e-waste: problems, possibilities, and the need for civil society engagement

The explosion of ICT tools has not come without a direct environmental cost. Huge volumes of highly toxic tech waste – used computer monitors, keyboards, cables, circuit boards and drives; cell phones; chips from computerized appliances of all kinds - are being dumped in the countries of the global South. The percentage of waste that is technology-related is growing at an alarming rate. In a recent study researchers found that “the volume of e-waste is increasing by 3 - 5% per year, which is almost three times faster than the municipal waste stream is growing generally”. While the explosion of waste in general is a huge problem, the rise in e-waste is particularly troubling because such waste has been shown to contain many cancer-causing agents. For instance, carbon black in printer toner is a class 2B carcinogen and “beryllium is commonly found on mother-boards and” finger clips” as a copper beryllium alloy... Beryllium has recently been classified as a human carcinogen as exposure to it can cause lung cancer.”

Much of this e-waste is generated when entire computers are thrown out prematurely. The pace of technological change requires constant upgrading of the chips in computers, but many of the other components could be re-used. Swiss researchers hope for a change from the current state of the art in dealing with electronic waste, recycling, to partial re-use as a more environmentally friendly future development. They also argue that new re-use technologies could provide a source of new jobs in developing countries, and call on Civil Society to help by lobbying at the national level and in international forums for recognition of the e-waste problem and potential solutions.

In fact, the situation in the European Union and Switzerland is well developed in comparison to that in other countries, such as the USA. NGOs such as the Basel Action Network and the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition have called attention to the United States’ lack of adherence to the Basel Convention, which would regulate export of toxic e-waste and force manufacturers to deal with the worst aspects of the problem at the source, by developing new non-toxic materials. In Switzerland and in the European Union (WEEE), there are progressive laws dealing with electronic waste. These laws call for monitored, environmentally friendly treatment of used electronic components to recoup valuable materials.
However, these procedures are not an ideal solution. Instead, a combination of the following techniques would be preferable:
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repair
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re-use
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upgrading of existing equipment
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recycling
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use of safe materials in ICT in the first place.

Implementation of all but the last of these new procedures would require the employment of large numbers of people, and could potentially mean the expansion of a new economic sector in developing countries.

New initiative by Swiss researchers
A group of researchers, most of them in Switzerland, are appealing to the dignitaries who will be assembled at the World Summit on the Information Society, the first part of which will take place in Geneva, Switzerland, in December of 2003. Their appeal focuses on three key actions to reduce the negative impacts of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and to foster sustainable development and dissemination of ICT in developing countries:
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eliminate unnecessary standby losses of ICT equipment and ICT systems
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increase the useful life of ICT equipment
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build up a system of local collecting points and central disposal/recycling facilities for used batteries and electronic components

All of these steps, together with the trend towards partial re-use, are necessary but only partial moves towards dealing with the problems of e-Waste. Other measures that have been proposed imply slowing the pace of technological change, and thus are more complicated and also face resistance from powerful industry lobbies.

The Basel Action Network and the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition have produced a report entitled ”Exporting Harm: The High-Tech Trashing of Asia”. They emphasize that reuse and recycle are only stopgap measures - ultimately, incentives must be applied and laws must be passed to force US manufacturers to develop new, non-toxic technology. For example, the U.S. must become a signatory to the Basel Convention. Otherwise, manufacturers will continue to use cancer-causing materials in the production of ICT equipment, and the growing mountain of toxic e-waste will continue to be dumped in the poor nations, causing severe health problems for many years to come.
The problem of E-waste is also incentive for us to think about how democratising access to ICTs is more complicated than ‘placing a computer with access to the internet in every home.’ Democratic communication must also be sustainable communication.

Additional Resources

For an accessible introduction to electronic waste recycling, see Puckett, Jim: The Basel Treaty's Ban on Hazardous Waste Exports: An Unfinished Success Story, published in International Environmental Reporter, 23 INER 984, 6 December 2000, http://www.ban.org/Library/ierarticle.html

The Environment and ICT Working Group: http://www.wsis.ethz.ch/.

Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition: http://www.svtc.org