Understanding the Problem of Electronic Waste Generation
Electronic waste happens to be one of the largest and fastest growing segments in the Australian mainstream. Electronic waste encompasses all types of unused, broken, obsolete and outdated electronic products, components, devices and materials. Additionally, electronic waste also refers to products that can be recycled, that is, the electronic goods that can be recycled, salvaged, resold or reused whenever necessary (Agamuthu et al., 2015). Some of the well known electronic products that can be recycled easily and transformed into another form of electronic waste are DVD’s, landline telephones, CD players, cameras, VCR’s, television sets, videos, stereos, fax machines, printers, scanners, photocopiers, laptop computers, computers or CPU’s, computer monitors, pagers and PDA’s among others (Barletta et al., 2016). This report identifies the various problems associated with electronic waste generation and outlines different solutions as well as a proper implementation plan for electronic waste management in the Australian city of Sydney. The report concludes with a number of recommendations as to how electronic waste management can be most effectively carried out, as well as sustained in Sydney, over the long term.
Reduce, recycle and reuse are some of the terms that are very commonly associated with items such as glass, plastic and paper. It is well accepted by all and sundry that these are items that need to be recycled and the global impact of allowing such items to remain lying around and get absorbed into the environment can prove to be quite dangerous (Brunner et al., 2016). When it comes to electronic waste, its production and existence is highly dangerous for the environment as well but it is rarely thought of as such largely due to the fact that it is packaged in a way that does not make it seem dangerous. The appealing and sleek exteriors of electronic products makes it difficult for people to actually view them as well (Chaudhary et al., 2017). Old television sets and laptop computers are useless in terms of their utility value but they are not an eyesore and don’t smell bad hence people don’t really regard these as waste. The appearance of an old laptop or television set is also not toxic in nature so it is hard for people to understand that these are products which are also harmful for the environment and need to be recycled or reused in a different form rather than kept lying around (Chen et al., 2018). Electronic scrap materials like CPU’s are known to contain very harmful components such as lead, beryllium, cadmium, and brominated flame retardants. Some additional components like arsenic and mercury may also be present. The elements that are present in the CPU’s are those that are capable of generating a very severe and dangerous impact on human beings if they are allowed to come into contact with such components through exposure. It is therefore necessary to get such electronic waste recycled immediately in order for it to not have the toxic impact that would otherwise be inevitable if kept unattended to (Edwards et al., 2017).
Mind Map on E Waste Management
If electronic waste products like the CPU’s are not handled in the manner desired, then these can end up causing some severe neurological damage and organ damage, not only for the workers who handle such items directly, but also to the communities of people who are allowed to come into contact with these waste products through exposure. For instance, electronic waste products like old laptop computers, television sets and scanners and printers often get shipped to the developing countries of the world for recycling, where people can easily come into contact with them and suffer upon doing so (Edwards et al., 2018). The harmful electronic waste components can be released into the environment at the time of incineration, which is a common method for electronic waste disposal. Since such electronic waste components are also packed into landfills, there is every possibility of these percolating into the soil and causing even more damage to the environment (Evans et al., 2016).
(Created by the author)
The purpose of portraying the mind map is related to build up an in-depth perception regarding the entire E-Waste management system that is discussed in this report. This is a pictorial depiction that helps to clear out the understanding regarding the topic. In fact, it provides a notion of various attributes that are taken in this context.
Impact on Air Pollution
While the burning of electronic waste is one of the most commonly accepted waste disposal methods, by burning e-waste, the harmful components of the waste products are allowed to be released into the surrounding environment, making it harmful and toxic. When computer monitors as well as other types of electronic products are disposed off through burning, these are known to generate poisonous particles known as cancer producing dioxins that are released into the air immediately. This air then becomes toxic and dangerous for a person to breathe and leads to the onset of a number of malignant diseases like cancer (Golev et al., 2016).
Impact on Water Pollution
The batteries of computers and mobile phones are often known to contain harmful chemicals like mercury, barium and lead, all of which are usually disposed off through the use of landfills. In the process, such harmful chemicals are allowed to seep into the soil and ends up poisoning the ground water upon coming into contact with it. The heavy metals then gradually get transferred from the ground water in the soil to rivers, lakes and ponds thereby posing a serious threat to the lives of all the organic matter, living creatures like fish and other marine life and underwater vegetation. The plants, animals and communities that rely on the water from ponds, rivers and lakes end up getting severely poisoned and usually die as a result (Khaliq et al., 2014).
Assessing the Impact of Electronic Waste on the Environment
Impact on Soil Pollution
Soil pollution is one of the most inevitable outcomes of the quick and harried disposal of electronic waste. When the harmful components of the electronic waste products are allowed to penetrate into the soil via the use of landfills, it affects the quality of crops that farmers grow. Fruits and vegetables grown on such soil become very dangerous for consumption with most people dying or falling very terribly ill when they end up eating such food. Hence, the impact of electronic waste on soil pollution is quite a profound one, posing the maximum possible danger to living beings on earth and the environment too (Lehmann & Joseph, 2015).
Solutions for Controlling Electronic Waste
Electronic recycling refers to reusing or distributing for the purpose of re-use, all electronic products that have outlived their utility value, and which no longer serve any purpose. Electronic recycling is something that is very useful indeed, as it helps in saving resources by a considerable extent. In order to manufacture electronic products that would ultimately become electronic waste, a number of resources like paper, glass and metal are required. A plentiful supply of water, chemicals and fossil fuels, have to be acquired and used in order to make such resources available. Electronic recycling is also not as expensive as other forms of electronic waste disposal methods and it can be implemented at any and every time of the year. It is cost effective and good for the environment all at the same time (Lewis et al., 2017).
Thinking Hats
(Created by the author)
The 6 thinking hats are responsible to create a better understanding regarding the advantages and competencies regarding the formulation of the E-waste management framework. The concept is more likely related to the different elements in terms of concepts that are responsible to deliver influence in the process of E-waste management. Therefore, the 6thinking hats is highly pertinent for this process.
Another important solution that can be implemented in order to ensure the effective management of electronic waste is reduction. By reducing their use of electronic products, people can simultaneously contribute towards a reduction in environmental waste and thus preserve their surrounding environment in the best possible way. The occurrence of environmental waste is not something that would be possible if people refrained from the use of electronic products altogether. While such a thing can be hard to do in today’s day and age when people need to be connected to one another at all times, it is possible to at least consider reducing the use of mobile phones, laptop computers and tablet devices so that too many of these don’t accumulate in a private office or house over time. The fewer electronic products people use, the fewer will be the electronic wastes that have to be disposed of (Maalouf & El Fadel, 2017).
Solutions for Controlling Electronic Waste
Re-Use of Electronic Products
Re-use is also a very effective solution that can be put into place immediately in order to control the spread of electronic wastes. When people consider re-using their computers and mobile phones for as long as it is possible to do so, instead of getting a brand new phone or computer, then too will the existence of electronic wastes be minimized. Instead of discarding a mobile phone within just three to four months of buying it, a person can consider using it for at least two to three years before it is absolutely imperative to get a new phone. Discretion and wisdom both need to be exercised to a considerable extent if electronic wastes are to be successfully control and if the spread of the toxic elements commonly associated with electronic waste products, is to be combated in the best way possible (Machno et al., 2018). In order to consider re-using electronic products instead of doing away with them altogether within just a few months of use, people first need to understand how harmful electronic wastes can be and why electronic wastes need to be prevented from accumulating rather than being terminated after accumulation. Efforts should be made to re-use electronic products for as long as possible as by doing so, managing electronic wastes will definitely become easier than what it is (Perey et al., 2018).
SCAMPER map
(Created by the author)
The purpose of the SCAMPRE process is intertwined with the purpose to deliver different types of re-use program in terms of the 7 components. In this regard, these components are entitled to deliver a better understanding regarding the alternative eco-friendly use of e-products.
Partnerships between NGO’s and Local Government Bodies
In order to implement a proper electronic waste management plan in Sydney, Australia, a city where environmental pollution caused by electronic wastes is already quite high, then the first step that needs to be considered is for key actors to enter into partnerships with governmental organizations or agencies that are specifically committed to electronic waste reduction. Non-profit organizations and international organizations operating in the city of Sydney, that have environmental wellbeing and conservation as their focus should not hesitate to enter into long term partnerships with local government bodies and agencies. By doing so, they can draw up an agenda or a plan of action for reducing the use of electronic products and consequently minimizing the production of electronic wastes in the city (Reno 2015).
Public Awareness Campaigns
To properly implement a plan for electronic waste reduction in the city of Sydney, NGO’s and IGO’s also need to carry out public awareness campaigns that make people conscious of the dangers that are associated with the use of electronic products. People need to be made aware of the toxic impact that using mobile phones and laptop computers can have on the surrounding environment, even though the use of such electronic products is absolutely necessary in today’s day and age. Public awareness campaigns need to be carried out by members of the civil society for this purpose not only in common areas like parks, gardens and shopping centers but also social media platforms as these are known to have a wide outreach. By launching awareness campaigns on social media, the civil society groups in Sydney that focus on electronic waste awareness and reduction can successfully reach out to several people and educate them about the ills of using electronic products a bit too much. The more the awareness generated, the more effective will be the implementation of the plan for electronic waste reduction in the city of Sydney (Reynolds et al., 2016).
Establishment of Recycling Companies in Sydney
The adequate implementation of an electronic waste management plan in Sydney will require people to understand the value of using recycled products. The establishing of recycling companies in Sydney that offer to get electronic wastes recycled at an affordable rate for customers can go a long way in helping people to understanding the usefulness of this. When people are able to get their electronic goods lying about in the house recycled for products that they can successfully use for another two years or so, and without spending too much for it, they will immediately end up contributing to the goal of electronic waste reduction in Sydney. For this purpose, therefore, recycling companies need to be prevalent in important neighborhoods and areas of the city so that the people living in Sydney are within the easy reach of such companies and can approach them for the quick and cost effective recycling of used electronic products (Sakai et al., 2017).
- If electronic waste management is to be executed properly in the city of Sydney then the waste management policies that are drawn up should be those that have a long term vision than a short term one. The electronic waste management plan is one that should be created as well as executed over a period of three to four years at a stretch, in order for such a waste management plan to show good results (Willis et al., 2018).
- The electronic waste management plan should be pragmatic in its approach. Care should be taken not to impose the concept of electronic waste management on people who are using electronic products in large numbers. The focus should instead be on getting people to understand the cons that are associated with the excessive use of electronic products rather than by getting them to disband the use of electronic products altogether. The more aware people are made to be about electronic waste management and reduction, the more effectively can such a plan be executed.
- The electronic waste management plans and techniques need to focus more on reduction rather than disposal. Electronic wastes can be disposed of, using a number of techniques like land filling, submerging wastes in water etc, but all of this will result in the environment becoming heavily polluted with electronic wastes. Hence efforts and energies need to be directed towards recycling, reusing and reducing the use of electronic products at all times as this will be a far better way to combat the toxic impact of electronic wastes than the process of getting rid of these wastes altogether (Wong et al., 2016).
- A good deal of focus or emphasis needs to be laid on the use of social media tools for implementing an electronic waste reduction or management plan. Almost every second person in Sydney today has an account or one social media platform or the other so this is the best forum to use for reaching out to people about electronic waste management. Social media campaigns can help the civil society to garner the attention of hundreds and thousands of people in just a few minutes and thus make their goals about electronic waste management and reduction known to them in the shortest span of time.
Conclusion
The dangerous associated with electronic wastes are real and Australian civil society, especially the civil society in Sydney should be active in its approach to control and reduce electronic wastes as much as possible. Environmental organizations and NGO’s that have a focus on environmental conservation and wellbeing need to go out of their way to collaborate with government bodies and the public to highlight the important of refraining from using electronic products and ensuring that these are recycled and consequently re-used. Only then can the problem of electronic waste be fully made known to the public and the plan for its management and control be properly executed
References
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