E-waste in the United States is out of control.
If that line reads like clickbait for a Chicken Little podcast, consider that most states don’t really know what’s happening to the majority of the electronics getting tossed or recycled. You may assume America has to at least be on par with the rest of the first world when finding a forever home for computers, phones, and printers, but you’d be wrong.
Those millions of old motherboards and TVs consoles rotting in landfills and warehouses aren’t just eyesores. They amount to a massive health hazard. While electronics waste comprises only 2-3 percent of America’s solid waste stream, the lead, cadmium, chromium, and other materials in aging circuitry account for 70 percent of the hazardous material in landfills, according to an EPA report.
The electronics recycling industry also needs to be checked more carefully. Many seemingly legit scrap haulers may have green leaves slapped on the side of their trucks and advertise environmentally friendly solutions while still dumping their stockpiles in landfills or overseas. Others go belly up, leaving behind millions of pounds of old gadgets piled in mountainous heaps atop land which has lead levels many times normal.
Maybe it’s easy to ignore the huge percentage of vintage gadgets that wind up torched in dicey scrap heaps in developing countries. You’re probably not screaming into a paper bag about the $20 billion or so of gold that’s trashed in electronics every year worldwide. Precious metals come and go. But if you care about the soil that comprises the land of the brave, you should start thinking about what happened to last year’s smartphone (even if it’s just sitting in the garage).
The reasons for the current state of e-waste removal and recycling are complex, yet not impossible to address. Some factions hold more blame than others. Still, there’s plenty of responsibility to share, beginning with a large pool of consumers who expect to update their mobile phones about every two years. This list of reasons isn’t exhaustive, but serves as a solid starting point for understanding the United States’ e-waste dilemma and what can be done.
