Life of Electronic Waste Geographic perspective

1. Life of Electronic WasteGeographic perspective Dan Harris and Mara Chen Dept. Of Geography and Geosciences Salisbury University ECLIPSE, March 9th, 2013

2. E-Waste • Industrial Waste • Electronic Waste – Info/electronic revolution • “Information Economy” • High-tech electronics: Cell phones, laptops, desktops, TVs, iPods, etc... • Nasty components! • Heavy metals: mercury, lead, arsenic, beryllium, brominated flame retardant, Hazardous: combustion– dioxins– toxic gases fro inhalation and deposition • Health Impacts – cancer, reproductive disorders, endocrine disruption • Environmental non-governmental organization (ENGOS) • 50-80% exported overseas – Processed by hand in Asia and Africa

3. Lead most common leachate – primarily from mother board printed wires 30 to 100 times regulatory level (mg/L) – 5 mg/L - hazardous

4. E-Waste -- Production • Other Environmental impact • Materials and Energy intensive • Semiconductor – 600 times its weight in fossil fuels, chemicals and secondary inputs • Automobile production – “only twice” • IT production – 2% of global CO2 (equivalent to airline industry)

7. What to Do with E-Waste?UN Basel Convention: 1992 • 170 signatory countries • Problems/Loopholes • definitions of hazardous waste • Contradiction between individual nations • Allowed for bi-lateral and multi-lateral agreements between signatory nations if “environmentally sound” or equivalent • Fuzzy definition… • Trans-boundary movements legal if material re-used or recycled • Remains “highly ambiguous” • Flexible interpretations • US only OECD not to ratify treaty • Organization for Economic Co-operation Development (OECD)

8. Environmental Justice: Pollution Haven Hypothesis • Pollution intensive economic activity tends to migrate to jurisdictions where environmental regulation is lowest • Desperate for wealth - Compete for waste/resource! • Poorer countries disproportionately affected • Toxic Traders – 1980s – Eastern Europe and developing world • Ex. 1986 Khian Sea – Norwegian ship registered to Liberia • Dumped thousands of tons of incinerator ash on Haitian Beach • Spent two years trying to find port for remaining toxic waste • Suspected to have dumped it in Indian Ocean • Nigeria – Italy shipped (PCBs) polychlorinated biphenyls to farmer and paid to store • Ruptured and contaminated fields and village • Guiya, China – airborne hydrocarbons and heavy metals • 100 to 600 times higher than other Asian cities • Link pregnancy to neurological impairment development • PCBs in human breast milk • Inhalation and fish consumption

9. Geographies of E-waste • Data – fast evolving, hard to track, incomplete at best • Greenpeace, Basel Action Network (BAN), Toxic Links India • Trace North American and European waste to India, China and Nigeria • Visual documentation, water and soil analysis, asset tag evidence, forensic data from hard drives • Documented health problems • Silicosis, dioxins, mercury, lead • Carcinogen inhalation • Pollute local drinking water and food supply • Ex. China and India – heavy metals and chemicals • Lead, copper, tin, antimony, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, PCBs • 100s of times background

10. Geographies of E-Waste • Spatial Patterns in China – port & production regions • Pearl River Delta, Shanghai and Beijing • Importer concentration as well as production centers • Global patterns • Mimic most commodities • Europe, Americas and Asia are largest trading areas • Internally focused • Africa, the Caribbean, Middle East, and Oceania • Externally focused • Shifting – 10% internal in Caribbean, 20% in Middle East, 60% in Oceania • Likely increased usuage of technology • Basel Convention – does not limit trade between developing nations

11. 2001 Flows Lepawsky and McNabb

12. 2006 Flows Lepawsky and McNabb

13. E-Waste Geographic Patterns • Not as simple as rich to poor – no differentiation in classification • Africa’s trade – exports to Korea and Spain • Caribbean – Americas primarily Venezuela • Middle East – export to Korea, Indonesia, Philippines • Dynamics – 2006 data • Asia recipient from all regions of the world • 96% of exports from Americas • 99% of exports from Europe • 98% of exports from Middle East • 99% of exports from Oceania • Waste in one region, resource in another • Leaded children’s jewelry and toys!

14. E-Waste Recycling • Very small percentage • US estimate 11-14% • The rest...dumed or burned • Formal or informal landfills or incinerators • 70 – 80% of e-waste from recyclers exported • Less stringent environmental laws • Roadside burning or acid baths or simply dumped • Extract precious metal • Send to US prisons????? Find citation….. • Confidential data • Hard drives and cell phones contain private data that may not be wiped • Study: E-bay hard drives – bank records and classified missile test results

15. What to Do with E-Waste • Laws & Regulations • Next innovation (graphene)

16. http://www.inewsnetwork.org/interns/e_waste_map_3.html

20. Web Resources • http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/toxics/electronics/the-e-waste-problem/where-does-e-waste-end-up/ • http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/ghana804/map/map.html • http://e-stewards.org/the-e-waste-crisis/ • http://www.ecycleclearinghouse.org/content.aspx?pageid=10 • http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/geopedia/E-Waste • http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-electronics/ • http://spectrum.ieee.org/static/what-an-ewaste