Made in Taiwan. Buried in China. This presentation is based on; Krotoski,A. (2005).Made in Taiwan.Buried in China Retrieved from : http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/14203/page1/ The USA sends millions of tons of e-waste to third world countries every year. 80 % of the consumer electronics recycled through local organizations goes to the most impoverished villages in the world. The population welcomes this because disposal of the Western waste provides income and work for the local residents.

How bad is it? Discarded computers and other electronics are the fastest growing portion of the U.S. waste stream. By some estimates, there are between 300 million and 500 million obsolete computers in the United States, plus hundreds of millions of televisions. And between 20 million and 24 million computers and televisions are added to storage each year. Information on this slide taken from; Talbot,D. (2007). How to throw away that Broken ipod Retrieved from: http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/17968/page2/

Health Hazards The computers, mobile phones, digital cameras and MP3 players contain noxious chemicals. The destruction of which can trigger asthma attacks, respiratory infections, emphysema, cancer, blood and brain disorders and liver damage.

What makes e-waste so dangerous? CRTs are PARTICULARLY PROBLEMATIC CRTs represent ~1/3 of electronics tonnage Lead content may represent as much as 80% of toxic metals in discarded electronics Lead Content of CRT Glass Components by Mass (MCC 1996) Glass Color CRT Monochrome CRT Panel 0% - 3% Funnel 24% 4% Neck 30% Frit 70% N/A Computer monitors contain, on average, 2-5 pounds of lead TV’s, have on average, 4-8 pounds of lead (depending on age and size)

In 1998, seven million tons of e-waste was produced by the United States, this figure is seemingly increasing by more than 3% per year. Landfill costs and competitive prices from impoverished developing countries make it cheaper to send U.S. waste abroad than to keep it at home. This practice is frowned upon by international governments, yet the United States continues to ignore these directives.

Environmental Issues To get past Environmental Protection Agency regulations, vast quantities of recycled materials are separated domestically and then transferred through a difficult-to-trace series of buyers, sellers and brokers. There is hope that global pressure form organisations such the Basel Action Network (BAN) can change U.S policies, although it is unlikely. Retrieved December 9,2009, from the discover magazine website: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/betterplanet/files/2008/07/logo-epa-color.jpg

Progression This kind of trade has been made illegal across Europe. In 2005/6 two directives placed responsibility for e-waste disposal on the manufacturers. The Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) requires manufacturers to pay for the disposal of their own obsolete products and the Reduction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) bans certain chemicals being used in electronic goods. However whilst certain measures have been taken and new directives are being implemented it is unlikely that big changes will happen until consumer demand starts to affect manufacturers profits.

Bibliography Krotoski,A. (2005).Made in Taiwan.Buried in China retrieved from :http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/14203/page1/ Picture on slide 1 retrieved December 9,2009 form trade 2 save website : http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.trade2save.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/guiyu-largest-e-waste-site-on-earth-4.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.trade2save.com/blog/2008/04/08/a-mountain-of-waste-and-suffering-in-guiyu/&usg=__pRB1VEIS57WBZeXcZJVPA7Vhds0=&h=391&w=591&sz=107&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=MfrebMduQ49qdM:&tbnh=89&tbnw=135&prev=/images%3Fq%3De%2Bwaste%2Bguiya%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26um%3D1 Slide 2 ideas from Talbot,D. (2007). How to throw away that Broken ipod retrieved from: http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/17968/page2/ Picture slide 6 retrieved December 9,2009, from the discover magazine website: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/betterplanet/files/2008/07/logo-epa-color.jpg Video link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72LG0JG-9mo