The Rapid Growth of Global Hazard Regarding to Improper E-waste

(Electronics Waste) Disposal and Recycling Practices that Causes Pollution

and Contributes to Global Warming.

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements in
Purposive Communication GED106
Department of Arts and Letters

Mapua University
July 16, 2019

By:
DOCTO, Jeloux
PUEN, Kevin
RODRIGUEZ, Jia
 ABSTRACT

Global warming is an everyday dilemma that is experienced throughout the globe. In

many application fields such as home, masonry industry, environment and health, different
products have been developed to make life easier. Technology plays a key role with this. The
start of innovation is with prototype models, but as technology advances, it also comes up with
new designs, new features to entice consumers. Development has been non-stop and with it also
comes manufacturing. With the process, consumers tend to disregard later models for updated
ones. However, disregarding electronic waste in an improper manner has become one of the key
contributors to global warming. This paper proposes different ways to properly dispose of waste
from technology or e-waste that not only reduces waste but can also be re utilized as material for
concrete.
 INTRODUCTION

Global warming is a worldwide phenomenon that is seen throughout the globe.

According to NASA, global warming can be described as the uncommon rapid increase of the
Earth’s average temperature. The average increase of temperature is between 0.6 to 0.9 degrees

Celsius, but in the last fifty-years the rate of increase has nearly doubled. Throughout history, the
Earth has warmed and cooled time and again. But another factor has come to play in influencing
the rapid increase of temperature.1

As indicated by the World Wildlife Organization, there are different reasons why we encounter
global warming, for example, consuming non-renewable energy source, deforestation and
horticulture cultivating. Be that as it may, one reason why we are facing global warming is
because of ecological contamination. The factors of environmental pollution are due to extreme
or over consumption of industrial facilities that lead to unregulated and uncontrolled disposal of
wastes. 2
As we live in the 21st century, society is becoming more dependent on technology, from the
cellphones that we use to communicate, to the computers, laptops and tablets that we use for both
academic or corporate works and entertainment. It is a prominent feature in modern society to
use appliances and fixtures such as washing machines, refrigerators, computers and personal
printers. Alongside economic, responsibility for electronics has been quickly expanding all over
the world. In the meantime, proceeding with mechanical development has brought about early
obsolescence of numerous electronic or electrical items.3

The combination of expanding shortened lifespan and ownership expectancy has prompted quick
development in the measures of undesirable and outdated gadgets or generally known as e-waste.
It was evaluated that the rate of electronic waste generation comprehensively was approximately
40 million tons every year. Although technology has developed for major uses, we can’t deny the
inevitable dangerous side effects of it. Electronics is one of the common technologies that we

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have today, but we might not notice that these electronics brings dangers to our lives. With
technology is rapidly advancing, disposal of electronic waste becomes one of the global hazards
that we need to resolve nowadays.4

According to Adams e-waste are classified as the unused electronics such as phones, computers,
fax machines and printers from governments, businesses and even households. Electronic waste,
or E-waste, is the foremost problem of waste removal. 5

The management of e-waste has been perceived as an extraordinary test to human culture. Their
focus is not just around the volume of e-waste produced yet in addition on the list of electronic
waste-related toxicants. The vast quantity of electronic waste items and the lethal materials
imbedded in them makes recycling almost impossible. Electronic waste will be an emergency in

the future because as soon as the technology evolves, the superseded hardware becomes waste.6

According to Haque (2018), e-waste currently composes 2% of the community waste stream.

E-waste is presently the fastest developing part of city solid waste, increasing by 5 percent
annually. Globally, a cellular phone is offered to around one of each four individuals on a yearly

basis. 7

Consistently a huge number of electronic gadgets, for example, cell phones, TVs, PCs,
workstations/laptops, and tablets achieve the end of their valuable life. Unfortunately, most of
these electronic items end up in landfills and only a small rate returns as/in new electronic
gadgets. As per to a UN research, in 2014 alone, 41.8 million tons of e-waste was disposed of
around the world, with just 10% to 40% of disposal done appropriately.8

Adams stated that the disposal of e-waste contributes to the climate change as it produces

chemicals when it is burned. Electronics are composed of materials such as Aluminum (Al),

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Copper (Cu) and Iron (Fe) and when these materials were burned for disposal, it produces
harmful chemicals that accumulates in the air such as polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and
polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE).These principal toxins can cause harm to both

environment and humans.9 Various examinations have uncovered that bounteous toxicants,
including, however not restricted to, substantial metals, polybrominated diphenyl ethers
(PBDEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and polychlorinated
dibenzo-p-dioxins, could be drained into the surrounding condition during e-waste disposal with
crude techniques, presenting serious dangers to natural and human health. In addition, the
articles “Annals of Global Health” find out that only 25% of the electronic waste is recycled into
proper recycling centers with enough protection and there are health consequences not only for
the workers but also for the environment. 10

Improper electronic waste can result to environmental contamination including soil, air and
water contamination around the electronic waste recycling area. These hazardous chemicals can
lead to bioaccumulation and food contamination. Approximately 80% of the wastes are
considered “non-hazardous” while the other 20% is considered “hazardous” since it contains
radioactive, chemicals or physical hazard to human health and environment. The prime
components of e-waste are the presence of arsenic, lead, barium, chromium, beryllium, mercury,
cadmium, brominates flame retardants, chlorofluorocarbon, polychlorinated biphenyl, polyvinyl
chloride and dioxin. If unmanaged properly this could lead to a decrease in nerve conduction
velocity, increase in the probability of lung cancer, can affect the kidneys, blood, brain, heart
muscle, immune system, liver, bone, pain in joints and spine and could overall be fatal. 11

The study of World Health Organization stated that children need more specific
protection as they are especially vulnerable from e-waste exposure. Many children are exposed
to e-waste chemicals in their daily life due to improper disposal of waste such as burning and

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unsafe recycling conducted near their home. E-waste is profoundly complex to deal with because
of its organization. It is comprised of various segments some of which contain poisonous
substances that adversely affect the environment and human health if not managed accordingly
that is if inappropriate reusing and transfer techniques are conveyed.12

E-waste is a hazardous component to discard inappropriately and recklessly because of

harmful substantial metals, for example, mercury and lead, a destructive synthetic. Therefore,
there is a need for proper disposal of these wastes. These entities can be the root of crucial harm
when these are discarded in the garbage and accordingly ends up to landfill. At the point when
this occurs, synthetic compounds can leak or filter into encompassing our natural waters making

severe danger to people, precisely to the habitat.13According Heather Levin almost 82 percent

of lead poisoning was tested. Since the water that they are drinking is so polluted and

contaminated, townspeople need to get water from different provinces. Without a doubt,

thinking about the best objectives, reusing e-waste as often as possible prompts unlawful abroad
dispatching and dumping.14 Numerous nations reused e-waste in an inappropriate manner that
leads to demolition to our condition.15

These unsafe waste conceivably risky substances that can be coordinated produced or
discharged during the reusing procedure. The children can be exposed in homes, schools and
playgrounds from the released hazardous substances. (DeVroom, 2018) there are couple of

different instances of the risky electronic waste hold: TV screens and Computers is consisting of

leaded glass, which is harmful metal. Disease-causing components, batteries convey hazardous

and malignancy causing components, for example, cadmium, lead and lithium. Some machines

like gas boiling water radiators and chest coolers consist of mercury converter. At the point when

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(Responsivle Disposal of Electronic Waste (E- Waste) n.d.)
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Mercury isn't appropriately arranged, it might make serious medical problems, for example,
respiratory and skin issues.16

Exposure like this may lead to long-term and widespread health risks. Furthermore, these
hazardous substances can be a source of “take-home exposure” because of the indirect exposure
to toxicants due to the improper recycling process of e-waste. According to Leblanc (2019) there
are reasons why recycling e-waste is important. e-waste is internationally rich when it comes to
sources of natural materials, in just 10% to 15% of the gold in electronic waste is effectively
recuperated while the other was lost.17

Incidentally, electronic waste has stores of important metal evaluate to be somewhere in a range
of forty and multiple times more extravagant than minerals mined on earth, as indicated by the
United Nations. Furthermore, the blasts of growth in the hardware business, joined with a short
item life process has prompted a quick acceleration in the age of solid waste. Old electronic
gadgets contain lethal elements, for example, lead, cadmium, and mercury, appropriate handling
is important to guarantee that this equipment is not discharged into the earth. They may also
consist of other substantial metals and possibly harmful compound fire reactants. Universal
movement of dangerous waste, the unrestrained growth of e-waste to nations where shabby work
and crude ways to deal with reusing have brought about wellbeing dangers to inhabitants
presented to the arrival of poisons proceeds to an issue of the matter.18

Electronic waste workers are not fully aware of the possible health risks involving electronic
waste. The possible negative effects of exposure to electronic waste includes the changes in
thyroid function, lung function, birth weight, hormone expression, birth outcomes, childhood
growth rates, mental health, genotoxicity, cognitive development and cytotoxicity. It is also
possible to have experience carcinogenic effects and endocrine destructive properties that may

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lead to long-term or lifelong changes due to abnormal reproductive development,
neurodevelopment anomalies, attention difficulties and intellectual impairments. 19

Possible Solutions to Reduce Potentially Hazardous Effects of E-waste: A

Minimizing E-waste

For us to reduce the amount of energy we take from the Earth, e-waste must be
minimized because it helps to conserve energy.Based on tips from Harvard University, instead of
making or mining more metals, reusing the precious metals and plastics in old cell phones is a
must and can help conserve the energy as flipping off the power to 24,000 US homes for an
entire year. 20

According to Harvard University, there are simple ways to help reduce the e-waste. Re-
evaluate and try to find one device that has multiple functions than buying an extra gadget and
preserving the life our electronics can help by taking good care of our gadgets and electronics,
buy a case for protection and keep the device clean and research on how to prolong its battery.
Choose environmentally friendly electronics, don’t just purchase electronics based on our own
preferences, always consider its contribution to the environment. Donating used electronics to
social programs can also help, by doing this we can also help the children safety initiatives,
victims of domestic violence and environmental causes. Reuse large electronics because the
production of e-waste is one of the most disseminated creating waste tide and assessed from the
rate of extension is multiplied each year. Outstanding amongst other solution to this emergency
lies in reusing wastes into parable possess development. Finally, reuse e-waste, according to the
article, our present innovation/technology is "New is Already Old" because of the competing
technology that the most recent innovation can be outdated within a couple of months, a few
people tend to upgrade and change their gadgets and in doing so, issues happen in disposing and
reusing it.21

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 Recycling electronic waste is both a formal and informal practice. Recycling e-waste

legitimately or formally generally includes dismantling the gadget, isolating and arranging

the substance of material and purifying it.22

Things are then destroyed absolutely for further organizing with cutting edge segment
progresses. Associations must adhere to human health and security rules and use
contamination control advances that lessen the health and natural perils of dealing with e-

waste. And all of this made formal recycling costly. Subsequently, numerous organizations

and nations unlawfully send out their e-waste to creating nations where reusing is modest.23

The U.S., the second-biggest manufacturer of e-waste after China, created ten million

tons of electronic waste in 2012, more than 64 pounds for each individual. In 2012, just 29%
of it was reused the rest is normally landfilled, burned or stuck in a wardrobe. An
examination done by the guard dog bunch Basel Action Network utilizing trackers, in any

case, found that 40% of the e-waste as far as anyone knows reused in the U.S. was really sent
out. Its majority wound up in creating nations generally in Asia which is informal reusing is
regularly unlicensed and uncontrolled.24

Importing e-waste for recycling may result some short-term economic benefits, proper e-

waste disposal and recycling can provide the environment and human a lot of benefits.

Facilities, organizations providers and professionals must not only follow the proper
electronic waste management procedure but they should also encourage people to regulate
and conduct a safe and proper recycling process to ensure health at all levels. 25

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All countries must have the same acceptable standards for e-waste management whether
developed or third world countries and everyone must be well-educated about the risks of
improper recycling and management of e-wastes especially these electronics have the potential to
be a hazardous substance.26

Here are some ways to recycle e-waste properly provided by the article, use a certified E-
waste recycler by searching or finding services near your home or workplaces, visit civic
institution: go and check for the local governments, schools and universities that has a project of
recycling especially electronics wastes and participate to create even a small contribution to
reduce e-waste. Donating used electronics could also help since it will reduce the e-waste instead
of collecting unwanted and useless electronics, reusing is always better than recycling. Make
sure to dispose or recycle our gadgets/ electronics properly every time we replace it. Consume
less is the best way we could help and save not only the environment but also human health, be
responsible and be part of the solution. 27

Thinking about the architectural project as a broader process first requires reflecting on the

role of architecture in transformation. Electronic recycling is challenging due to the

advancement of technology, making designs much more complicated than the prototype model.

But there are ways to recycle e-waste in the field of architecture. Advanced innovation works

inside the bounds of equipment.They live in an impalpably associated trap of framework settled

through the arrangement of programming that controls them.Presently, equipment relates more

substantial interface as opposed to its capacities. 28

When the innovation or technology develops, the outdated equipment turns into

waste.This proposition gives a new way of using e-waste or electronic waste for architecture.

The equipment will be ejected with a cohesive substance to turn into another construction

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material. Electronic waste can be the new construction material that may lessen the amount of

rubbish e-waste around the globe but instead using it in a creative way without harming any parts

of the environment.29

Powerful magnets can be used to pull iron and steel from the waste. Materials like which

can then be used again as recycled steel. Steel is a component used in construction of buildings,

it has been in the industry since the 1920’s and it is seen in architecture as both function and

design. It can be seen from roofing and in the curtain walls. Others are more hidden in masonry

and stone anchors. This would provide high material ready to be used in the field of construction
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and architecture.

Experimental Study On E–Waste Concrete and Comparing with Conventional Concrete

According to Bavan and Yogendra (2015) the requirement for transferring of E-waste is a

few tons for each year because of its expanding manner. These endeavors were made to utilize

the parts of E-waste as a halfway substitution of 10 mm to 12.5 mm the coarse total in the field
of construction.31

The use of squashed E-waste materials as ordinary concrete and different materials in the
structure development helps in lessening the expense of concrete.It is the most significant
technique to lessen the amount of E-waste just as to accomplish an eco–friendly construction
materials like concrete and conserve condition from the impact of contamination.32

In this case study they compare the partial replacement of e-waste as the coarse aggregate in
concrete. It is said that e-waste as coarse aggregate is the best option for the traditional

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cement.The transfer of E-waste can be utilized as a coarse aggregate and in turn gives a decrease
in weight on landfill arranging and natural contamination.33

The thickness of Electronic waste concrete is less compared to traditional concrete which
decreases the cost of the solid concrete and at the same time, produces the lightweight concrete
structure.34

The outcomes show that great quality, more durable and expansion of concrete. E–waste also
increases the increment in compressive strength by 15 percent substitution. The utilization of E-
waste is promises to enhance the mechanical and synthetic properties which serves as an eco–
friendly cement. The opposition’s response shows that E-waste does not entice by sulfur under
2.1 N relieving states of H2 SO4.35

This study shows that using e- waste as coarse aggregate in concrete is more durable than the

conventional concrete. E-waste can be recycled for construction and helps materials to be more

durable. It can attain high compressive strength and at the same time, using e-waste is more eco-

friendly in the field on construction, lastly, it reduces the cost of materials.36

According to Leblanc recycling e-waste properly is one way of having a solution. With
appropriate utilization of electronic waste, it can avoid contamination and ultimately, avoid
damaging the environment.37

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Being knowledgeable with the substances inside e-waste may prevent improper disposal of e-
waste because before reusing this waste it is important to know its capability. There are also
steps in recycling e-waste that may help in achieving the solution.38

Overall, there are plenty of ways to recycle e-waste or electronic waste as they call it. In

the field of architecture, utilization of electronic waste can be helpful not just in designing but

also in the durability and quality of the structure. Giving e-waste a second life does not only help

in the quality of the structure but by doing so, it lessens the waste that is spread and reduces the

chance of contamination in habitats.39

Reusing e-waste has undeniably turned into a significant issue all around the world. Rather than

giving the chance of e-waste to be disposed in landfills, governments and associations around the
globe are currently taking viable activities toward the best possible transfer and reuse of e-
waste.40

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