Into the Present: "Stop E-Wasting Your Electronic Products!"

In this period, I think it’s safe to say that we all have used an electronic product before. How you are reading this blog post certifies that you have and are using one, whether that be a smartphone, tablet, laptop, personal computer, or refrigerator – quite unusual, but some refrigerators do let you surf the internet!

Photo source: Wikipedia

Electronic products, such as the ones mentioned above, have certainly improved the quality of our lives, enabling us to finish tasks more efficiently. However, our significant reliance on these products has engendered multiple issues, one being the adverse effects of electronic waste mismanagement.

Electronic waste, e-waste, e-scraps, end-of-life electronics – all are different terms. Still, they pertain to the same thing: used electronics that are unwanted, not working, or nearing the end of their useful life that are being kept away or have been discarded. You might think, “It is only logical to dispose of products that are no longer wanted and working.” Indeed, it is! But the problem lies in how some people improperly discard these products – how some burn e-waste or throw them into landfills and bodies of water.

Photo source: European Commission

“How are these actions harmful?” you ask? Well, burning e-waste releases toxic chemicals to the atmosphere, causing air pollution and damage to the respiratory health of those who’ll inhale these chemicals. In terms of throwing e-waste into landfills, the heavy metals and flame retardants from the products can contaminate the underlying groundwater and soil and make it unsuitable for planting or farming. Plants in contaminated soil could also become contaminated, threatening the health of the living organisms who’ll consume them. As for disposing of e-waste into water, rainwater can dissolve toxic chemicals and cause pollution, hence endangering the lives of the marine creatures who inhabit these bodies.

Indeed, the mismanagement of e-waste is a significant problem that could affect us all. For this reason, it should be adequately addressed.

Photo source: Jobs Expo

It is good to see big companies like Globe, Apple, and Microsoft lead the way and set up programs to provide us with sites to properly dispose of our e-waste. But, as users of electronic products, we must also do our part by ensuring that we are surrendering our e-waste to proper organizations or places, learning how to maximize the estimated useful life of electronic products, and disseminating the importance of and ways to achieve proper e-waste management.

After taking a look into the present, may we have realized how e-waste mismanagement is a problem that impacts us all – a problem that should be solved through our collective efforts. 

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References:

BusinessMirror. (2021, March 14). Discarding e-waste? Globe may help dispose of them safely. Retrieved on March 9, 2022, from https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/03/14/discarding-e-waste-globe-may-help-dispose-of-them-safely/

Cal Recycle. (2021, November 22). What is e-waste?. Retrieved on March 9, 2022, from https://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/electronics/whatisewaste  

Elytus. (2019). E-waste & its negative effects on the environment. Retrieved on March 9, 2022, from https://elytus.com/blog/e-waste-and-its-negative-effects-on-the-environment.html

Gibbons, Serenity. (2021, October 21). How companies are addressing the e-waste problem. Forbes. Retrieved on March 9, 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/serenitygibbons/2021/10/21/how-companies-are-addressing-the-e-waste-problem