industryterm:e-waste

#bitcoin’s inescapable, inconvenient truth
▻https://hackernoon.com/bitcoins-inescapable-inconvenient-truth-da0f0219cda6?source=rss----3a814

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Bitcoin has a dirty secret, and the community rapidly running out of excuses for it.It’s time to start making Bitcoin environmentally sustainable.When Satoshi Nakamoto created the digital currency Bitcoin, he also decided there would never be more than 21 million coins. These coins would slowly be released over time, as a reward for those participating in the block creation process for Bitcoin’s underlying #blockchain. Satoshi described the “steady addition of a constant of amount of new coins” as “analogous to gold miners expending resources to add gold to circulation”, and noted that “in our case, it is CPU time and electricity that is expended”.Growing energy consumptionIt is unknown whether Satoshi, while writing this, ever envisioned the energy-hungry nightmare Bitcoin has become. Over the (...)

#renewable-energy #sustainability #e-waste

Can a gadget addict go green?
▻https://hackernoon.com/can-a-gadget-addict-go-green-66675aa4a5d1?source=rss----3a8144eabfe3---4

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Thoughts about kicking my conspicuous consumption habitFalling iPhone sales may be bad for #apple, but keeping old iPhones going is good for Earth (photo©babulous)A few days ago, I saw a news article that said iPhone users now wait four years to upgrade their devices. I can relate to that as my iPhone 6S+ is now into its fourth year. Despite being a gadget-lover, I delayed upgrading because of the tear-inducing prices of iPhones in India. An iPhone XS Max (64GB) that’s $1099 in US is almost 50% pricier in India at $1545 (₹1,09,900).However, people rarely do things because of a single reason. My other reason for delaying the upgrade is another snippet of news that I came across on the net. We are currently generating 40,000,000 tons of e-waste, every year.Seems that’s like throwing out 800 (...)

#recycling #electronic-waste #environment #conspicuous-consumption

Why ‘think small’ makes sense with TVs
▻https://hackernoon.com/why-think-small-makes-sense-with-tvs-e062d6f5537f?source=rss----3a8144ea

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Today’s huge, expensive 4K TVs will be dinosaurs in a year or twoIn India, the TV has long been the main source of entertainment in most homes, with the cellphone still lagging far behind. Most families religiously follow the daily melodramatic soaps that rule the Indian TV landscape. This explains why Indians invest in expensive models. But having shelled out good money, they expect those TV to last for ten years or more. That’s bad for TV manufacturers but good for the environment as India is among the top five e-waste generating nations.However the smart TV revolution is finally reaching India, and it’s ever so slowly beginning to change that mindset. I must confess I’m one of those FOMO-driven laggards who has just climbed aboard the smart TV bandwagon. The good thing is this means I (...)

#apple #android-tv #smart-tv #consumer-behavior #obsolescence

Electronics-Recycling Innovator Going to Prison for Extending Compu...
▻https://diasp.eu/p/7152379

Electronics-Recycling Innovator Going to Prison for Extending Computers’ Lives

[ ▻https://returntonow.net/2018/05/10/ewaste-innovator-prison ]

Eric Lundgren built the first “electronic hybrid recycling” facility in the United States, which turns discarded cellphones and other electronics into functional devices.

Known for building an electric car out of “garbage” that outlasts a Tesla, his company processes more than 41 million pounds of e-waste a year.

Lundgren has received international praise for slowing the stream of harmful chemicals and heavy metals into the environment, and counts IBM, Motorola and Sprint among clients grateful for his cheap refurbished products.

Unfortunately, Microsoft is not such big a fan of Lundgren’s work.

When he figured out how to recycle e-waste from China (...)

Low Design Office: ‘For our generation, the only way to be radical is to build’ | Thinkpiece | Architectural Review

▻https://www.architectural-review.com/area/profiles/low-design-office-for-our-generation-the-only-way-to-be-radical-is-to-build/10026766.article

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At Low Design Office’s Agbogbloshie Makerspace Platform in the scrapyards of Accra, Ghana, new into old takes on a whole new meaning

Often referred to as the world’s largest e-waste dumping site, Accra’s Agbogbloshie district provides livelihood opportunities and quick cash business to thousands of workers who disassemble digital detritus, from automobiles to hair straighteners to solar panels, and extract heavy and precious metals, often by burning electric cables. Ghanaian authorities have been attempting to evict the scrapyard-cum-market but, as pointed out by local organisations, this would only transfer the problem elsewhere rather than offer beneficial solutions in the long term.

#afrique #architecture #recylage

Electronics recycler fined $444,000 for illegally disposing of dangerous waste overseas | September News | Washington State Department of Ecology
▻http://www.ecy.wa.gov/news/2016/114.html

Electronics recycler fined $444,000 for illegally disposing of dangerous waste overseas
Total Reclaim sent TVs and monitors to China, exposing workers and environment to toxic mercury

SEATTLE – The Washington Department of Ecology has fined Seattle-based electronics recycler Total Reclaim Inc. $444,000 for illegally disposing of flat-screen televisions and monitors with fluorescent tubes containing toxic mercury. The company shipped the flat screens to Hong Kong, where they were broken apart in the open by unprotected workers.

“Total Reclaim has been a leading electronics recycler in Washington, so they knew what they were doing was wrong,” said Laurie Davies, manager of Ecology’s Waste 2 Resources program. “This penalty is a reminder that recyclers can’t take shortcuts when it comes to properly managing toxic chemicals.”

Total Reclaim’s actions were revealed in an investigation by the Basel Action Network, a nonprofit group that certifies electronics recyclers for E-Cycle Washington and similar programs. The Basel Action Network attached GPS tracking beacons to electronics, then dropped off the units at recycling facilities. The group followed some of the trackers to Hong Kong, and filmed how the flat screens were dismantled and disposed of.

Total Reclaim later admitted that it sent the flat screens to undocumented recycling facilities and that it withheld information from customers and auditors. The company provided records to Ecology that showed it shipped flat screens overseas beginning seven years ago.

Washington law requires electronics recyclers to either properly recycle e-waste themselves, or ensure that it is legitimately recycled elsewhere. E-Cycle Washington was set up to prevent the toxic materials in old electronics from ending up in the environment, whether here in Washington or elsewhere in the world.

The flat screens illegally disposed of by Total Reclaim represent a small portion of all of the electronics collected for recycling in Washington. So despite the actions of Total Reclaim, Ecology believes it is important to continue recycling electronics to keep lead, mercury and other toxics out of the environment.

Washington residents can recycle TVs, monitors, computers and other electronics for free at participating E-Cycle Washington locations. For questions about where other items can be recycled, call or visit 1-800-RECYCLE.

Total Reclaim has 30 days to pay the penalty or may file an appeal with the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board.

#déchets #environnement #Pollution #trafic_de_déchets

GPS Tracking Devices Catch Major U.S. Recyclers Exporting Toxic E-Waste
▻https://theintercept.com/2016/05/10/gps-tracking-devices-catch-major-u-s-recyclers-in-improper-e-waste-exp

A two-year investigation of electronics recycling using GPS tracking devices has revealed that policies aimed at curtailing the trade in toxic e-waste have been unsuccessful, with nearly one third of the devices being exported to developing countries, where equipment is often dismantled in low-tech workshops — often by children — endangering workers, their families, and contaminating the surrounding environment. A report from the Basel Action Network (BAN), a Seattle-based nonprofit devoted (...)

#GPS #géolocalisation

E-waste Republic

▻http://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2015/ewaste/index.html
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Jacopo Ottaviani

Photography and design: Isacco Chiaf

Over 40 million tonnes of electric and electronic waste (also known as e-waste) are produced worldwide every year. That is boundless heaps of refrigerators, computers, television sets, ovens, telephones, air conditioning units, lamps, toasters and other electric and electronic devices, with a total weight equal to seven times that of the Great Pyramid of Giza. The greatest producers of e-waste per person are the United States and the European Union, while developing countries, such as China, are producing an ever-increasing amount. Only a small part of this waste – about 15.5% in 2014 – is recycled with methods that are efficient and environmentally safe.

The West African country of Ghana, currently undergoing intense economic growth, is an important centre for receiving, re-using, recovering and disposing of electronic waste. Accra, the capital, hosts a thriving second-hand market, a sprawling network of repair shops, and a range of activities which attempt to tap into the full potential of e-waste. And yet, it is also the location of an enormous and heavily polluted electronic waste dumpsite.

#e-waste #déchets #déchets-électroniques #visualisation #cartographie

65 per cent of Europe’s electronic waste is stolen or mismanaged | New Scientist
▻https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn28114-65-per-cent-of-europes-electronic-waste-is-stolen-or-mismanage

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A two-year investigation into Europe’s electronic waste found that most of it is stolen, mismanaged, illegally traded, or just plain thrown away.

The European Union has guidelines on how to correctly dispose of unwanted electronics, like IT equipment, household appliances, or medical devices. But, according to a report published Sunday by the United Nations University and INTERPOL, only 35 per cent of electronic waste was disposed of correctly in 2012.

Meanwhile, criminals absconded out of Europe with 1.3 million tonnes of undocumented equipment, such as laptops, circuit boards, or refrigerators. The loss of functional components or the precious metals inside cost the European Union up to 1.7 billion euros each year, say the researchers.

#e-waste #environnement #électronique

Criminal Negligence ? « Discard Studies

▻http://discardstudies.com/2015/06/24/criminal-negligence

Trafic de déchets et criminalité, un rapport complet richement illustré !

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On 12 May 2015 the United Nations Environmental Program announced the release of a new report called Waste Crime – Waste Risks. Among the topics covered by the report is the global problem of discarded electronics or ‘e-waste’. After reading the report with a focus on the sections pertinent to our research interests, we feel compelled as scholars to highlight serious shortcomings of the report. For convenience, we identify three types of such shortcomings of claims made in the report:

Those that are falsifiable on their own terms.
Those that are founded on weak or non-existent evidence.
Those that are built on self-referential foundations of weak evidence.

In most instances, these three types of shortcomings operate together. Taken together they are, in our assessment, evidence of “corner-cutting techniques” (Rekdal, 2014: 1) that detach statements from their original sources and, in so doing, make those statements “look more solid and trustworthy” (Rekdal, 2014: 4) than they actually are. Statements derived from such corner-cutting are dangerous: they circulate as knowledge deemed to be trustworthy — or even more powerfully — as ‘common’ knowledge, despite their shaky foundations.

#environnement #déchets #criminalité

Where your computer goes to die: Shocking pictures of the toxic ’electronic graveyards’ in Africa where the West dumps its old PCs, laptops, microwaves, fridges and phones

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▻http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3049457/Where-computer-goes-die-Shocking-pictures-toxic-electronic-graveyards-A

#waste #ewaste #africa #Accra #ghana

A Global Graveyard for Dead Computers in Ghana by Pieter Hugo

▻http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/08/04/magazine/20100815-dump.html

#waste #photography #ghana

Old laptop batteries could power slums, IBM says - BBC News
▻http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30345221

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An IBM study analysed a sample of discarded batteries and found 70% had enough power to keep an LED light on more than four hours a day for a year.

Researchers said using discarded batteries is cheaper than existing power options, and also helps deal with the mounting e-waste problem.

#hummmm ! #e-waste #batteries #énergie #bidonvilles

Fitting e-waste into the circular economy | EurActiv
▻http://www.euractiv.com/sections/circular-economy/fitting-e-waste-circular-economy-302645
▻http://jpg.euractiv.com/files/styles/x-large/public/e-waste.jpg?itok=vMAEBU1n

Children grab toxic toys as e-waste chokes IT city - The Times of India
▻http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/Children-grab-toxic-toys-as-e-waste-chokes-IT-city/articleshow/34175691.cms

[Children] are paid anywhere between Rs 70 and Rs 120 based on the number of components they manage to separate from the equipment. Adults get paid Rs 500-800 as they work on more complex systems.

(...) Everybody here wants to be anonymous, but in reality, they work in broad daylight, employing children under the nose of law enforcers.

#enfants #e-waste #électronique #inde

Toxic ’e-waste’ dumped in poor nations, says United Nations
▻http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/dec/14/toxic-ewaste-illegal-dumping-developing-countries

The global volume of electronic waste is expected to grow by 33% in the next four years, when it will weigh the equivalent of [eleven] of the great Egyptian pyramids [=65.4m tonnes], according to the UN’s Step initiative, which was set up to tackle the world’s growing e-waste crisis. Last year nearly 50m tonnes of e-waste was generated worldwide – or about 7kg for every person on the planet. These are electronic goods made up of hundreds of different materials and containing toxic substances such as lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic and flame retardants. [...]

An indication of the level of e-waste being shipped to the developing world was revealed by Interpol last week. It said almost one in three containers leaving the EU that were checked by its agents contained illegal e-waste. Criminal investigations were launched against 40 companies. [...]

According to the Step report, e-waste – which extends from old fridges to toys and even motorised toothbrushes – is now the world’s fastest growing waste stream. China generated 11.1m tonnes last year, followed by the US with 10m tonnes, though there was significant difference per capita. For example, on average each American generated 29.5kg, compared to less than 5kg per person in China.

▻http://www.step-initiative.org/index.php/newsdetails/items/world-e-waste-map-reveals-national-volumes-international-flows.html

#dechets #e-waste #recyclage

Ghana’s poor eke out a living from toxic e-waste - Voices of Africa
▻http://voicesofafrica.co.za/ghanas-poor-eke-living-toxic-e-waste

More than five million pieces of second-hand electronics arrive in the West African nation annually, mainly from Europe, the United States and China, according to a 2012 report by Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Those not in working condition – about three-quarters of the shipments docking at Accra’s main port – are dumped at Agbogbloshie, the EPA says.

Over the years, the landfill has morphed into a toxic graveyard containing tens of millions of discarded electronics, or e-waste.

It has also become a source of income for the poorest of the poor who search for recyclable metals, like aluminium, copper and iron, that they sell to scrap dealers for a few cents.

Environmental and health risks
More than a quarter of Ghana’s 25-million people live under the poverty line of 1.25 dollars a day, according to World Bank data.

About 40 000 of them, including young children, live in the slum next to the dump and eke out a living from toxic e-waste.

“I lost my job as a security guard five years ago. The only way I can feed my family is by sorting through scrap. My son stopped going to school to help me,” explains Amenume, who hails from the village of Alakple, in the country’s north-east.

“We know we can get sick from the smoke. But if we stop working here, we won’t have anything to eat,” he adds.

#déchets_électroniques #déchets_toxiques #décharges #bidonvilles #récupération #pauvreté

Where Do Old Cellphones Go to Die? - NYTimes.com
▻http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/05/opinion/sunday/where-do-old-cellphones-go-to-die.html?_r=0

AMERICANS replace their cellphones every 22 months, junking some 150 million old phones in 2010 alone. Ever wondered what happens to all these old phones? The answer isn’t pretty.

In far-flung, mostly impoverished places like Agbogbloshie, Ghana; Delhi, India; and Guiyu, China, children pile e-waste into giant mountains and burn it so they can extract the metals — copper wires, gold and silver threads — inside, which they sell to recycling merchants for only a few dollars. In India, young boys smash computer batteries with mallets to recover cadmium, toxic flecks of which cover their hands and feet as they work. Women spend their days bent over baths of hot lead, “cooking” circuit boards so they can remove slivers of gold inside. Greenpeace, the Basel Action Network and others have posted YouTube videos of young children inhaling the smoke that rises from burned phone casings as they identify and separate different kinds of plastics for recyclers. It is hard to imagine that good health is a by-product of their unregulated industry.

Indeed, most scientists agree that exposure poses serious health risks, especially to pregnant women and children. The World Health Organization reports that even a low level of exposure to lead, cadmium and mercury (all of which can be found in old phones) can cause irreversible neurological damage and threaten the development of a child.

The growing toxic nightmare that is e-waste is not confined to third world outposts. It also poses health problems in the United States where, for several years, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has kept inmates busy processing e-waste. There are concrete steps the government, manufacturers and consumers could take to better dispose of electronic trash and to help prevent the pileup of more e-waste and the hazards e-waste processing poses.

The United States, for example, remains the only industrialized country that has not ratified the Basel Convention, an international treaty that makes it illegal to export or traffic in toxic e-waste. Fully implementing the treaty would be a step toward joining global efforts to contain toxic waste troubles.

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