Danielle Palermo

3/4/2021
Written Persuasive Speech Outline

Topic: Electronic Waste

Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience to lessen their electronic waste by using products
and to discard their e-waste with ethical and responsible recycling companies.
Thesis/Central Idea: Mishandled e-waste has a deadly environmental impact on not only the
communities it ends up in, but the entire world, and every single person with a smartphone has
contributed to the problem.

Introduction/Attention
I. (Attention Getter) I want every person to think about how many electronic devices
they’ve had throughout their whole lives. This includes phones, tablets, computers, tvs,
gaming consoles, etc. Do you know how they were all disposed of? According to
ifixit.com, 130 million cell phones are thrown away every year in America, but only 8
percent of them are properly recycled. Now, I have a follow-up question: Do you know
where the rest of it ends up?
II. (Thesis) Mishandled e-waste has a deadly environmental impact on not only the
communities it ends up in, but the entire world, and every single person with a
smartphone has contributed to the problem.
III. (Credibility Statement) I recently got a new gaming console to replace my old one, but I
realized I had no idea how to dispose of it. I knew I needed to recycle it, but thought that
just meant putting it in my recycle bin. Thankfully, I decided to look it up before I
chucked it in the bin and learned a lot about the dangers of e-waste and how to handle it
properly.
IV. (Preview) I’m going to explain to you what exactly e-waste is, the harmful effects of it,
where most of your electronics end up, and why you need to find a local recycling center
as soon as possible.
(Transition: First, let’s lay down the groundwork.)

Body
I. E-waste has a detrimental impact on the environment and our society.
A. E-waste, short for electronic waste, is discarded electronics that typically contain
toxic and hazardous materials.
1. E-waste is really any item that contains an electronic component in it,
even your toaster would be considered e-waste once it’s been discarded.
 a) Because of its toxic contents, e-waste must be recycled properly or
else the toxic substances could pollute the ecosystem around it.
b) According to e-cycle.com, most phones contain harmful toxins like
lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, chlorine and bromine.
c) These chemicals can lead to damage to our internal systems, such
as reproductive, nervous, skin, liver, respiratory, and even brain
and kidney damage.
2. There are many different ways the toxins can enter the ecosystem.
a) Some landfills burn this waste, which causes toxins to enter the air.
b) According to eridirection.com, a study found that airborne toxins
in the areas surrounding some of the biggest landfills in China
were 100% more prevalent than previously recorded.
c) The chemicals can also be absorbed into the ground and
contaminate not only the soil, but also the water supply.
d) The surrounding communities can be affected with some of the
most vulnerable members, kids, easily becoming susceptible to a
plethora of problems like neurological damage.
3. Your devices ending up in foreign landfills can also pose a serious security
threat to you.
a) Many items that we get rid of are fully or partially functioning and
sometimes not completely wiped.
b) This can make it incredibly easy for workers to steal information
off of your computer.
c) In fact, theconversation.com says that there are organized crime
rings in landfills in Ghana that search through computer hard
drives for sensitive information, like credit cards and bank info.

(Transition: Next, let’s talk about where all this waste ends up and exactly how it gets there.)
II. While these problems may not be as apparent here, they are increasingly obvious in many
developing countries that big corporations treat like trash cans.
A. Because exporting electronics is not federally illegal in America, companies can
decide whether to spend money on ethical recycling here or exporting the waste
somewhere else.
1. Exporting e-waste to other countries is easier, cheaper, and, most
importantly, not illegal.
a) Recycling plants in America separate e-waste from batteries and
shred the rest of the product to sell it for the material.
b) While this process is completely safe for the environment, it is
costly to run this business in America and results in high recycling
fees.
 c) These fees stop many companies from recycling in America, and
instead they send the e-waste overseas to unsafe and polluting
landfills in countries like China, Ghana, and India.
d) Many of those countries do not have safety regulations in place, so
the landfills there allow the toxic materials to enter their
environment by burning the electronics.
e) According to Berkeley Political Review, up to 40% of America’s
e-waste is exported overseas and dumped in landfills.
2. The communities surrounding these landfills are suffering from all of our
e-waste.
a) According to a video by BBC about landfills in Ghana, the fumes
from burning e-waste contaminates the breast milk of mothers and
livestock the people feed on.
b) The e-waste affects even those not handling the electronics.
c) As the amount of e-waste grows every year, it is plausible that this
problem affecting these individual communities may eventually
start to affect more of the world.
3. E-waste is increasing at an alarming rate due to corporate greed and
consumer habits.
a) Consumerism in America is fed by large corporations that know
customers will always want what is new.
b) Our constant need to have more and more things creates more
waste than our planet has ever seen, especially when it comes to
electronics.
c) Many products that were seen as new and innovative 5 years ago
are almost obsolete now. Many older electronics are not supported
by newer software.
d) In fact, e-waste has increased significantly in the last decade.
Unu.edu states that global e-waste increased by 4% in 2020.

(Transition: Lastly, let’s talk about what you need to do to stop e-waste from destroying our
planet.)
III. We, as consumers, need to do a better job dealing with our electronics.
A. The first thing you can do is reduce the amount of e-waste you create.
1. Try to keep your functioning devices for as long as you can.
a) Webfx.com states that people in America change their phone every
1.8 years on average.
b) Unless your device is barely working, an easy way to reduce your
toxic footprint is by buying products only when you need them.
 2. Reusing electronics is a great and common way to lengthen the life of
electronics.
a) Many of you have probably done this with your family. It’s as
simple as giving your “old” working phone to a family member or
friend when you get a new phone.
b) Selling your tech gear or buying new tech through ebay or other
online markets is another great, sustainable way to increase the
lifetime of products.
B. The next thing you need to do is locate an electronics recycler near you so you
know how and where you can dispose of your electronics.
1. Make sure you locate one that clearly states they do not send e-waste
overseas.
a) The Basel Action Network launched an investigation using
tracking devices and found that 40% of recyclers that claimed to be
sustainable and environmental-friendly, but didn’t explicitly claim
to process all waste in America, actually sent their e-waste
overseas.
b) This is why it’s vital that you check any recycler’s website to make
sure they ensure your products are not exported to other countries.
c) I don’t live in southern California so I’m not familiar with all of
the recyclers in that area, but after doing a quick search I found
that carecycler.com states they will never let any e-waste brought
to them be sent overseas.
d) They also claim to make sure that any data on your devices is
eliminated completely during the destruction process.
2. Our country is capable of recycling e-waste properly, but unfortunately
many companies would rather increase their profit margin.
3. It’s important that we take it upon ourselves to recycle what we can
properly, and call out the companies that don’t.

Conclusion
V. (Restate Thesis and Main Points) We’ve just discussed what e-waste is, how it impacts
the environment and the people around it, and what you can do to help stop the problem.
VI. (Concluding Device) E-waste is quickly growing and will soon be a much bigger
problem than ever anticipated.
A. While it is an issue that only barely affects us now, we need to think about the
countries it does affect and fix the issues soon before it gets out of hand.
1. Make sure you recycle all electronics properly and tell those around you to
do the same.
2. We don’t dump our toxic waste into our water supply, so how is it fair that
we do it to others?
Works Cited
“Cell Phone Toxins and the Harmful Effects on the Human Body when Recycled
Improperly.” e-Cycle, 15 Oct. 2013, www.e-cycle.com/cell-phone-toxins-and-the-
harmful-effects-on-the-human-body-when-recycled-improperly. Accessed 4 Mar. 2021.

“How Does E-Waste Affect the Environment.” ERI, 2 Jun. 2015,

www.eridirect.com/blog/2015/06/how-does-e-waste-affect-the-environment. Accessed 4
Mar. 2021.

Kuehr, Ruediger, et al. “E-waste Rises 8% by Weight in 2 Years as Incomes Rise, Prices
Fall.” United Nations University, 14 Dec. 2017, unu.edu/media-relations/releases/ewaste-
rises-8-percent-by-weight-in-2-years.html. Accessed 4 Mar. 2021.

Lansah, Sulley. “Ghana’s E-waste Dumpsite: Pollution ‘Could Get Into Breast Milk’.”
BBC News, 19 Dec. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-46606645. Accessed 4
Mar. 2021.

“Secret Tracking Project Finds that Your Old Electronic Waste Gets Exported to
Developing Countries.” Basel Action Network, 15 Sep. 2016,
www.ban.org/news/2016/9/15/secret-tracking-project-finds-that-your-old-electronic-
waste-gets-exported-to-developing-countries. Accessed 4 Mar. 2021.

Singh, Ana. “Out of Sight, Out of Mind: How the United States Discards E-Waste.”
Berkeley Political Review, 5 Dec. 2019, bpr.berkeley.edu/2019/12/05/out-of-sight-out-
of-mind-how-the-united-states-discards-e-waste/. Accessed 4 Mar. 2021.

Stowell, Alison. “How Potential of Massive E-waste Dump in Ghana Can Be

Harnessed.” The Conversation, 3 Sep. 2019, www.theconversation.com/how-potential-
of-massive-e-waste-dump-in-ghana-can-be-harnessed-121953. Accessed 4 Mar. 2021.

Weins, Kyle. “Chemical Analysis Reveals that New Phones Have Fewer Toxics.” iFixit,
2 Oct. 2012, www.ifixit.com/News/3443/chemical-analysis-reveals-that-new-phones-
have-fewer-toxics. Accessed 4 Mar. 2021.
Zook, Chris. “How Many Devices Will You Use in Your Life?” WebFx, 1 Aug. 2016,
www.webfx.com/blog/general/how-many-devices-will-you-use-in-your-life/. Accessed 4
Mar. 2021.