C.B.s, beryllium oxide, polyvinyl chloride. Lead is found in electrical solder and cables that coat electrical cords. Exposure to lead can lead to muscle weakness, small increases in blood pressure, severe kidney damage, miscarriages in pregnant women, decreased sperm production in men, and possibly death in children. Studies show that lead may cause kidney tumors. Another commonly known heavy metal is mercury. Mercury is often found in old television sets and computer monitors. It can severely damage the nervous system and the kidneys permanently. Cadmium is a lesser known element frequently found in batteries, metal coatings, plastic coatings, black and white television tubes, color

television picture tubes for color, semiconductors, solder in electronics, and in polyvinyl chloride as stabilizers.sets for color. Long term exposure to low levels of cadmium leads to a buildup of cadmium in kidneys and can possibly lead to kidney disease. Exposure of cadmium to children can cause fragile bone development and lung damage. Polychlorinated biphenyl (P.C.B.) are used as coolants and lubricants in capacitors and transformers, which are in all major electronic products. Exposure to PCB commonly results in liver cancer, biliary tract cancer, women having light-weight babies with impaired motor function and short-term memory. Beryllium oxide is used in semiconductor parts because of it's good thermal conductivity and electrical insulator. It is also used as a filler between silicon chips and metal mounting bases in computers or computer based platforms. Polyvinyl chloride (P.V.C.) is a common plastic that is usually used in the wrappings of electrical cables and wires. PVC usually contain stabilizers such as lead and cadmium for flexibility and softness in electrical cables and wires wrappings. PVC cannot be recycled because all the additives applied in PVC won't break down. The chlorine within PVC is linked to infertility, immune system damage, impaired childhood development, hormone disruption, and cancer. Instead of turning a blind eye to the threatening possibility that these chemicals can be leaked into our environment or someone else's environment, change can occur by simply encouraging people to find their local electronic waste recycling centers. By informing you, we hope that you can pass along the message and motivate more to change their attitudes towards electronic recycling. Thank you for your time. ______________________________________________________________________________ Dinah Jammal Submitted to: The Los Angeles Times via email on 3/22/2011 Title: The Truth Behind E-Waste It has been reported that over 85% of Americans today own a cell phone and 52% own a laptop device. Ultimately, it is safe to say that Americans love electronics. With the recent booming of technology and the increase of electronic consumption, environmentalists have introduced the concept of electronic recycling, otherwise known as E-cycling. This process has given Americans a ‘greener’ alternative to simply just throwing away the rare metals that comprise their electronics. But where do these electronics really go? The reality is that many Americans do not know or simply do not think to ask. In actuality, several green initiatives toward keeping the environment clean have been geared toward keeping the American environment clean and exporting the electronic waste out of the USA and into other countries, primarily Ghana, China and India. These countries are treated as dumping grounds for our ‘recycled’ electronics exposing their populations to toxic chemicals such as lead, mercury and cadmium that is completely polluting their environment. On the other side of things Americans, thinking their electronics are being recycled, fail to erase their personal information, such as banking and credit

card numbers, which could very easily fall into the wrong hands. The e-waste process lacks in strict regulation and companies with false claims of distribution should be held accountable for the illegal exportation of e-waste and the detrimental effects that have resulted from it. ______________________________________________________________________________ Nilar Win Submitted to: The New York Times Developed countries like United States dump electronic wastes (e-wastes) to China; Thus, China is dealing with the consequences of e-waste recycling. It is surprising that country like the United States dispose e-wastes to China. The question arises is why recycling companies in the United States do that? The cost of shipping to China is much cheaper than having recycling ewastes in here. It is also legal for the United States to dispose e-wastes to other countries under Basel Convention. On the other hand; although it is approved by the Basel Convention, it is not agreed by CRT regulations. The regulation says – the U.S is not allowed to send any e-wastes to foreign countries. It is because CRT mostly contains lead. However, the recycling industries are taking advantages of China’s weak part. China has corrupt officials, desperate workers and weak environmental laws. Because of the corrupt officials, many e-waste recycling places exist in some parts of the China. Most e-waste recycling is done in a small town called Guiya where piles of e-wastes are all over the places, and the streets are full with many workers. In Guiya, workers are desperate to have a job. People are poor, and they rely mostly on the e-waste recycling jobs where they make good money. However, e-waste recycling site is the most dangerous place to work because old electronic devices contain hazardous substances. Most hazardous are Lead, Cadmium, mercury, hexvalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDEs). For desperate workers, they ignore the fact that e-wastes are toxic while they are more concern about money and daily life. In addition, the law is not seriously taken on environmental issue; so many e-waste recycling sites are increasing in different areas of China. In e-waste recycling, I think it can be consequences for both people and the environment that they live in. Workers can be directly exposed to the toxic substances. Then, children who plays near the site of e-waste can also be exposed to toxic chemicals, such as Lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium, polyvinyl chlorides. In Guiya, children suffer from the lead poising. Moreover, many dangerous chemicals are released into the air and into the environment when electronic devices are burned by different techniques. Anything burned can be released toxins into the environment. Therefore, it creates toxic environment and air pollution.