Electronics recycling is often overlooked by consumers and system managers. Growing system capabilities and requirements or needs, require users to upgrade.
When these upgrades occur, most consumers and managers, do not have time or knowledge to resell or recycle their electronics. These common approach of replacing electronics and dumping their old counter parts has created enormous amount of waste:
About 13.1 million metric tons (Mt) of e-waste were produced by the United States alone. A record 53.6 million metric tons (Mt) of e-waste was generated worldwide in 2019, up 21 percent in just five years, according to the UN’s Global E-waste Monitor 2020.
Mismanagement of e-waste causes great environmental and societal harm. The components the make up most electronics are hazardous and usually end up in third-world countries. When these items arrive to third world countries, an informal/independent labor is used to collect and separate the electronics. Often, the electronics are collected by minors.
Handling of e-waste is relevant for information technology and information systems because as a manager of computer-based information systems, there will come a time to replace or renew the hardware within the system. What’s done after the systems are replaced, is usually up to the user or manager. Unstandardized procedures can cause mismanagement of e-waste within an organization.
Within our class, we talked about the digital divide and the serviceability or life of our electronics. Smartphones and tablets are glued together it makes them harder to be serviced and recycled. Manufacturers of these products have also been accused of creating software updates to slow down older units. What happens to our electronics is the other end of both topics. If our electronics are not reused or recycled, they end in third-world countries, where the digital divide is strongest.
Amounting e-waste generation.
Digital Divide – the ones with the least access to technology, deal with the recycling process for income.
Right to Repair Movement – Manufactures make items harder to repair/recycle.
As we strive to create a greener earth for generations to come, the mindset of consumers and manufactures must change to be sustainable. Consumers should look for value electronics with a long-life span and manufactures must make their items easy to repair and update. Consumers most properly recycle their electronics, and manufacturers should provide easy and convenient ways to do so.
Luis Gonzalez
10/3/21
References:
Global E-Waste Monitor
International Telecommunication Union
Global e-waste Statistics Partnership
Want to help the climate crisis? Don't toss your old iPhone, fix it
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