The document discusses the issue of electronic waste (e-waste) recycling. It notes that e-waste is one of the fastest growing waste streams but current recycling rates are low, around only 15-20%. The document provides data on the large quantities of e-waste generated annually and details problems with current laws in Pennsylvania that restrict municipal e-waste collection programs. Representatives from local municipalities expressed frustration with being unable to curbside collect e-waste due to state laws. The document advocates for improving e-waste recycling rates through government oversight of industry programs and revisions to restrictive legislation.

1. INTG285.E60
ElectronicWaste
JosephT.Adamson
September18,2016
Electronicwaste orE waste isa hot buttontopic. E waste isincreasingdue toincrease intechnological
advances. Inan age where electronicdevicesare outdatedalmostas soonas theyare purchased,E
waste ison the mindsof all conscience individualsandcompanies. Local municipalitiesandcompanies
are findingitdifficultandexpensivetodiscardE waste. These municipalitiesandcompaniesneedto
develope waste recyclingprogramsthatare beneficial tothe entitiesandenvironment.
WhenI startedlookingintothistopicIthoughtit wouldbe a fairlyeasyresearchpaper. Speaktosome
local governmentofficials,take some notesandwrite the paper. Uponfurtherreview herewassomuch
informationgatheredthattookon a differentpathfromwhere Istarted.
Anytime youventure toresearchthe place youoftenlookisinyourownbackyard. I wasin a meeting
witha group of electedofficialsfromBristol Boroughandasked the managerforhisthoughtsonthe e-
waste issue. He respondedwithalookof despairasI askedthe question. The despairwasthatin2010
Pennsylvaniachangedorredefinedthe e-wasterecyclinglaw. The law inpart prohibitscurbside
recyclingof electronicdevices.
I am sure that many of my classmateshave noticedontheirwaytoschool,workor the grocery store
that piece of electronicwaste,mostlikelyatube type television,sittingonthe curb. The municipal
waste carriercannot legallytake thisitem. Municipalitiesnow have todeal withthispiece of waste
because inevitablyitendsuponthe street.Why? Because scrappersknow there isa small amountof

2. goldand otherpreciousmetal inasmall printedcircuitboardinthe televisionset. Theyremove this
piece onlyandleave behindthe restof the set. Kidsgo by andkick it.It endsupseveral housesdown
fromwhere itoriginatedandnoone wantsto recycle it. Thishappenseveryday. The municipality,in
thiscase Bristol Borough, wantstokeepitsstreetscleanandclearso theysendthe municipal workersto
pickup the itemand have beenstoringtheminatrailerto recycle.
I reachedoutto neighboringmunicipalitiesaswell. Bristol Township’sDeputyTownshipManagerScott
Swicharrespondedinmuchthe same wayas Mr. DilloninBristol Borough. He stated“that due to the
legislationthe township’shandsare tied.” He notedthat the operate the onlypermanentrecycling
program inBucks County.
Bensalemdidnotrespondtomyemail. Ididhoweverfindsome researchanddiscoveredthatBensalem
suspendedtheirprogramdue tothe vendornolongerprovidingthe services.

3. (Bensalem, PA,2016)
Please readthe followingarticlefoundon thebalance.com
“Electronicwaste,commonlyreferredas e-waste,isone of the fastestgrowingsegmentsinthe
municipal solidwaste stream.Althoughnearly100percentof e-waste isrecyclable,the currentrecycling
rate of e-wastesisnotpromisingatall.The itemsthatcan be recoveredfrom e-wasteinclude
constituentssuchasplastics,metals,andglass.

4. Let’shave a lookon some useful factsandfiguresabout e-waste recycling:
 Currently,only15-20 percentof all e-waste isrecycled.
 Accordingto a recentreportby EPA,everyday,we are to getridof over416,000 mobile devices
and 142,000 computerseitherbyrecyclingordisposingin landfillsandincinerators.
 A BBC Panoramaprogram saysthat everyyear20 to 50 milliontonsof e-waste isgenerated
worldwide.Thisamountaccountsformore than 5 percentof municipal solidwaste stream.
However,the USEPA reportsays, e-waste representsonly2percentof solidwaste stream,but
the amountaccounts for 70 percentof hazardouswastesdisposedinlandfills.
 EPA reportsays,in2007, approximately26.9 milliontelevisionsetswhichisnearly910,600 tons
were gotrid of in USA.
 In 2009, as reportedbyEPA,only8 percentof mobile phones,17percentof TVs and38 percent
of computerswere recycled.
 AnotherEPA reportsays thatin 2011, approximately3.41milliontonsof e-waste wasgenerated
inUSA and only24.9 percent(around850,000 tons) of thatamount wasrecycled. Thisrate was
slightlybetterthanthatof 2010. In 2010, the e-waste recyclingrate was19.6 percent.
 AnotherEPA reportrevealsthatrecyclingone millioncellphones,we canrecovermore than
9,000 kg (20,000 lb.) of copper,9 kg (20 lb.) of palladium, 250 kg (550 lb.) of silver,and24 kg(50
lb.) of gold.
 Accordingto a studyconductedbythe ConsumerElectronicsAssociation(CEA),anaverage US
householdin2012 spent$1,312 on consumerelectronics.The studyfoundthe average US
householdowns24discrete ConsumerElectronicproducts.CEA estimated,in2012, salesof
Smartphonesandtabletcomputerswouldmake globalannual consumerelectronicsalesto
more than $206 billion.

5.  A marketresearchfirmnamely“iSupply”said,in2010, around1.56 billionconsumerelectronics
were boughtgloballybyconsumers.The numberreachedto1.6 billioninthe verynextyear.
 A studyidentifiedthatproducingacomputeralongwithitsmonitortakesat least1.5 tons of
water,22 kg (48 pounds) of chemicalsand240 kg(530 pounds) of fossil fuels.
 It isfoundthat comparedto disposal inlandfillsorbyincinerators,reusingorrecycling
computerscan create 296 more jobsperyear forevery10,000 tonsof computerwaste
disposed.
 In Australia,eachyear,more than1.5 millionelectronicwastesare dumpedinlandfills.
 A bignumberof materialswhichare termedas“e-waste”isactuallynotwaste at all,rather
some parts or the whole electronicproductare easilyrecyclable orre-useable.
 Recyclingone millionlaptopcomputerscansave enoughenergytorun3,657 US home for a
year.
 Cell phonescontainveryhighamountof preciousmetalssuchassilverandgold.Americans
throwaway approximately$60 millionworthof silverandgoldperyear.
 EPA reportsays,the excessiveamountof leadin e-waste alonecausesseriousdamage inour
blood,kidneys,andcentral andperipheral nervoussystems.
 A researchreportfromABI Researchestimates thatby2015, the worldwide marketforrecycling
e-waste willreach$14.7 billionwhichisnearlythe triple of the currentsize.
 Each year,globally,around1 BILLION cell phonesand300 millioncomputersare putinto
production.
 The amount of global e-waste isexpectedtogrow by8 percentperyear.
 Roughly80 percentof e-waste generatedinthe U.S.isexportedtoAsia,anarea of considerable
controversy.

6. References
 http://www.electronicstakeback.com/resources/facts-and-figures/
 http://www.zerowaste.sa.gov.au/e-waste/what-can-be-recycled-from-e-waste
 https://www.dosomething.org/actnow/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-e-waste
 https://www.causesinternational.com/ewaste/e-waste-facts”
(LeBlanc,2016)
There are some staggeringdatainthisarticle. Especiallythe factthatonlyabout15 to 20 percentof all
e-waste isproperlydisposedof. Howaboutthe sheernumberof cell phones,accordingtothe data,
around1 billion,thatisanawful lotof batteriesandleadacidto contain. If we continue toplace these
itemsinour regulartrach and sendtothe landfillswe riskagreaterissue inleaching. Leachingiswhen
toxinsmostlymetalsare seepedintothe soil andcontaminate it. Dependingonwhere itislocatedit
may alsogetintothe groundwaterandeventuallyourdrinkingwater.
So where dowe go fromhere? Is thisan issue forthe Government? Industry?Myopinionisthere needs
to some governmental oversight. We shouldnotplace thisissue solelyonthe government. If youthink
aboutthe waythe federal governmentgoesaboutthings,theymaymandate arecyclingprogramand
fundit at the start. That usuallylasta yearor two,thenthe onusison the state to pickup the tab.
Some may saythat is justsome leftpocket,rightpocketmentalityhoweverif youare goingto mandate
it youbetterbe prepare tofundit.

7. Nowthere shouldbe some sortof industryinvolvement. There shouldbe atrade inprogram forthe e -
waste. I knowthere are some programsout there buttheyare verypoorlyrun andadvertised. BestBuy
has a program that theywill give youapercentage off whenyourecycle certainmaterials.Follow this
linkformore informationontheirrecyclingprogram. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/global-
promotions/recycle-
guidelines/pcmcat174700050010.c?id=pcmcat174700050010&type=category&id=pcmcat17470005001
0 (WWW.bestbuy.com,2016)
WhenI setoff on my journeyforthispaperI reallyhadnoideawhere itwouldtake me. I had always
done a fairlygoodjobof beingenvironmentallyresponsible by recyclingthings like plasticandpaper. I
didnot fullyunderstandthe impactof the e-waste onthe environmentandsocietyuntilIbegantolook
at it. I thinkwiththe educationandenlightenmentof the issue,thatwe will getabetterunderstanding
of whatwe as societyneedtodobe betteradvocatesforour environment.
Please checkoutthe followingwebsite astheyare committedtoimprovingthe livesof everyoneinour
Commonwealthof Pennsylvania. http://prc.org/
See chart of recyclingfrom2000-2013. (ElectronicsTakeback,2016)

8. Data collectedfromthe followingpeopleandsources.
Bristol Borough - JimDillon –No formal program. Encourage residentstotake to place theypurchase
newequipment(BestBuy).
Bristol Township - ScottSwichar– viaemail response.
Doesthe Townshiphave ane-waste policy? We donothave a policy,howeverwe operate the only
permanentelectronicscollectionprograminBucksCounty
What are youdoingto collectthe e-waste onyourstreets? Ourhandsare tied.The state forbidsusfrom
collectingcurbside

9. What isthe role of the trash collectioncompanyyouemploy?Dothey have a policy? Theyare forbidden
fromcollectinge-wasteperstate law.
Anythoughtson the State’srole? We are boundbythe CoveredDevice RecyclingAct,whichmakesit
illegal todispose of the materials.Theyneedtorevise legislationtomake iteasierforresidentsto
dispose of materials.
Bucks Countyhasno e-waste recyclingprogramtospeakof. (PA DEP,2016)
Bensalemrecentlysuspendede-waste recyclingprogramasof December17, 2015. (Bensalem,PA,
2016)
PA changedor redefinedthe e-waste recyclinglaw in2010. (pa.gov,2016)
Works Cited
Bensalem,PA.(2016, September24).Retrievedfrombensalem.pa.gov:
http://www.bensalempa.gov/recycling.html
Electronics Takeback.(2016, December4).Retrievedfromwww.electronictakeback.com:
http://www.electronicstakeback.com/designed-for-the-dump/e-waste-in-landfills/
LeBlanc,R. (2016, May 27). The Balance.Retrieved fromthebalance.com:
https://www.thebalance.com/e-waste-recycling-facts-and-figures-2878189
PA DEP. (2016, September24).RetrievedfromPA Departmentof Environmental Protection:
http://www.dep.pa.gov/Business/Land/Waste/SolidWaste/HazardousWaste/Household/Pages/
Electronics-Collection-Programs.aspx

10. pa.gov.(2016, September2016). RetrievedfromPA DEPLaw:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/US/HTM/2010/0/0108..HTM
WWW.bestbuy.com.(2016,December3).RetrievedfromBestbuy:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/global-promotions/recycle-
guidelines/pcmcat174700050010.c?id=pcmcat174700050010&type=category&id=pcmcat17470
0050010