The True Cost of Waste: Current Issues in Electronic Waste

Wednesday, December 5, 2018
11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Kay Boardrooms, Kim Engineering Building, University of Maryland, College Park

CECD/CALCE Book Release and Engineering for Social Change Event

Reception to follow after the event, along with a complimentary copy of the new book.

Our modern society’s hunger to adopt new technologies and discard them just as quickly is leading us to significant waste stockpiles. As electronics have become ubiquitous in our lives, we have failed to appropriately recognize the depth of their unintended consequences, particularly the disposition of these items at the end of their useful lives. The rapid obsolescence of electronic devices, as well as their continually lower cost, has led to higher turnover and more waste. Electronics companies are focused on profit rather than practicing better design for recycling in their products, and minimal research funds are being directed to the development of new technologies for recovery of crucial elements.

Of considerable concern is the relative toxicity of e-waste, which includes many heavy metals, phthalates, halogens, and other toxic materials. When unprocessed in the waste stream, they have the potential to create long-term ground, air and water pollution issues, resulting in illnesses and deaths worldwide. Issues abound with the lack of information on electronic waste flows, with the vast majority worldwide being unaccounted for.

Our own Environmental Protection Agency has little understanding of where our generated e-waste is, and our country refuses to ratify decades-old legislation to control waste exports to developing countries. With China’s new environmental protection efforts, electronic waste items are becoming a costly, international problem with no simple solution in sight. This talk presents the issues, the challenges and the future.

The book introduces the reader into the world of electronic waste, going beyond the popular headlines to examine the deeper issues of this growing problem. Beyond a general introduction to electronic waste, the changing nature of global trade is discussed, particularly given major developments over the past decade. A warning is sounded about future waste issues as society aggressively adopts technologies such as cloud computing, solar farms, and cryptocurrency, along with concerns about the greater trail of waste that will be generated by the growing global middle class. The significant human health impact of electronics disposal and informal processing is examined, along with current and promising material processing techniques. Cultural forces, an important factor in electronic waste generation, are discussed along with strategies electronics companies are using to keep consumers from repairing their devices. Public policy issues relating to e-waste are explored, together with promising future approaches and the important role of nonprofit organizations. Finally, recommendations are made to begin to address the current and future electronic waste crisis both within our home state of Maryland and beyond.


For more information on this event, please contact Dylan Hazelwood, CECD Assistant Director, at 301-405-5434 or at dylan@umd.edu.


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