Excess Electronic Waste Breeds Underground Market

In today's age of rapid technological change, consumers and companies are constantly trading in old computers, phones, and TVs for newer, more advanced products. However, systems and processes for recycling this electronic garbage, dubbed "e-waste," have lagged behind, creating a market for exporting waste illegally. Companies have been found shipping electronic waste to poor countries as a means of avoiding the expense of legal recycling.

Europe has passed particularly strict laws requiring that e-waste be recycled or disposed of in an environmentally-friendly way or be taxed. When Europe mandated that televisions and computers had to be recycled, it was estimated that 7 million tons of these electronics would be turned in. However, only 3 million tons were turned in and the European Environment Agency concluded that much of it had been exported illegally. As the costs for proper recycling go up, so does the temptation to take advantage of illegal, lower cost alternatives. A recent NY Times article explained that, "Because of Europe's new environmental laws, it is four times as expensive to incinerate trash in the Netherlands as to put it - illegally - on a boat to China."

Rotterdam, Europe's busiest port, is fighting to do everything possible to cut down on illegal exports. They employ x-rays and computer analysis of the documentation to screen for suspicious activity. But they can't solve the problem alone. "When they can't get it out in Rotterdam, they go to Antwerp or Hamburg," Albert Klingenberg of the Dutch environment ministry said.

The stricter European laws are consistent with the guidelines laid out by the 1992 Basel Convention, a treaty that regulates dangerous exports of waste. According to the convention's Web site, Basel.int, of the 172 parties at the convention, only Afghanistan, Haiti, and the United States have signed the Basel Convention but not yet ratified it.

Thus in the United States there are less stringent federal laws and export restrictions than those in Europe. More and more states have recently passed laws on recycling, but experts say exporting e-waste is widespread and can be done legally through loopholes in current laws.

60 Minutes recently aired a segment called "Following the Trail of Toxic E-Waste," focusing on these issues. Experts first gave background on the problem, explaining that e-waste is the fastest-growing component of the municipal waste stream worldwide. More specifically, about 130,000 computers are thrown out everyday in the US and 100 million cell phones are discarded annually.

These electronics have a number of components that can damage the environment and thus need to be carefully recycled. The average computer contains lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium, and polyvinyl chlorides. "All of these materials have known toxicological effects that range from brain damage to kidney disease to mutations, cancers," Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist and authority on waste management at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said.

There are some companies promising to safely do the work of recycling electronics for environmentally-conscious consumers. One such company, called Executive Recycling of Englewood, Colo. was featured on the 60 Minutes segment. The company ran a collection program in Denver, promising on their Web site: "Your e-waste is recycled properly, right here in the U.S. - not simply dumped on somebody else." But in fact it was discovered that they were not doing it all on their own. Some components ended up in Guiyu, a small town in southern China. Greenpeace was already investigating the town for the atrocious damage it was causing to the local environment. According to the segment, scientists who have studied the area say Guiyu has the highest levels of cancer-causing dioxins in the world. Local residents who make minimum wage from breaking down electronics and other waste are at serious risk for health problems because they live in this same community where they work.

Luckily, action is already being taken to combat the smuggling of e-waste. Last year, the federal Government Accountability Office had U.S. investigators pose as foreign importers to catch American companies looking to export their waste cheaply and illegally. They caught Executive Recycling and 42 other American companies that they can now prosecute.

The House Science and Technology Committee has responded to the lack of effective recycling programs by drafting a bill to fund a number of grants. These grants will not only go to research and development, but also higher education programs related to e-waste management. As awareness of these issues increases, governments, companies, and individuals should work toward a better system of recycling. Recycling efforts can and should catch up to the rate of consumption of electronic goods.