E-Waste: Article Review

Despite the benefits of technology, there are negative impacts of computer parts,
phones and other electronic devices. And it’s a growing problem. Please answer the
following questions referring to the 2 articles given.

Article 1 The Dark Side of the Digital Age: E-Waste

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/mary-kay/the-dark-side-of-the-digi_b_7140120.html

1. How is e-waste defined in this article?

E-Waste or electronic waste is described in this article as the waste from electronics which the
amount of is growing quickly every year. E-Waste can come from discarded phones,
computers and much more.
2. How much e-waste was produced in 2014 according to the UN?
According to the UN, 41.8 million tonnes of e-waste was produced in 2014.
3. Using the infographic image:
a. What examples are the equivalent of 41,8 million tonnes of e-waste?
It is equivalent to 7 pyramids, 6,150,000 elephants or 1772 titanics.
b. What fraction of e-waste was recycled in 2014
Only ⅙ of this e-waste was recycled.
c. What’s the average time between new phones for consumers?
On average, consumers switch phones every 18 months or so.
d. What percent of e-waste is exported by the U.S. to Asia?
80% of e-waste is exported to Asia from the U.S.
e. Name just 3 e-waste toxins and some of their adverse health effects
Lead which can lead to birth defects, brain and kidney damage etc. Mercury which can lead to
hear, liver, lung, spleen damage and etc. Also silver which causes most of the things
previously mentioned and more.
4. How can we apply each of the “3 R’s” to E-waste? Name 2 solutions for each R
We can reduce how much electronics we buy to reduce e-waste and we can be mindful with it.
We can reuse electronics as much as possible and donate or sell them if we really don’t want
them instead of tossing it.
We can recycle electronics by choosing not to throw them in the trash and choosing a good
recycler for your electronics.
5. What other reflections do you have from reading this article?
From this article, I now know how our use of electronics can be bad for others. I always
thought that buying a new phone was just a waste of money but not only that, it also
contributes to e-waste if we don’t use the 3 R’s.
Article 2: The Global Cost of Electronic Waste
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/09/the-global-cost-of-electronic-waste/502
019/

6. What are some general and specific reasons given for the trend of increasing
amounts of e-waste?“
Consumers are simply purchasing electronics more frequently and moving on to the next
technology throwing away their old electronics that are still good for use. This is because
companies bring new products to market very frequently persuading consumers to buy which
ultimately leads to e-waste.
7. What 2 major ecological effects of e-waste are given in the article?
It increases mining and the need for materials to create more products and it raises concerns
with pollution of all kinds, information security, human exploitation and etc.
8. How much e-waste does the UN forecast will be dumped in 2017?
The UN forecasts that 50 million tonnes of e-waste will be dumped or have been dumped in
2017.
9. What are some solutions to the problem proposed in this article?
The article proposes that we use the three R’s to reduce e-waste as mentioned in the first
article.
10. What other reflections do you have from reading this article?
I feel like the big technology companies are mostly at fault for the e-waste problem because
they keep producing new products so frequently when they can just make a new product or
phone every two years instead of one. It is all about business though and it’s also the
consumers fault for consuming so much.

Article Review Rubric: Thinking /Communication / 10

● All questions have been completely answered using evidence from the articles
● Personal reflections and insights have been developed and stated (#5, #10)
● All responses are given in complete sentences and are grammatically correct

NOTE - Some knowledge from this research will be evaluated in the unit test, and applied to the
final electronics project