July 2017
FEATURES
Dear EarthTalk: What can we
do to solve the e-waste problem
caused by so many of us tossing
our cell phones out and getting
new ones every two years?
—Sandy Bartram, Beverly Hills,
Calif.
As more and more of the world
develops—and smartphones
become ubiquitous—electronic
waste (a.k.a. “e-waste”) is a bigger
problem than ever.
A ro u n d t h e w o r l d , p e o p l e
generate some 50 million tons of
e-waste every year, much of which
ends up improperly disposed of
in landfills where toxins common
in electronics, like lead, mercury
and cadmium, can leach out and
contaminate surrounding soils and
groundwater.
Much of the remaining e-waste
gets shipped off to developing
countries happy to profit from
taking others’ trash despite the
environmental consequences, or
even worse, just dumped illegally
into the ocean.
But thanks to consumer pressure
to do the right thing, most major
electronics manufacturers have
started to pay attention to the
problem and take action to reduce
the flow of e-waste.
Apple, for instance, long targeted
by Greenpeace and others for lack
of concern about the environmental
and health impacts of its sourcing
and production processes, has made
great strides in the last five years in
recovering customers’ old products
and reusing the constituent parts in
new products.
In 2015 alone, the company
collected some 90 million pounds of
Apple-branded e-waste, recovering
upwards of 61 million pounds of
material, including steel, plastics,
glass, aluminum, copper, cobalt,
zinc, lead, nickel, silver, tin and
gold, to re-incorporate into new
products.
Environmental advocates who
love their iPhones can sleep easier
knowing that lead, mercury,
beryllium, arsenic, PVC, phthalates
and brominated flame retardants
are no longer welcome in or will
soon be phased out of Apple’s
supply chain.
But most of us upgrade our
smartphones every two years,
so that means that even today’s
greener iPhones still contribute to
the e-waste problem. That’s where
Europe’s Fairphone comes to the
rescue.
By incorporating long-lasting
design and fair-traded materials,
ensuring good working conditions
and making products that are fully
recyclable, easy-to-fix and reusable,
Fairphone hopes to revolutionize
the smartphone market with its
eco-conscious products.
As the electronics industry
matures and moves toward more
sustainable components, that
combined with better design can
also help reduce the steady stream
of e-waste.
For instance, researchers at
Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory have come up with a
way to extend the life and boost
the productivity of lithium ion
batteries—the standard power
source in today’s electronics—
by treating their electrodes with
hydrogen.
Such a development could be
huge for preventing e-waste, given
that most of us toss our old phones
within two years when the battery
inside starts to deteriorate and
underperform.
Choosing carefully when it comes
to selecting your next smartphone
and recycling your old one for
free at BestBuy or through its
manufacturer are important first
steps in becoming part of the
solution to the growing problem
of e-waste.
Becoming an advocate by
The Southwest Portland Post • 7
Old cell phones can leak all kinds of hazardous elements into soils around landfills
and potentially contaminate nearby groundwater supplies.
(Photo by Steve St. Louis, FlickrCC)
encouraging others to do the same
is another way to greatly expand
your positive impact.
T h e n o n - p ro f i t e - S t e w a rd s
program is dedicated to teaching
people how to deal with used
e l e c t ro n i c s — a n d i n d i v i d u a l s
can pledge to become one of the
program’s Envoys to help spread
the word about the importance of
reducing e-waste.
Contacts: Apple: www.apple.com.
Greenpeace: www.greenpeace.org.
Fairphone: www.fairphone.com.
e-Stewards: www.e-stewards.org.
This column was written by Georgina
Guiney. EarthTalk® is produced by
Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is
a registered trademark of the nonprofit
Earth Action Network. To donate, visit
www.earthtalk.org. Send questions
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