EKOS Communications, Inc.

The following headline on the BBC News website caught my eye this morning: "UN warns on e-waste mountain." Perhaps it is because I had recently watched "Manufactured Landscapes" - a superb Canadian documentary that featured many depressing scenes of poor Chinese people picking through massive piles of electronic waste (e-waste).(1) The commentary in the film stated at much of this waste came from the world's wealthiest nations, a fact supported by the United Nations Environment Program which has estimated that they generate up to 50 million tonnes of discarded electronic products annually. (2)

To gain an appreciation of the immensity of this problem, wrap your head around these statistics (as provided by eWaste Canada)(3):

"Americans and Canadians are buying more computers than people in any other nation. Currently over 50% of US and Canada households own a computer."

"Computer junking is also happening at a faster rate. The lifespan of computers is decreasing. In 1997 the average lifespan of a computer tower was 4 - 6 years and computer monitors 6 - 7 years. This will soon fall to 2 years before 2005."

"By the year 2005, one computer will become obsolete for every new one put on the market."

Writing for Wired News, Charles Mandel estimated that some 500 million computers could've ended up in the garbage over the past three - four years in the US alone. (4)

Meanwhile in Canada, the problem is no less serious. In 2003, Environment Canada estimated that "more than 140,000 tonnes of computer equipment, phones, televisions, stereos and small home appliances" were ending up in municipal landfills across the country.(5) To put that number into perspective, they stated that it was equivalent to 28,000 adult elephants "or enough crushed waste to fill up the Toronto Skydome every 15 years."(6)

Needless to say, all of this e-waste is laced with toxic substances such as lead, cadmium and mercury which present grave threats to the environment and people. Currently much of it ends up in countries such as China and India instead of being recycled properly.

However, this is changing, at least in Canada. In 2003, the Electronic Products Stewardship Canada was launched "to design, promote and implement sustainable solutions for Canada's electronic waste problem" with the active involvement of such industry giants as Apple Canada Inc., Brother International Corporation (Canada) Ltd, Canon Ltd, IBM Canada Ltd, Dell Canada, LG Electronics Canada, Sony of Canada, plus several others.(7) Also the provinces are beginning to enact legislation and policies to address the issue. Both Alberta and Ontario have done so, and currently my home province of British Columbia is considering doing so.

So what should you do with unwanted electronic products? First thing, check the manufacturer's website to see if they have programs for taking back their products for recycling (see list below for some of the programs). Also, check the website of the retail outlet where the electronic product was purchased, as they, too, may have a take-back program for recycling. A third source for information on what can be done with e-waste locally is the solid waste management division/department of municipalities or counties.

In each and every case, it wouldn't hurt to inquire, first, as to where the collected e-waste is shipped and how it is handled, if this information is not readily provided on the company's website. A letter or e-mail to the appropriate senior executive may be all that is necessary to get further needed information or to spur the adoption of take-back recycling programs.

References:

(1) "Manufactured Landscapes" mongrel media. http://www.mongrelmedia.com/films/ManufacturedLandscapes.html

(2) "UN warning on e-waste mountain" BBC News posted Monday, Nov. 27, 2006. Retreived Nov. 27, 2006 from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6187358.stm

(3) eWaste Canada website. Posted: n.d.. Retrieved Nov. 27, 2006 from http://www.ewastecanada.ca

(4)Mandel, Charles. "Canada Wrestles With E-Waste Fix" Wired News. Posted Mar. 11, 2003. Retrieved Nov. 27, 2006 from http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,57990,00.html

(5)Mounting Concerns Over Electronic Waste" EnviroZine. Environment Canada's On-line Newsmagazine. Issue 33. June 26, 2003. Retrieved Nov. 27, 2006 from http://www.ec.gc.ca/envirozine/english/home_e.cfm

(6) Ibid.

(7) Electronics Product Stewardship Canada website. Posted: n.d. Retrieved Nov. 27, 2006 from http://www.epsc.ca/index.html

Related Links:

Apple Canada. http://www.apple.com/environment/recycling/nationalservices/us.html

Canon Canada Inc. http://www.canon.ca/english/index-thecleanearth.html

Dell Canada. http://www1.ca.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/ dell_recycling?c=ca&cs=CADHS1&l=en&s=dhs

Electronics Product Stewardship Canada. http://www.epsc.ca

Encorp Pacific. http://www.encorpinc.com

Hewlett-Packard Development Company. https://warp1.external.hp.com/Recycle/index.asp?__cc=ca&__la=en