Cole Switalski

Hour 5
21st Century Issues

Protecting the Future from E-waste

E-Waste Burning. Digital image. Io9. EMPA, 13 July 2012. Web. 20 May 2015.

Protecting the Future from E-waste

Introduction

Executive Summary

Actions/Solutions

Current Solutions
Proposed Solution
Project Description
Problem Statement
Driving Question
SMART Goal
Evaluation

5
6
7
8
9
10
11

Works Cited

12

Bibliography

13

Contact Information

14

Introduction
E-waste, short for electronic waste, is
the term used to describe any electrical
appliance that has reached the end of its
useful life. There are currently two main
paths for E-waste to take after it has
been disposed, it could be recycled or
thrown in the trash. Disposal will lead to
a landfill and waste of the precious
materials contained. It is estimated that
1 million recycled phones would contain
50 lbs of gold, 550 lbs of silver and 20 lbs
of palladium (ElectronicsTakeback). Ewaste given away to be recycled has
more options. It could be refurbished
and sold again if it's in good condition,
taken apart and sold as materials, or the
worst outcome, exported to a developing

country. This exporting of e-waste is a

major issue, while it is the cheapest and
most profitable option for recycling
companies it leads to improper handling
and irreversible damage to the
communities affected. The improper
handling of lead and other harmful
toxins contained in e-waste has lead to
areas like Guiyu, China, this is a place
where the water is black and acidic, the
air is a haze of chemicals and the
majority of children have lead poisoning.
As you can see, there are many issues
that can arise depending on where your
e-waste ends up.

E-waste landfill. Digital image. Mail in Mobile. Blogs.ubc.ca, n.d. Web. 20 May 2015.
A Chinese child sits amongst a pile of wires. Digital image. GreenPeace. GreenPeace, n.d. Web. 20 May 2015.

Executive Summary
Protecting the Future from E-waste is an
attempt to explain the current situation
of issues caused by e-waste and with it
educate the public on the importance of
making changes that will lead to a better
future. This white paper is also an
attempt to explain that the size of these
issues will only increase as time goes on
and stresses the importance of everyone
doing their small part to fix a big
problem. Protecting the Future from Ewaste suggests that anyone able and

willing follows the suggested solutions

that follow in this white paper. This
white paper also contains a description
of a project with the intentions of
bettering the e-waste situation. This
project cannot completely stop any
exportation of e-waste nor can it greatly
increase the collection rate of e-waste for
recycling. This project was designed
solely with the purpose of educating the
students of Chanhassen High School and
affecting their recycling habits in mind.

Lemmerman-Streifert, Jade. The growth of e-waste. Digital image. CCNY Tech. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2015.

Current Solutions
An intern at Indiana University hosted a
recycling collection event and conducted
a case study on the habits and motives of
people recycling (Knudsen). After
conducting several surveys they found
out that most people do not recycle
unless they properly understand the
importance. Of the people who did make
use of the recycling event, their main
motivators were the convenience of the
event, free recycling and desire to help
the environment. The event was held two
different years, 2009 and 2010. Hosting
easily accessible recycling events like this
is one of the current solutions for the low
recycling rate in the US, however, this
solution will not be effective unless

people are aware of that even and the

need to recycle. Another solution to fix
the low recycling rates is to ban
electronics from landfills entirely. This
solution is also ineffective because people
who are unaware or do not want to be
charged for recycling will continue to
break this rule. I also visited the St. Paul
location of our school recycler, Tech
Dump, to see how they operate. Tech
Dump is a non-profit organization that
offers job training for people who have
spent time in the justice system or had
issues with substance abuse. Tech Dump
also takes complete responsibility for any
data on the electronics recycled with
them.

Delta Institute. E-waste Legislation Map. Digital image. Managing E-Waste. Delta Institute, 2013. Web. 22 May 2015.

Proposed Solution
My primary solution is far simpler than
any government policies or collection
events. It is also more effective and can
solve both the landfill and exportation
related e-waste issues. I propose that we
put more effort into educating the
citizens of America on the importance of
recycling their electronics. Currently
everyone knows that things like bottles
and paper need to be recycled but when
it comes to electronics no one knows
what to do. If people were taught that
things like phones, laptops and monitors

needed to be recycled too then we could

raise the low recycling rate and also save
the many important resources they
contain. Another important part of this
solution is not only teaching people
about the need of recycling, but also the
need of recycling with the right people. If
people know to look into a recycler
before they recycle then recyclers who
use exportation will no longer receive the
e-waste to export and will be forced to
shut down as a result.

Electronic recycling. Digital image. Incycle Electronics. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 June 2015.

Project Description
In order to implement my proposed
solution at Chanhassen High School I
created four identical posters containing
information about the importance of
proper electronic recycling. These four
posters were spaced around the school
with two on each floor, and one per
grade level's hallway. The posters were
placed in areas that usually have large
numbers of students standing nearby

during passing time, this will work to

maximize the number of students who
get to read the posters contents. The
contents of the posters will hopefully
work to positively influence the future
recycling habits of the students who read
them. Two rough draft posters were
made before the creation of the four final
products.

Problem Statement
In order to protect the health of
the environment and people in countries
that are currently used as e-waste
dumping grounds we need to educate
people on how to handle the disposal of
electronic devices. This education must
inform people on the issues caused by
improper disposal as well as what proper
disposal looks like.

estimates that global production of ewaste grows by 5-10% every year

(stepinitiative). If people continue to go
on, unaware of the importance of giving
electronics to responsible recyclers then
the health of the world and its people
will only continue to decrease as we
throw more and more valuable but
dangerous resources away.

However, currently it is estimated

that only 12.5% of e-waste is recycled
while the rest is thrown away and taken
to a landfill, this is a waste of all the
precious metals found in electronics (US
EPA). Of the e-waste actually collected
for recycling it is estimated that 50%80% of it in the US is actually exported
to developing countries (GreenPeace).
While this method is cheaper for the
recycling businesses it has also resulted
in many technology graveyards
appearing across the world. These areas
are riddled with health issues such as
cancer and lead poisoning for the people
who have to live and work there.
Personal computers, Government
computers and even school computers
can be found in these places yet most
people are unaware that their thrown
away technology could end up killing
someone in a country across the world.

There are several proposed

methods for solving the issues caused by
e-waste. The most supported method for
solving the exportation issue is to put
more bans on the exportation of e-waste.
However, many people believe that
additional bans will not solve the
problem as people will continue to find
ways around them. Bans are also the
most supported solution to the low
recycling rate as well. With the way
things currently are many people are
making the choice between throwing
their electronics in a landfill in the US or
giving them unknowingly to recyclers
who will just ship them to be burned in
acid in a developing country.

As time goes on the amount of

technology being disposed will only
continue to grow as people throw out
their phones or TVs for a new model
more and more often. The US EPA

I propose a solution that will be

able to solve both the landfill and
exportation sides of the e-waste problem.
This solution is as simple as informing
people of these current issues and giving
them the tools to find a responsible
recycler. If people are informed on the
importance of recycling instead of
throwing away, and know to find out if
they are recycling with the right people

then e-waste will stop being exported or

wasted in a landfill. I plan to educate the
students of Chanhassen High School by
setting up a box for people to drop off
phones for safe recycling with Tech

Dump, a quality recycler I have

personally investigated, and putting up a
poster next to the box informing the
students on the importance of recycling.

"E-waste: The Environmental Crisis You've Never Heard Of." GreenCitizen. N.p., 27 June 2013. Web. 03 June 2015.

Driving Question
How can I find and make an attempt to and exportation, while still taking into
implement the best possible solution to
account the views and opinions of all
issues caused by e-waste, such as landfill people involved?

SMART Goal
Before June of 2015 I will implement my system that will inform people of the
best solution in Chanhassen High School current e-waste situation.
in order to make progress towards a

Evaluation
In order to measure the effects of my
posters on the students recycling habits I
made and distributed a survey to 15
students. This survey contained 3
questions Have you seen the 'Recycle
your Electronics' posters in the hall,
Did you have a chance to read what was
on them, and On a scale from 1 to 10
how do you think your future recycling
habits will be affected. Of the 15
students who answered the survey 8 said
that they had not seen the posters in the
hall and the other 7 said that they had.
Of the seven that had seen the posters in
the halls, 5 of the seven said that they
had gotten the opportunity to read the
contents while 2 said that they had not.
For the students who read the contents
there was an average of 6.8 for the
likeliness of impacting future recycling
habits. The 2 students who had seen the
posters but not read the contents
averaged at 5.5. In evaluation of the

implementation of my attempt to solve

the issues of e-waste, there are several
possible ways I can think of that would
have improved the outcome. The main
way to improve the outcome would have
been finding a different way to get the
information across to the students. By
using a poster it was difficult for the
information to reach students who have
to spend their passing time going from
class to class as they would not be able to
stop and read. One possible way to better
get the information to a larger section of
the students at Chanhassen High School
would be to go on the morning
announcements to share my findings and
convince people. Another way I could
have increased the impact of my project
would have been if I had put the posters
up sooner. By putting up the posters
towards the end of the year people are
more focused on finals and less on what's
going on in the halls.

Works Cited
Fact Sheet: Management of Electronic Waste in the United States. N.p.: US EPA, n.d. Web. 1 June
2015.
"Where Does E-waste End Up?" Greenpeace International. N.p., 24 Feb. 2009. Web. 01 June 2015.
STEP Initiative. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 June 2015.
Knudsen, Laura. "Electronic Waste." (2015): n. pag. May 2010. Web. 3 June 2015.

Bibliography
"Ghana: Digital Dumping Ground." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 03 June 2015.
"ECycling, Common Wastes & Materials." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 03 June
2015.
"Regulations/Standards | ECycling." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 03 June 2015.
"Following The Trail Of Toxic E-Waste." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, n.d. Web. 03 June 2015.
Strogen, Bret. "E-Waste: When Recycling Is Far Away from Being a Simple Solution." Academia.edu.
N.p., n.d. Web. 03 June 2015.
"Prison Recycling." ElectronicsTakeBackCoalition. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 June 2015.
"'E-waste' Becoming a Pressing Problem." The Spectrum. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 June 2015.
"Electronic Waste." WHO. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 June 2015.

Contact Information
Personal: switalski.cole3@gmail.com (Colton Switalski)
Mentor: alagrange@techdump.org (Amanda LaGrange at Tech Dump)
Organization: (612) 254-9563 (Tech Dump)
http://www.techdump.org/drop-off-location/