When old technology dies, new technology takes its place. But what happens to that old technology? Surely it goes somewhere special when it gets thrown out or recycled, considering its potential hazardous material and / or potential further use.
In 2013, I watched a CNN segment called “China – World’s dumping ground for Electronic Waste”, in which talks about how electronic waste (E-Waste) is exported to Guiyu, China, where poor families work through e-waste and seperate valuable elements and components (like circuit boards) from the plastic. It is then it is all resold to companies that contribute to the manufacturing of the iPhone and other Apple products.
Greenpeace reported that the town was incredibly polluted by mercury and lead, so much so that the waste dumped there has potentially poisoned the water and the livestocks food supply. Farmers there have admitted that they don’t eat the rice they grow (and sell), out of fear of how the pollution has potentially affected it. Guiyu authorities reported that in 2012, a total of 17,282 residents in Guiyu were in the business of dismantling e-waste leading to the processing 1.07 million metric tons of e-waste every year, a lot of which locals report being foreign, despite Chinese laws banning the ‘dumping’ of foreign electronic waste.
Since then, that report has become an occasional thought to me, and now that I am writing this from a new computer, I wonder what I should do with my old one, which has been rendered as useless (hence, why I have a new one). Will it end up somewhere like Guiyu? How much has Guiyu changed between 2013 and 2019?
In 2015, the Guiyu Circular Economy Industrial Park came into operation, with the aim of there being zero waste generated by the industrial park. Of course this transition wasn’t met without resistance, however, that changed then when subsidies became involved. Between 2012 and 2015; over 2,000 informal dismantling businesses were closed, and just over 1,000 dismantling businesses moved into the industrial park.
The market was also made online, in order to keep a record of all supply, dismantling and re-sale of e-waste. Recyclers are required to log in to the system and indicate the amount and types of electronic waste they want prior to purchasing them at the central marketplace.
In 2017, the affect of this plan can be seen in the fact that 350,000 metric tons of e-waste was processed through the industrial park, followed by 293,000 in 2018. This is a massive difference, considering that Guiyu was processing 1.07 million metric tons of e-waste in 2012.
In relation to the severe pollution that was caused by the masses of dismantling and dumping of e-waste, environmental protection was key in improving the standard of which the workers operated. Less pollution was created when workshops moved into the single park, because they were all confined into one space, instead of the open air that is shared with the rest of the community. According to the South China Morning Post, Guiyu has come a long way in its efforts to rein in its polluting industries, but there is more work to do to clean up the waste from the past.
So, Guiyu has noticeably improved in condition since CNN’s report in 2013, and by the looks of things, it’s going to keep improving. But that doesn’t solve my current problem: I need to find a way to sustainably remove my old laptop from my possession.
I worry because e-waste is not an issue unique to Guiyu, nor is the situation improving. Australians are generally very tech-savvy, and uses a lot of it, therefore, Australia generates a lot of e-waste. E-waste is defined as waste electrical and electronic equipment. They include:
Entertainment electronics (e.g. televisions, DVD players and tuners).
Information and communication devices (e.g. computers, telephones and mobile phones).
Household appliances (e.g. fridges, washing machines and microwaves).
Lighting devices (e.g. desk lamps).
Power tools (e.g. power drills) with the exclusion of stationary industrial devices.
Devices used for sport and leisure including toys (e.g. fitness machines and remote control cars).
Electronic waste becomes an issue when the hazardous chemicals that are used to make the technology are disposed of improperly, and leak into soil and water, contaminating the environment. With many households being keen on keeping up to date with technology available, while a lot of people keep unused devices around the house, very few take the steps to properly recycle old devices and technology. I happen to be one of the people who holds on to old devices, either because I know that they still have data stored, or because I just don’t know what to do with them.
Now, what should you do when you want to get rid of an electronic device, like a laptop, the sustainable way?
The key idea is to not throw out your computer with your normal rubbish, as this will most likely lead to the e-waste contaminating the environment around it. AVG recommends that anyone looking to change their devices needs to do the following in order to ensure that devices are safe to be recycled:
Make backups – so you can re-upload any data onto your new device after
Make sure that it cannot be repaired, or certain parts need to be upgraded in order to save the device (this is only if you are replacing it due to decline in quality)
Destroy / wipe the hard-drive – so no data remains on the device
There are businesses in which specialise in picking up and recycling electronics for a fee, however, this could be more consumer-friendly when one is planning on getting rid of multiple electronics and devices.
From the 1st of July 2019, the Victorian Government banned all e-waste in landfill, meaning that people are being encouraged now more than ever to recycle their electronic devices. The City of Melbourne offers many different options for recycling e-waste, including:
Community hub and library drop-off points (for smaller appliances and devices)
There is a waste and recycling centre where waste can be dropped-off
No-cost pick-up services and specific bins for apartment blocks.
Suggestions of multiple businesses that specialise in recycling e-waste that one can pick based on needs.
So, based on my needs, I may need to consider a drop-off point in order to make sure that my old laptop is disposed of sustainably, and I will be keeping these options in mind when it comes to my other unused devices. When it comes to adapting to a more sustainability-driven community, it is important to keep up to date with what is not only causing harm to the environment—but what you can do to lessen that impact with your choices.
SOURCES: CNN, 2013, China – World’s dumping ground for Electronic Waste, CNN YouTube, CNN, retrieved 22nd of November 2019, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-_ubuFhqQA> Jing, Y & Yan, W. 2019, A look inside the transformation of China’s e-waste town, China Global Television Network, retrieved 22nd November 2019, <https://news.cgtn.com/news/2019-09-06/A-look-inside-the-transformation-of-China-s-e-waste-town–JJNV7jbd0k/index.html> South China Morning Post, 2017, Has Guiyu finally shaken off the title of world’s e-waste capital? South China Morning Post YouTube, retrieved 24th November 2019, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJ6VX3pC02s> Cleanaway, 2018, E-Waste: an inconvenient consequence of the digital age, Cleanaway, retrieved 24th of November 2019, <https://www.cleanaway.com.au/sustainable-future/e-waste-problem/> City of Melbourne, N/A, E-Waste, City of Melbourne, retrieved 24th of November 2019, <https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/residents/waste-recycling/Pages/electronic-waste.aspx> Regan, J. 2019, The Smart Way to Dispose of Your Phones, Laptops and Desktops, AVG, retrieved 24th of November 2019, <https://www.avg.com/en/signal/disposing-your-phones-laptops-and-pcs>
Picture: http://www.swinburne.edu.au/news/latest-news/2018/09/re-thinking-the-electronic-waste-problem.php