GEOG*2210 - Lecture 19

What happened in the 70s/80s?

The cost of disposing hazardous waste in developed countries skyrocketed

What is causing health side affects in children in these developing countries with e-waste?

The poisonous emissions from burning

What happens to e-waste that cannot be re-salvaged and resold

They are sent to the waste yard, where children do their collecting for copper

What was the purpose of the Federal Electronic Waste Strategy (2010)

To ensure federal e-waste does not contribute to global problem

According to Shift recycling, how many tonnes of e-waste accumulates in landfills each year?

> 140.000

How are the children developing because of these poisonous emissions

Abnormally

Why is environmental justice a factor in terms of e-waste?

Because poor and marginalized people are exposed to the waste while wealthy consumers are protected from it

What has Ontario done to combat e-waste?

Developed the Ontario Electronic Stewardship

How has e-waste - a hazard - become a tradable commodity?

E-waste can be "mined" for raw materials

What does the Federal Electronic Waste Strategy do?

Emphasizes reuse first, proper disposal (recycling)

What is the Basel Convention?

International treaty that is intended to prevent pollution havens

Why is recycling of e-waste better?

It is potentially less harmful to the environment than mining new ones, and produces a lot of jobs and valuable materials that can be sold or used in production

What did the E-waste video present?

Old electronics being disposed of in Ghana

How is the US involved in the Basel Convention?

Signed the treaty in the 90s, but has not ratified it, making it difficult to track e- and other hazardous waste

What is e-waste an externality of?

The consumption of electric devices

Why do we keep dumping e-waste in the backyards of other countries?

it's cheaper than disposing of it in Canada

How much e-waste did the average Canadian generate in 2012

24kg

How much e-waste did the average American generate in 2012

29kg

Despite international agreements, how much e-waste still counties to end up in the illegal backyard recycling operations overseas?

50%

Give an example of environmental justice a factor in terms of e-waste

Agbogbloshie, Ghana

Describe the Ontario Electronic Stewardship

An organization that manages Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment program

What can e-waste be seen as?

Both a waste and a resource

Describe extended producer responsibility

Brand owners and first importers are obligated to fund the cost of the program for property management or diversion of their products or packaging

What do the children of this developing countries do with the e-waste?

Burn the old electronics in hopes of salvaging the small amounts of copper within

Name an improvement in the e-waste cycle

Change and hope coming to Agbogbloshie - Africa's largest e-waste dump begins transformation to model recycling centre (Oct 22, 2014)

What is the cycle of diverted waste

Collect, reuse, recycled designated products

What did the rise in the cost of disposing hazardous waste in developed countries lead to?

Development of hazardous waste trade

What might inadequate environmental policies in some countries result in?

Distortion of market which results in greater environmental degradation and public health hazards

Describe GDP and environmental justice as a factor in terms of e-waste

E-waste is traded everywhere, but countries with low GDP per capita are net importers

What is a major downfall of not enough shared information

E-waste trade is often illegitimate, underreported, or unreported and it is always possible it will be dumped on poor communities locally or globally

What might happen in the case of the pollution haven hypothesis?

Environmental degradation would increase because of low standards, e-waste would just be sent to the cheapest place, creating an issue of environmental justice

What do many firms/countries NOW do with e-waste?

Export the waste to be recycled rather than disposed of

What did the federal government put in place to combat e-waste

Extended producer responsibility

What does the political economy perspective think about e-waste?

Focuses on e-waste as an issue of uneven development and accumulation, and as a product of mass-consumption

Describe 3 ways in which e-waste poses a hazard

From the products themselves, chemicals released in burning and smelting, reagents used in the recycling process

Is the shipping of products to Ghana legal or illegal?

Illegal - It's not fair, nobody knows it's coming

Describe the idea of uneven development and mass consumption

Most consumption occurs in wealthy countries, while poorer ones are facing all the consequences

What is E-waste all about?

Moving our waste somewhere else so it can contaminate other areas of the world

What is the benefit of this e-waste

Over 10,000 people rely on fixing old tvs and computers, selling them for cheap and sustainable a livelihood

What could the cost of e-waste as an externality be recovered by?

Paying for disposal, paying for more sustainable practices (such as recycling)

What does the Basel Convention do?

Prohibits the sale of hazardous waste from wealthy to poor countries

Describe the unfair-ness that the recyclers go through

Recyclers are often exposed to the hazardous materials at work and at home, but the surplus value they create is not recognized by those who benefit

Describe the pollution haven hypothesis

Some countries may voluntarily lower environmental standards in order to attract foreign investment

Who monitors that performance of the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment program

Waste Diversion Ontario

Why are we sometimes blind to the concept of e-waste?

We're told our old electronics are being recycled, but they're just being dumped in less developed areas