[11월호, 2020년] Count how many times you changed your electronics - 6기 장윤설

 

Count how many times you changed your electronics

 

On October 13^th 2020, Apple released the new iPhone 12 excluding wall chargers and wired earbuds in aims to be more environmentally friendly and to reduce e-waste ^[2]. Not to mention in previous years, Apple had already implemented a trade-in program, a Material Recovery Lab to enhance recycling methods, and even designed a robot that can recover valuable materials as iPhones are disassembled ^[3].

Continuing their efforts to recycle and reuse resources, Apple included fewer accessories with the new iPhone 12. By doing so, the company saves costs and cuts down greenhouse gas emissions; it’s a win-win for both the business and the planet.

 

Yet, it’s not this simple. Customers who don’t have earphones and chargers will buy new ones. This implies more packaging and separate deliveries, increasing carbon footprint. Despite Apple’s sustainability initiatives of making big cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, e-waste generation is ironically becoming ceaseless.

 

“You can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs.”

 

Thanks to technological advancements, our lives have become easier, simpler, and faster in many ways: better communication means, enhanced learning techniques, efficient productivities, and so much more. While all these activities are worth praising, they all came with a cost: e-waste.

 

Bags of electronic parts await recycling at a warehouse in Beringen, Belgium, July 13, 2018

(AP photo by Geert Vanden Wijngaert) ^[3]

 

On average, people change their cell phones every two years, laptops every two to four years, and televisions every five to 10 years ^[1]. As these replacements occur, people are unaware of their contribution to e-waste generation and its potential adverse effects on human health and ecosystems. Now, e-waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the world ^[6].

 

 

Dangers of E-Waste ^[7]

 

There are more than 1,000 different hazardous chemicals in e-waste. Toxic pollutants contaminate the environment by travelling through the ecological food chain and have a detrimental effect on human bodies and ecosystems. Toxins bioaccumulate in the food chain, disrupting nervous systems and water quality ^[6]. As 71% of Earth’s surface is covered with water, bioaccumulation, resulting in water pollution, negatively affects marine life and humans as well, since we consume water and eat meat or fish.

 

Breakdown of global e-waste generation by 2019 ^[5]

 

According to the UN’s Global E-Waste Monitor, the total weight of e-waste (from 2014 levels) will double by 2030. The more alarming fact is that only 17.4% of global e-waste is properly documented and more than 50% are not documented because they have been disposed of in a non-environmentally sound way ^[5].

 

6 down. 11 to go.

How E-Waste contributes to the SDGs ^[5]

 

E-waste is omnipresent and generated everywhere. It presents a global significant challenge to our planet, as e-waste management tackles 6 out of 17 SDGs. Companies and the government are designing new solutions to attain the UN’s goal of reaching net-zero emissions globally by 2050. For instance, Tesla is attempting to replace cobalt, a costly and non-organic material, in its electric vehicles. The CEO of Tesla has announced to grant contracts to other companies that “mine nickel efficiently and in an environmentally sensitive way.” ^[4]

 

Large companies like Apple and Tesla are taking initiatives but recycling e-waste is expensive and the market for recycled material is limited. Countries have adopted national e-waste policies but the enforcements are poor. 78 countries are covered by legislation but there remain 115 countries uncovered. There’s a long way to go but first,

 

count how many times you changed your electronics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

^[1] “How Often Do We Upgrade Our E-Devices?.” ERI, 10 Sept. 2015, eridirect.com/blog/2015/09/how-often-do-we-upgrade-our-e-devices/.

 

^[2] Calma, Justine. “Apple Ditching Chargers Saves Costs but Not the Planet.” The Verge, The Verge, 16 Oct. 2020, www.theverge.com/2020/10/16/21519466/apple-iphone-12-chargers-airpods-greenhouse-gas-emissions-e-waste.

 

^[3] Cho, Renee. “E-Waste Is Taking Over the World. 5G Will Make It Even Worse.” World Politics Review, www.worldpoliticsreview.com/articles/29169/how-to-manage-the-world-s-growing-e-waste-problem.

 

^[4] Desai, Pratima. “Exclusive: Tesla in Talks to Buy Low Carbon Nickel from Canada - Sources.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 11 Sept. 2020, ca.reuters.com/article/us-tesla-giga-metals-nickel-exclusive-idCAKBN2621Z8.

 

^[5] Forti, Vanessa & Baldé, Cornelis & Kuehr, Ruediger & Bel, Garam. (2020). The Global E-waste Monitor 2020. Quantities, flows, and the circular economy potential.

 

^[6] Hossain, Md Sahadat & Al-Hamadani, Sulala & Rahman, Md. (2015). E-waste: A Challenge for Sustainable Development. Journal of Health and Pollution. 5. 3-11. 10.5696/2156-9614-5-9.3.

 

^[7] Short, Annabelle. “Understanding the Horrifying Hazards of E-Waste 101.” Blue and Green Tomorrow, 8 Nov. 2020, blueandgreentomorrow.com/environment/understanding-hazards-of-e-waste-101/.