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E-Waste
Education Courses
In
recent years there has been a dramatic increase
in the use of electronic goods such as computers,
MP3 players, mobile telephones, entertainment systems
and gaming systems. There is now a disturbing trend
towards the minimum re-use or recycling of these
products with the disposal of e-waste receiving
minimal or no evaluation of social or environmental
consequences.
The
risk to human and environmental health is now becoming
a major factor in government decision making, demonstrated
by the recent directives of the European Union focused
on reducing Waste from Electronic and Electrical
Equipment (WEEE), and on the Reduction of Hazardous
Substances (RoHS). In order to manage this rapidly
growing waste stream we need to understand the flows
of electronic goods in society - from the perspectives
of consumer behavior (consumption and disposal patterns)
to the performance of producers through product
stewardship (design, re-use, product recovery, recycling
and disposal).
Given
these directions in e-waste The Natural Edge Project
in partnership with Griffith University and Dell
are undertaking the task of developing two courses,
available online, introducing and discussing the
challenges of e-waste in our society. These courses
will be designed to engage with our most influential
age bracket, that of youth, through both a high
school and an undergraduate focus.
These
courses will endeavor to facilitate learning to
help bring about changes in perspectives and values
regarding Australia 's e-waste issues, and highlight
the opportunities available to make a positive difference.
E-Waste
Education Courses
Course
One
Lecture
1: Techno Trash - An E-Waste Introduction
Overview:
E-Waste
typically consists of electronic products coming to
the end of their useful life, such as computers, televisions,
VCRs, stereos, phones, automobile and manufacturing
components. The huge range and complexity of component
materials in e-products currently makes it difficult
and expensive to dispose of or recycle them safely
and at a profit. Many of the materials used are of
high value and highly recyclable - such as gold and
platinum. However, many others are non-renewable -
such as plastic - and are currently either discarded
or recycled to form lower grade material. The biggest
concern with E-Waste is the presence of toxic materials
such as lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic, toxic
flame-retardants, printer cartridge inks and toners
that pose significant health risks. It is for this
reason that international regulations such as the
'Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment' and
'Reduction of Hazardous Substances' directives are
now being implemented. In this problem however lies
a significant business opportunity. Companies in Australia
and around the world, such as Dell and Fuji Xerox
Australia , are taking advantage of such emerging
regulations and consumer pressure to introduce recycling
and product take-back services as a means of achieving
an advantage over their competitors.
(Back)
Lecture
2: Digital Delights - Consumers and E-Products
Overview:
According to the European Commission, 'E-Waste is
the fastest growing component of municipal trash by
a factor of three'.
[1]
In 2005 the United Nations Environment Program gave
an estimate of 20 to 50 million tons of E-Waste being
generated every year world wide.
[2]
Short-life equipment such as computers and mobile
phones are the most problematic.
[3]
The number of personal computers worldwide, 'increased
fivefold - from 105 million machines in 1988 to more
than half a billion in 2002'.[4]
By 2005, more than 1 billion computers were being
sold each year while 100 million computers reached
the end of their useful lives, 75 million of which
were landfilled.[5]
(Back)
Lecture
3: E-Product Jujitsu - Shifting Design Methodologies
Overview: Lecture
three discusses the opportunities for shifting the
e-products design paradigm for product take-back and
remanufacture. To manufacture a single computer requires
about the same amount of fossil fuel, water and chemicals
as the production of a large car - making a 2g memory
chip requires 1.3kg of fossil fuel and materials.
Not to mention the hours of labour and associated
costs with labour, and add to this the future costs
enforced by forthcoming regulations of tariffing waste
to landfill. When so much money, effort, materials
and time is invested to create one-time products that
end up at the bottom of a rubbish dump, it's clear
to see that this form of environmental waste is also
an economic one. (Back)
Course
Two
Lecture
1: Responsible Actions - Product Stewardship
Overview: Many
developed countries now have some form of regulation
in place to combat the issues associated with E-Waste.
Many of these regulations were introduced to satisfy
the Basel Convention, to varying effect. The four
main objectives of the Basel Convention are: 1) to
protect human health and the Environment from the
adverse effects of hazardous wastes; 2) to minimise
the generation of hazardous wastes in terms of quantity
and hazardousness; 3) to dispose of them as close
to the source of generation as possible with the environmental
sound management approach; and 4) to reduce 'transboundary'
(between nations) movement of hazardous wastes. (Back)
Lecture
2: Dealing with E-Waste - Real Challenges
Overview: Overcoming
the issues associated with E-Waste faces several barriers
as previously outlined. The wasteful nature of the
design philosophy currently evident throughout all
industries has allowed practices and processes to
be embedded into our industrial system and changing
them will require creativity, innovation and commitment.
The linear 'cradle-to-grave' model, sometimes known
as 'take, make and waste', has formed large infrastructure
assets that need to be reassessed. In the cradle-to-grave
model, products are designed under the assumption
that their materials will be disposed of at end-of-life,
with virtually no account for resource reuse or recycling.
This practice gives rise to not only a tremendous
volume of waste, but also a toxic dispersal. This
unit will look at the hard edge of the real challenges
that face the early movers seeking to reduce their
environmental damage and improve performance. (Back)
Lecture
3: A Global Movement - Who is Doing What and Where?
Overview: Across
the world many countries have regulations and law
to respond to the challenge of E-Waste. RMIT &
Product Ecology
[6]
studies show that Netherlands , Sweden , Switzerland
and Denmark have either a landfill ban or material
bans in their take-back legislation; and that Norway
, Denmark , Belgium , Italy and Japan have either
collection and/or recycling targets in legislation.
Some of the strictest regulations are the European
Union's 'Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment'
(WEEE) directive; 'Restriction of the Use of Certain
Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic
Equipment' (RoHS) directive, and 'Registration, Evaluation
and Authorisation of Chemicals' (REACH). The European
Union's laws have influenced the governments of many
countries, particularly Asian countries where e-product
is manufactured, to introduce matching laws so that
their products can meet the standards for import into
the counties of the European Union. (Back)
Citation:
Hargroves, K., Stasinopoulos, P., Desha, C. and Smith,
M. (2007) Engineering Sustainable Solutions Program:
Industry Practice Portfolio - E-Waste Education Courses,
The Natural Edge Project, Australia. (TNEP)
References
1.
Schmidt, C.W. (2002) ''E-junk explosion', Environmental
Health Perspectives , vol 110, no. 4. Available
at http://eHP.niehs.nih.gov/members/2002/110-4/focus.html.
Accessed 4 May 2006. (Back)
2.
Brigden, K., Labunska, I., Santillo, D. and
Allsopp, M. (2005) Recycling of Electronic Wastes
in China and India: Workplace and Environmental Contamination,
Greenpeace International, p. 3. Available at http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/india/press/reports/recycling-of-electronic-wastes.pdf
Accessed
9 July 2006. (Back)
3.
Greenpeace (n.d.) Where does e-waste go? Available
at www.greenpeace.org/usa/campaigns/toxics/hi-tech-highly-toxic/e-waste-goes.
Accessed 1 May 2006. (Back)
4.
Worldwatch
Institute (2005) When your computer becomes toxic
trash, Worldwatch Institute. Available at http://www.worldwatch.org/pubs/goodstuff/computers.
Accessed 15 May 2006. (Back)
5.
Department of Environment and Heritage (2005) Electrical
and electronic product stewardship strategy, DEH,
p. 6. Available at http://www.deh.gov.au/settlements/waste/electricals/index.html.
Accessed 12 May 2006. (Back)
6.
RMIT & Product Ecology (2004) Electrical and
electronic products infrastructure facilitation,
RMIT and Product Ecology, p. 32. Available at http://www.deh.gov.au/industry/waste/electricals/infrastructure.
Accessed 9 May 2006 (Back)
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