When It Comes to E-Waste, Be Afraid—Be Very Afraid [View all]

[Sherman A1]

For every new laptop or next generation iPhone released, there are a slew of redundant old devices that wind up auctioned on eBay or donated to local charities. While some discarded electronics can be reused once or twice, eventually every product reaches the end of its lifespan, becoming electronic waste—or e-waste.

The rapidly growing inventory of outdated electronics fuels a growing e-waste recycling industry. Around 20 to 50 metric tons of this stuff is generated worldwide each year. Most of the developed world’s discarded devices wind up in Africa, China or India, where they are broken down to recover valuable materials. Most of this so-called recycling is largely unregulated and informal, and potentially serves as a major source of environmental contamination and a hazard to human health.

While we would like to think that recycling our old electronics is a socially and environmentally responsible action, the ultimate fate of e-waste and its impacts are not clear.

At the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in Boston, a panel of experts discussed what’s being done and what more is needed in order to better understand and regulate e-waste around the world.

http://news.yahoo.com/comes-e-waste-afraid-very-afraid-233112725.html