The Environmental Injustice of E-Waste

What's Happening and What Needs to Be Done

By Matthea Najberg

        In a world where Apple slows down the function of old iPhones when new ones are released and AirPods eventually die after an hour, with battery replacement costing over half the price of a new pair, it is no wonder that electronic waste is the fastest-growing source of municipal waste in the United States. Sadly, the environmental injustices caused by e-waste are numerous. 

        For starters, electronics require a range of raw materials that need to be mined for. Raw material miners endure unsafe working conditions and experience increased risk of respiratory illnesses and mercury poisoning.

        Recycling may seem like a great solution to the e-waste problem, but it presents issues of its own. Of the 20% of e-waste that is recycled, 50-80% gets shipped to developing countries. Many of the products that are sent abroad are unusable, or the receiving countries lack the infrastructure to properly recycle the materials. The extraction of valuable metals from old electronics is a lucrative business that has resulted in informal yards cropping up where individuals and surrounding communities become exposed to extremely hazardous chemicals through unsafe practices like open-air burning.

photos from: http://www.arrayconsortium.com/potential-of-e-waste-recycling-remains-untapped/

        While the dumping of the Global North’s waste in the Global South is a potent symbol of environmental injustice more broadly, unfortunately e-waste also creates environmental injustice within the borders of the United States. Incarcerated individuals are incentivized to do this same job of taking apart old electronics by prisons that offer a higher wage for this position. Reports have shown that these workers are exposed to far higher levels of dangerous chemicals and face greater health risks than other incarcerated individuals, but knowing that they have a captive labor force, prisons continue this inhumane practice.

        As is often the case with complex environmental justice issues, solutions will require the efforts of consumers, corporations and other institutions, like universities. Although mining is a large source of environmental degradation and injustice in electronics, it may also be the key to solving this issue. A professor at the University of New South Wales has started “urban mining,” a process which extracts precious metals from electronics using robots. Within a couple years, this process is expected to become so profitable that consumers may even get money back for returning their used electronics.

        The “right-to-repair” movement is one way consumers can make their voices heard when it comes to e-waste issues. This movement lobbies for new laws that would increase consumer access to manuals and official parts to repair electronics themselves, while also forcing companies to increase warranties and design products that are easier to repair. The movement has gained a lot of traction, but due to lobbying by electronics companies, none of the proposed bills have been passed. Groups like repair.org outline some ways individuals can support this movement.

        At a behavior and purchasing level, consumers can buy electronics with multiple functions and extend the life of their electronics by buying a case for them, keeping them clean and not overcharging the battery. At Macalester, students can bring larger electronics to the IT Help Desk in Humanities 314 and smaller items like radios, cellphones and computer parts to the mailroom in the basement of the Campus Center for recycling. From here, Macalester works with a company called Tech Dump, which refurbishes and resells many electronics and processes the remaining materials in the United States.

Sources: 

https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1038&context=delpf

https://green.harvard.edu/tools-resources/how/6-ways-minimize-your-e-waste

http://www.electronicstakeback.com/toxics-in-electronics/wheres-the-harm-extraction/

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/10/apple-airpod-battery-life-problem-shows-need-for-right-to-repair-laws.html