| E-Waste
Education Course One
Highschool
Level
Lecture
1: Techno Trash - An E-Waste Introduction
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.
1. A defining element of our modern Western developed
society are the electronics consumer products (e-products)
and gadgets that fulfil an increasing demand for
access to information, easier communication, improved
productivity and a more efficient way of life. Emerging
from the previous IT and electronics waves of innovation
is a cultural trend of being ‘techno-savvy’
– using the latest in technologies in all
aspects of lifestyle and business.
2. Around half of all Australian households now
have computers (estimated to be around 9 million
computers), and most on average will spend more
than $1000 per week on purchases and services related
to high-tech products such as mobile phones, the
internet and pay TV.
3. Household techno-consumerism is only one part
of the big picture – the world economy is
highly dependant on fast and reliable information
and communications technologies. Businesses make
it a priority to keep up to date with the latest
in technology to improve competitive advantage through
enhancing productivity, communication and information.
4. Recent research findings show a dramatic increase
in electronic goods use – in Australia and
internationally over the last five years. There
is also a disturbing trend of minimum re-use or
recycling, and E-Waste disposal with minimal or
no evaluation of social or environmental consequences.
5. E-Waste contains over 1,000 different substances,
many of which are toxic, creating significant health
risks and serious pollution problems associated
with disposal. These toxic substances include lead,
cadmium, mercury, and plastics, to name a few.[1]
6. With the recent directives of the European Union
coming into force on Waste from Electronic and Electrical
Equipment (WEEE) and on the Reduction of Hazardous
Substances (RoHS), there is now increased pressure
to understand the flows of electronic goods in society
– from the perspectives of consumer behaviour
(consumption and disposal patterns) and product
stewardship (design, re-use, product recovery, recycling
and disposal).
7. Currently, most E-Waste in developed countries
meets with one of the following fates:[2]
- Storage, awaiting disposal
- Sent to landfill or incinerated
- Re-used, either second-hand or refurbished
- Recycled at recycling facilities in the country
of consumption
- Exported to developing countries
8. With very little monitoring of E-Waste there
is a need for improving the data on E-Waste types
and volumes as this may encourage companies to look
to this growing waste stream as a valuable source
of resources.
9. The end of 2006 will see the adoption by the
European Commissions of a regulatory framework for
the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of
Chemicals (REACH) that aims to improve the protection
of human health and the environment through the
better and earlier identification of the properties
of chemical substances.
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Brief
Background Information |
Estimates
of E-Waste volumes
- Department of Environment and Heritage estimates
that:[3]
There
are approximately 45 million major appliances...
9 million computers, 5 million printers and 2
million scanners in households and businesses
across Australia of which 2.5 million are being
discarded each year. Of these 2.5 million discarded
units, 1.4 million are computers; of which more
than half, equating to almost 20,000 tons, are
sent are landfill
- ‘Australians have purchased over 40
million mobile phones in the past decade... including
7 million phones in 2004 ….and according to
the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association,
1.5 million were returned for recycling’.[4]
- In the US more than 100 million computers, monitors
and televisions become obsolete each year.[5]
Furthermore, about 125-130 million mobile phones
become unused every year, which is the equivalent
of 65,000 tons of waste.[6]
- Current projections estimate tremendous increases
in E-Waste volumes are still to come: ‘A
recent report from the International Association
of Electronics Recyclers projects that around 3
billion units will be scrapped during the rest of
this decade in the US – or an average of about
400 million units a year, 200 million televisions
and 1 billion units of computer equipment’.[7]
- ‘The U.S.-based research group INFORM
released a report last year that estimated that
by 2005, U.S. consumers will have stockpiled some
500 million used cell phones’.[8]
What is Australian Industry doing about
E-Waste?
A growing number of e-product manufacturers - Apple,
Canon, Compaq, Dell, Fujitsu, Hewlett Packard, IBM,
Lexmark, NEC Packard Bell, Toshiba, Xerox, Phillips,
Ericsson, Nokia, AT&T and Sony - have programs
that are beginning to respond to the challenge of
E-Waste through the re-design of products and processes
and recycling programs.[9]
Environment Victoria[10]
performed a review which scored of the top six computer
companies in Australia (which together have 58 percent
computer market share in Australia). The companies
were compared against best practice and received
scores out of 100. The results were:
1. Dell Australia and Dell New Zealand - 78.5
2. Hewlett-Packard Australia - 78.0
3. IBM Australia/NZ - 64.0
4. Acer Computer Australia - 39.0
5. Apple - 31.5
6. Toshiba - 22.0
Environment Victoria[11]
listed 11 computer refurbishers and recyclers in
Victoria even though there are only two major e-product
disassembly and reprocessing organisations in Australia:[12]
- ‘HMR has plants in the US, Philippines,
Malaysia, Vietnam and Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide
and Brisbane in Australia... While their core
business is computers, they also take back other
obsolete electronic equipment from industry, and
after testing will either resell or reprocess
it... Equipment that cannot be repaired and resold
is disassembled for recovery of components and
materials.’
- ‘MRI has facilities in Melbourne and Sydney...
Computers are either repaired for sale or disassembled
for recovery of electronic components and materials.’
However, the current rate of E-Waste generation
in Australia suggests that not enough is being done
and significant opportunities now exist. In contrast
to the extensive programs abroad, activity in take-back,
refurbishment, recycling and remanufacture of computer
and peripheral equipment by manufacturers in Australia
is limited. The optimal E-Waste minimisation strategy
for Australian industry may differ from that of
Europe and other parts of the world, as the Australian
Consumer Electronics Suppliers Association discusses:
The highly regulated approach taken in Europe
may not be necessary or appropriate here. We have
already seen how much can be achieved through
voluntary initiatives, albeit with the support
of government. What we do need is a much more
clearly informed direction from government in
developing a framework for managing product life
cycles, and a commitment from industry to develop
product stewardship programs that are real and
sustainable. In particular, we need to engage
with those sectors that have so far stayed out
of the product stewardship debate, for example
automotive suppliers.[13]
The Australian Information Industry Association
(AIIA) and Planet Ark Consulting[14]
show that companies are already seeing the benefits
of moving early to prepare for future requirements:
Computers are getting smaller and lighter
and increasingly homogenous in materials and technologies.
They are also easier to disassemble and the use
of toxic substances is declining with further
improvements predicted due to the commencement
of substance regulations... and other product
design legislation being introduced across the
globe. These directives [regulations and legislations],
while of significant importance, reinforce what
many AIIA members have already been demonstrating
in their own company ‘design for the environment’
initiatives. For example, in 1995, some of our
members started labelling plastics in their products
to facilitate the end-of-life recycling process…
AIIA and its members have an ultimate goal of
zero waste to landfill.
Selection of Take-Back Programs in Australia
Some of the few take-back programs include:[15]
- Computers: ‘... IBM has a range of product
recycling and end-of-life disposal programs in place
via Global Asset Recovery Services. In 2004, more
than 83,000 monitors, PCs, printers and servers
were resold through this program, extending their
usefulness. Of the 155 tonnes of old equipment IBM
scrapped in 2004, almost 84% by weight was recycled’.[16]
- Printers: Of the estimated 2,625,000 to 10,500,000
cartridges being sold each year, about 17 percent
are recovered.[17]
Close The Loop recycle printer consumables, such
as toner and inkjet cartridges, with zero waste
to landfill. Their new process sorts up to 12 polymers
types and produces pure streams of ABS and HIPS
plastics. Close The Loop is considering including
printer and photocopier housings in their recycling
operations. Their partners include Hewlett Packard,
Canon, Epson, Brother and Panasonic.[18]
- Printers: Hewlett Packard[19]
informs of a program that recycles printer cartridges.
This program is in partnership with Planet Ark and
Close the Loop, a recycling service provider. Up
until 2004, the program ‘has recycled
60,000 ink and toner cartridges, and helped to divert
269,000m3 of materials from landfill.’
- Printer/toner cartridges: In 2001 an Environment
Australia report pointed out that ‘Fuji
Xerox Australia has a program for return of printer
cartridges. Customers are provided with a recovery
box which is collected by arrangement with Fuji
Xerox when full. Ricoh Australia has also recently
introduced a service for take-back and recycling
of toner cartridges. While recovery of cartridges
in Australia is more widespread than these two programs,
these services are offered by recycling companies
rather than the manufacturers.’[20]
- The Mobile Phone Industry Recycling Program (MPIRP)
is an industry funded recovery and recycling scheme,
developed and co-ordinated by the Australian Mobile
Telecommunications Association (AMTA). The cost
of administering the recovery and recycling scheme
is covered by an AU$0.40/handset levy on the sale
of new phones.[21]
- ‘EcoRecycle Victoria funds Household
Chemical Collections (HCC) each month somewhere
in Victoria, in conjunction with Councils. In addition
to chemicals they accept miscellaneous products
including Nickel Cadmium (NiCad) batteries, automotive
and mobile phone batteries, fluorescent tubes and
fire alarms’.[22]
The challenge of poor recycling rates
Department of Environment and Heritage[23]
summarises recycling practices in Australia:
Some metals are recovered from major appliances,
but the remaining hazardous and other materials
(including lead, mercury and phosphors) are landfilled
as intact product or ‘shredder flock’.
Some estimates and examples of e-product recycling
rates in Australia include:
A limited survey of 100 South Australian households
by Göl et al. (EPA 2000) indicated that 46%
had yet to replace their first computer and, out
of those that had replaced their first computer,
approximately 40% had done so within five years
after their original purchase. The majority of
replaced household computers identified in the
study were either placed into storage (34%) or
had been passed on for reuse (26%), generally
within the family... The percentages will also
differ to, but are generally consistent with,
those identified overseas, as illustrated by estimates
from studies in Florida (Price 1999), which indicate
that of the total obsolete computers in the State,
approximately 8% are landfilled, 21% recycled
and over 71% are in storage awaiting disposal.[24]
The Government Accountability Office[25]
conclude that poor recycling rates in the US prevail
because, for consumers, throwing away products is
the cheapest and most convenient option.
Some estimates and examples of e-product recycling
rates in the US include:
More than half the old personal computers
replaced by consumers last year were put to productive
use instead of being dumped or stored away, according
to a nationwide survey by MetaFacts, a San Diego
research firm... The survey, conducted last year,
included 7,527 households and 2,500 workplaces
around the country. It found that 30.1 percent
of household respondents keep their old computers
and use them, 22 percent pass them on to friends
and 17.1 percent keep them in storage. An additional
8.9 percent donate the old machines to charity
and 8.6 percent junk them. Only 3.6 percent said
they recycle their old PCs.[26]
Less than 2 percent [of mobile phones] are
recycled – usually refurbished and resold
to consumers in Latin America and Asia, or disassembled
for gold and other parts, according to EARTHWORKS.[27]
1.
For a greater explanation see Gaulon, B., Rozema,
L. and Klomp, K. (2005) E-waste, Frank Mohr
Institute. www.mohr-i.nl/mawiki/E_2dwaste_99
(viewed 1 May 2006) (Back)
2. Puckett, J., Byster, L., Westervelt,
S., Gutierrez, R., Davis, S., Hussain, A. and Dutta,
M. (2002) Exporting harm: the high-tech trashing
of Asia, Basel Action Network, pp 6-8. http://www.ban.org/E-waste/technotrashfinalcomp.pdf
(viewed 1 May 2006) (Back)
3. Department of Environment and
Heritage (2005) Electrical and electronic product
stewardship strategy, DEH, p. 6. http://www.deh.gov.au/settlements/waste/electricals/index.html
(viewed 12 May 2006) (Back)
4. Bannerman, M. (2004) Phone
recycling claims called into doubt, Australian
Broadcasting Commission. http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2004/s1260911.htm
(viewed 7 May 2006) (Back)
5. Government Accountability Office
(2005) Electronic waste: strengthening the role
of the Federal Government in encouraging recycling
and reuse, United States Government, p. 3. http://www.federalsustainability.org/initiatives/eps/GAO-06-47.pdf
(viewed July 9 2006) (Back)
6. Earth Tones (2006) Environmental
Internet and phone company weighs in on e-waste,
Environmental News Network. http://www.enn.com/press.html?id=272
(viewed 27 April 2); US Environmental Protection Agency
cited in Konrad, R. (2005) Activists push recycling
to fight E-Waste, Associated Press in Environmental
News Network. http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=7578
(viewed 13 May 2006) (Back)
7. Puckett, J., Westervelt, S.,
Gutierrez, R. and Takamiya, Y. (2005) The digital
dump: exporting re-use and abuse to Africa, Basel
Action Network, p. 7. http://www.ban.org/BANreports/10-24-05/documents/TheDigitalDump.pdf
(viewed 12 July 2006) (Back)
8. O’Meara Sheehan, M. (2003)
The hidden costs of the e-economy, Worldwatch
Institute. http://www.worldwatch.org/live/discussion/81
(viewed 15 May 2006) (Back)
9. A summary of the variety of
E-Waste minimisation programs, including industry
associated programs; company programs; collaborative
R&D programs; office consumables programs; and
related industry programs can be found in RMIT &
Product Ecology (2004) Electrical and electronic
products infrastructure facilitation, RMIT &
Product Ecology, Appendix C. http://www.deh.gov.au/industry/waste/electricals/infrastructure
(viewed 9 May 2006) (Back)
10. Environment Victoria (2005)
Environmental report card on computers 2005: computer
waste in Australia and the case for producer responsibility,
Environment Victoria, pp. 22-25. http://www.envict.org.au/file/Ewaste_report_card.pdf
(viewed 9 July 2006) (Back)
11. Ibid, p. 32 (Back)
12. RMIT & Product Ecology
(2004) Electrical and electronic products infrastructure
facilitation, RMIT & Product Ecology, pp.
40-41. http://www.deh.gov.au/industry/waste/electricals/infrastructure
(viewed 9 May 2006) (Back)
13. Consumer Electronics Suppliers
Association (2003) Beyond the dead TV: managing
end-of-life consumer electronics in Victoria: a pilot
product stewardship project, Consumer Electronics
Suppliers Association, p. 19 http://www.cfd.rmit.edu.au/content/download/59/219/file/
TV%20Pilot%20Full%20
Doc2.pdf
(viewed 8 May 2006) (Back)
14. AIIA and Planet Ark Consulting
(2005) AIIA:
e-waste program development phase: report for discussion
and feedback, AIIA and Planet Ark Consulting,
p. 9-10. (viewed 9 July 2006) (Back)
15. Meinhardt Infrastructure &
Environment Pty Ltd (2001) Computer & peripherals
material project, Meinhardt Infrastructure &
Environment Pty Ltd, p. 37. http://www.deh.gov.au/settlements/publications/waste/electricals/
computer-report/index.html
(viewed 10 May 2006) (Back)
16. AIIA and Planet Ark Consulting
(2005) AIIA:
e-waste program development phase: report for discussion
and feedback, AIIA and Planet Ark Consulting,
p. 8. (viewed 9 July 2006) (Back)
17. Meinhardt Infrastructure &
Environment Pty Ltd (2001) Computer & peripherals
material project, Meinhardt Infrastructure &
Environment Pty Ltd, p. 28. http://www.deh.gov.au/settlements/publications/waste/electricals/
computer-report/index.html
(viewed 10 May 2006) (Back)
18. RMIT & Product Ecology
(2004) Electrical and electronic products infrastructure
facilitation, RMIT & Product Ecology, p.
48. http://www.deh.gov.au/industry/waste/electricals/infrastructure
(viewed 9 May 2006) (Back)
19. Hewlett Packard (2004) An
HP White Paper prepared in September 2004 in response
to the AGIMO discussion paper on environmentally friendly
ICT, Hewlett Packard. http://www.agimo.gov.au/government/enviro_friendly_ict/responses/hp
(viewed 6 May 2006) (Back)
20.
http://www.environment.gov.au/settlements/publications/waste/
electricals/computer-report/waste.html
(Back)
21. RMIT & Product Ecology
(2004) Electrical and electronic products infrastructure
facilitation, RMIT & Product Ecology, Appendix
D. http://www.deh.gov.au/industry/waste/electricals/infrastructure
(viewed 9 May 2006) (Back)
22. Ibid, p. 14 (Back)
23. Department of Environment
and Heritage (2005) Electrical and electronic
product stewardship strategy, DEH. http://www.deh.gov.au/settlements/waste/electricals/index.html
(viewed 12 May 2006) (Back)
24. Meinhardt Infrastructure &
Environment Pty Ltd (2001) Computer & peripherals
material project, Meinhardt Infrastructure &
Environment Pty Ltd, pp. 25-26. http://www.deh.gov.au/settlements/publications/waste/electricals/
computer-report/index.html
(viewed 10 May 2006) (Back)
25. Government Accountability
Office (2005) Electronic waste: strengthening
the role of the Federal Government in encouraging
recycling and reuse, United States Government,
p. 28. http://www.federalsustainability.org/initiatives/eps/GAO-06-47.pdf
(viewed July 9 2006) (Back)
26. Schoenberger, K. (2005) Many
old computers put to use again, study finds,
San Jose Mercury News in Environmental News Network.
http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=7618
(viewed 13 May 2006) (Back)
27. Konrad, R. (2005) Activists
push recycling to fight E-Waste, Associated Press
in Environmental News Network. http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=7578
(viewed 13 May 2006) (Back)
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