E-Waste by Manjia Zhao

POST MORTEM

MANJIA ZHAO

ÂŠDesigned by Manjia Zhao All rights reserved throughout the world All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

POST MORTEM

MANJIA ZHAO

Contents

opening

THE OBITUARY

A story about electronic devices

chapter 1

THE AFTERLIFE

The facts of e-waste problem

chapter 2

THE OPPORTUNITIES

The main problems and solutions

in the end

AFTERWARDS

the obituary

This is a story about electronic devices

You bought a new device

And one day it broke

So, you threw it away

DO YOU KNOW

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

It becomes

a mountain of abandoned wires

a mountain of abandoned circuit boards

a mountain of abandoned devices

THIS IS WHAT WE CALL

E-WASTE

chapter 1

THE AFTERLIFE

the afterlife

THE AMOUNT OF E-WASTE WEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;RE NOT TALKING ABOUT A SINGLE DEVICE. Granted, a single cell phone or TV lying in a single landfill isn't of tremendous concern, but we're not talking a single device. Then how many are we talking about? The United Nations says 60% of the world's total population owns at least one cellphone. Think about that for a moment. Perhaps even more telling are recent reports claiming a whopping five billion mobile phone subscriptions are currently in place worldwide.

60%

OF THE WORLD’S TOTAL POPULATION OWNS AT LEAST ONE CELLPHONE.

“One can say with some confidence that literally billions of cell phones have been discarded over the course of the last three decades, all of which are now in the process of breakdown.” But the truth is, almost everyone owns

But cellphones are not the only elec-

more than one cell phone. Consider tronic devices people have. Consider how many of cell phone users are

the other possibilities including a com-

already on their second, third, or

puter, a laptop, a refrigerator, a TV.

fourth cell phone, and you begin to

Together these will become an enor-

get the picture. But what is the truly mous amount of e-waste one day. scary part? Most reliable estimates say that no more than ten to fifteen percent of all cell phones are well recycled. And that figure applies only here in the United States. One can only imagine how that figure varies in countries where recycling is a virtual unknown.

ALM O ST E V E R YO N E O WNS A P HO NE

HOW MANY PHONES HAVE YOU OWNED ?

the afterlife

THE INTERIOR OF E-WASTE WHAT’S INSIDE YOUR ELECTRONIC DEVICES? Let’s take the cellphone for exam-

ward. Some are found on the circuit

ple. While there's no validated evi-

board, others in the display; or in the

dence to suggest that the persistent battery; or in the wiring or the solder use of cell phones will trigger brain

that flows between all of the above.

tumors— despite lots of hype to the

And don’t forget the glue that holds

contrary— the cell phone is far from

so much of the innards together.

green. Indeed, it contains a lot of

And the packaging, which in many

stuff you certainly wouldn't want instances is the very definition of to sprinkle on your cereal. Materials excessive. Or the plastic shell, which such as copper, gold, lead, nickel, contains crude oil, natural gas, and antimony, zinc, beryllium, tantalum, mercury, arsenic, and coltan among others. While most of these materials are part of the finished item, others play a critical role in the production process and remain after-

chemicals can be very harmful.

lithium

phosphorus

chromium

strontium

copper

Au gold

Mn manganese

cadmium

bromine

selenium

lithium

Fe iron

gallium

silicon

mercury

thallium

bismuth

tellurium

scandium

indium

antimony

Zn zinc

nickel

caesium

cobalt

europium

americium

Some of hazadous compounds from e-waste HAZARDOUS

can be also extracted and reused. For example, gold. But they are still harumful to living beings.

These elments have value and can be extracted VALUABLE

from e-waste and resold. “One tonne of mobile phones can yield USD 15,000 and more gold than 17 tons of gold ore.”

“ In large doses, the heavy metal and hazadous chemical components inside e-waste has been linked to critical health concerns such as cancer, birth defects, brain afflictions, and damage to the nervous, reproductive, digestive, lymphatic, and immune systems. Even the brominated flame retardants that coat the plastic case of many cell phones, guarding against the accidental ignition of the materials inside, become potentially toxic once said case is compromised. ”

the afterlife

THE DESTINATION OF E-WASTE Did you ever wonder what happens to all those items once youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve discarded them? Most of our electronics are classified as e-waste once theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re thrown away. Although we think of obsolete or outdate electronics as waste, many of them contain valuable metals such as copper that could be recovered and reused.w And the toxic compound inside electronics should be well genarated. The trash or recycle centers are not the final destination of e-waste.

THEN, WHERE DO THEY GO?

SOURCES

DESTINATIONS

82% More than

of discarded electronics end up in

LAND FILLS & INCINERATORS. Most e-waste ends up in our landfills and incinerators. According to EPA, the U.S. generated 3,1900,000 tons of e-waste in 2009. A landfill is a planned and designed to discard solid waste materials by burying it between the layers of earth, in an effort to decrease human heath hazards which get caused if it is left open or without treatment. In the landfill, there are some preventive measures followed before settling the solid material underground. If not buried properly and with lack of proper management, it can be dangerous.

the afterlife

THE LANDFILLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S IMPACT

More than 82% of discarded electronics end up in landfill. The toxic chemicals in them could leach out into groundwater and streams. Most of the plastics in e-waste were burnt which can emit dioxin. Out of 3.19 tons of e-waste generated int the U.S. in 2009. 2.59 miilion tons went into landfills and only 600,000 tons was recovered for recyling. This situation brought a big problem to our environment. The compressed e-waste placed

mixing with groundwater or seep

underground can create methane through ground into pure groundgas and other dangerous gases.

water. But many landfills around the

Methane gas is flammable. But if

world are not built properly and man-

comes out in open air and gets mixed

aged. Most of the landfills are just

with atmosphere, it can create lots dug and all solid wastes are dumped of problems for living being including into it, which have added to both human beings. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why the pipes water as well as air pollution. are placed underground to absorb these gases before it comes out into open air. Even some landfills have water containers built underground to prevent contaminated water from

THE INCINERATORâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S IMPACT

Incinerator is where a few parts of in the world. Deadly toxics like cade-waste are destroyed by burning

mium, sulfuric acid, mercury, poi-

them. The burnt waste turns into sonous dioxin and hydrogen chloride ashes. These ashes are used in cov-

are created by burning e-wastes and

ering the landfills and also export to its ashes. other areas. This process only adds on to the hazardous cause. The ashes of the e-waste used to cover the landfills create more risks of hazardous Leachate. While the waste is burnt, it releases deadly par-

IF YOU THINK IT IS BETTER TO BURN THE WASTE THAN DUMP INTO GROUND, YOU ARE WRONG.

ticulates and gases into the air and also if breath in, it gets settled in lungs. Air movement cannot be controlled so the air currents can carry these harmful particulates anywhere

the afterlife

50% More than

of the e-waste that we send to recyclers is exported

OVERSEA to develping countries

“The dirty little secret is that when you take your electronic waste to a recycler, instead of throwing it in a trashcan, about 80 percent of that material, very quickly, finds itself on a container ship going to a country like China, Nigeria, India, Vietnam, Pakistan–where very dirty things happen to it.” Puckett, the executive director of The Basel Action Network which is a private group focused on halting the trade in toxic goods, particularly waste goods, said to NPR. Is there any guarantee that the item you dutifully send for recycling will be recycled properly? Apprently, in many cases, the answer is no. While recyclers do make money selling metal scraps, such as gold and liquid solder, it is cheaper to have the hard labor of pulling apart and melting down pieces done outside the country even if that means the useless scraps and other hazardous materials will liter that area. .

the afterlife

DONATING TURNS OUT TO BE A GOOD EXCUSE FOR DEVELOPED COUNTRIES OF DUMPING THEIR TRASHES TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. The people of Ghana know the age annual wage is expressed in the dirty trade too well. You see, Ghana hundreds of dollars, tech products have become the world’s electronic

are burned over open flames to sep-

dumping ground along with regions arate the plastic from the more valuof India, Nigeria, China, and several

able metals. Products with little or

other locations. There, old, unused, no value are dumped in nearby pits. unloved, and outmoded electronics

Needless to say, the threat of escap-

arrive by the boatload, often under

ing toxins is not a threat at all—it's

the guise of recycling. Sadly, the a reality. Eighty percent of the chilword “recycle” means something dren in Guiyu, China, another region very different there. An Greenpeace report in August 2008 chronicles the process, and its findings are far from uplifting. In this unregulated and often unmonitored environment where the aver-

that receives recyclable electronics, are known to have elevated levels of lead in their blood due to the toxins found in these electronics.

Worse still, the Greenpeace study

erished peoples. The theory being,

determined that much of the hard of course, that a circaÂâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;2000 comlabor there in third world countries

puter means a hell of a lot more

is performed by teenage boys.

to a Ghanaian schoolhouse than

some as young as eleven. Most of

the busy New York executive who

them are working in an environ- parted ways with it. Yet, according ment which is berefted of protec- to Greenpeace and its sources, anytive equipment. And workers there

where from 25% to 75% of second-

mostly with little or no knowledge of hand "reusable" goods that land in safe handling procedures. Arguably of equal concern is the widespread abuse of the wonderfully humanitarian program called "Bridge the Digital Divide", wherein

developing nations are in fact broken beyond repair and of use to no one. That these devices then end up in the tech killing fields we cited earlier comes as no surprise.

nations of wealth pass along older yet fully functioning tech to impov-

the afterlife

POOR RECYCLERS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES LACK EDUCATION, MONEY AND FORMAL RECYCLING FACILITIES. In developed countries, electronics

dren by the side of e-waste.Children

recycling takes place in purpose-

are playing on toxic trash mountain

built recycling plants under a con-

everyday. They deserve a better work-

trolled condition. In many EU states

ing environment.

for example, plastics from e-waste are not recycled to avoid brominated furans and dioxins from being released into the atmosphere. In developing countries however, there are no such controls. Recycling is done by hand in scrap yards, often by children.

“We need to find a way to keep them in the business to earn a living. E-waste recycling is a rather complex process requiring a lot of capacity, technologies and knowledge,” said Ruediger Kuehr. “But easy steps can be taken so people and the environment in the informal sector don’t

Poor recyclers in develping contries suffer harm.” are forced to live on e-waste. They don’t have good working environment. They can only recycle the waste by their hands. They store the toxic e-waste at their home and live with them. And they raise their chil-

NEW LAWS ARE NOT WORKING WELL.

“The responsibility of the countries

rials in Hong Kong. Since the loop-

is to adopt legislation and to enforce

holes of the law, overseas countries

it,” said Katharina Kummer whose still ship old devices to the region to the executive secretary of the Basel

be stripped for minerals, which are

Convention. “The problem though

then resold by traders, the poisonous

is that it requires a huge amount of junk is stuck in the country with no money, and even the highest devel- way to sell or dispose of it because oped countries, like the countries of

local businesses fear the law. “I don’t

the European Union, do not have the

know what to do with the electronic

necessary resources to prevent all

waste. I’m looking for recyclers who

those illegal exports from happening.

know how to treat them,” an anony-

So you can imagine what it would

mous recycler said to the newspaper.

look like for a poor country in Africa

“But I know many others are having

for example or a poor country from the same problem. It is a problem for another part of the world”.

Hong Kong.”

A new law effective January 1, 2011 forcing Chinese recycling firms to turn away imported electronic waste has created a stockpile of toxic mate-

10%

Only

of e-waste were

RECYCLED in recycle centers

There are responsible recycle centers exists in develped countries like the United States. For example, the Intercon Solutions Recycling is a progressive recycler that specializes in electronics and recycles everything it receives. There are no reseling, remarketing, land filling, incineration, or exportation happens in Intercon Solutions.

the afterlife

RESPONSIBLE RECYCLERS PREFERS THE TERM “DE-MANUFACTURE” TO “RECYCLE”. When Itercon first receives a cell

plastics, glass and all the different

phone (because the process is simil-

metals found in smart phones and

iar, here use cellpone as an exam-

MP3 players are separated. Then

ple), it places the item with others

each metal such as gold, silver, lead,

of its own type and weight. This

aluminum, iron, copper, brass, palla-

continues until 25 pallet-sized boxes

dium, rhodium, and more, is further

are filled. At this point the item tear-

sorted into individual lots.

down begins.

Once separated, each component

Intercon cautions that although tear- is passed on to one of Intercon’s down may look similar to a stand- domestic smelting partners, all of ard assembly line, it’s actually a

which must meet the requirements

“de-assembly” line where individual

of the company’s ISO 9001 and

items are de-manufactured or disas- 14001, OHSAS 18001, RIOS, R2, and sembled–by hand, that is als why

NAID AAA certifications. There are no

they prefer to be called “de-man-

offshore handoffs.

ufacture” to “recycle”. In any case,

WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY HERE AND THE TECHNOLOGY SHOULD BE USED AS WIDELY AS POSSIBLE. The plastics, glass, and metals are and reusing what was once considsmelted into bars, ingots, or sows,

ered a wholly unrecyclable product–

while the glass, lead, and precious

Styrofoam. “Though Styrofoam (also

metal items are recycled back into known as polystyrene) isn’t exactly new electronic circuitry. The plas-

electronic in nature, it inevitably goes

tics are remanufactured into parking

hand-in-hand with the packaging of

bumpers. You see, recycled plastic said electronics and takes hundreds from items such as cellphones have

of years to degrade once trashed. In

traditionally been used in the fabrica- our minds, the less Styrofoam in the tion of asphalt roads and composite

trash, the better.”

decking. But we are told that parking bumpers aren't nearly so prone to leaching. There is an exciting thing: Intercon has recently developed a “reverse engineering” method for recycling

chapter 2

THE OPPORTUNITIES

The problems

LACK OF EDUCATION Many people don’t know what E-waste is and what responsibility they should take for their own electronic devices. They need to be told the knowledge of e-waste and some of them may become caring about this issue and take some action. It is projected that by the year 2010

growing waste stream of the United

there will be enough e-waste filled

States needs more participation oby

dump trucks which can circle the

American’s “In just ten years, the

earth twice, based on a 2008 EPA EPA calculates that by the end of report. From a study done on Ameri-

2010 there will be so much e-waste

can's about e-waste, the general be accumulated, it could cover the consensus is that people are not island of Manhattan in old electronknowledgeable of the issue or not ics 3 feet deep.” compelled to do anything about their electronics. These statistics recently done are showing that the fastest

An online gadgets marketplace, surveyed 7,500 households in the United States and around the world. Participants answered various questions about e-waste such as the gadgets they owned and their e-waste recycling habits.

Didn't know how

Recycled their old electronics

17%

39%

wasn't available

11%

7% just didn't care

26% Didn't get around to it

The problems

ALEXANDRIA AGE 34 MANAGER Hi, I’m Alexandria. I’m local San Francisco citizen and I work as a real estate manager. I have many different gadgets at home. Although I’m not a technophile I really like new electronic stuffs. They make my life fun. I especially love my new Iphone. I used to have a samsung smart phone but it was not as interesting as I thought. So I changed to iphone and I think I will be happy to play with it for a long time before I get bored. But I love new things, I can’t guarantee I can use this iphone for ever.

I DIDN’T NOTICE ANYTHING ABOUT E-WASTE BEFORE

I didn’t know about e-waste before. What a shame! I didn’t think it’s a problem because there are so many recycle centers out there and their job is to deal with wastes and make our life easier. Did I think wrong? And I always store my old devices or just leave them beside trash can and I thought some recycle guys would pick them up. I never worried about getting rid of my old gadgets. Maybe I was wrong. If I knew this is so harmful, I would take it serious, I promise. But how? And what can we do?

opportunity

NEED TO LEARN CAMPAIGN OPPORTUNITY 1

FORMAT

Website and Teacher’s Materials

AUDIENCE

Students from 10–18 Teachers & Parents

People‘s ignorance about e-waste makes the issue more dangerous. The most efficient way to counter future pollution is to educate our youth. There are more and more children around the age of 10 uses electronic devices like iPad. But do they know these devices should be well recycled properly or they will harm the environment? Does a parent know they should teach their children about E-waste reduction? If they do, how? For this point, I’d like to design a series of teaching material for school and parents to educate their children. Educate from youth and change people’s behavior in 10-20 years, and a website to support the curriculum. Part 1: Plan out lessons to educate students from different background. The lession will include ‘introduction of e-waste’, ‘hazardous effects of e-waste’, and ‘the right way to deal with old devices’. Part 2: Give out books to students from different background. These books function as textbooks for use during classes. Part 3: A website which includes all the teaching information for every student and off class supports from teachers. This website is linked with the textbooks and the lesson plans, and it also offer online classes for people who wants to know about e-waste.

opportunity

INTERNAL FACTS CAMPAIGN OPPORTUNITY 2

FORMAT

Packaging

AUDIENCE Electronic users

People are ignorant about their e-waste problems. But if people know more about the hazardous of e-waste, they may make a change in their world. The toxic material in the devices should be labeled out just like nutrition contents in the food, or smoke aids on their packages, but there is no information as such on the package to give the information to the people. I want do a pckage design for the electronic devices. Associated with local government and non-profit environmental organizations. I will design a graphic breakdown of internal chemical components for each type of electronic devices to give hazardous material information to consumers and the infographics to show the percentage of recyclable parts and nonrecyclable parts of one device. Every consumer should be aware of the toxic content of the product they are purchasing, and over time change consumerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s behavior when dumping their devices. This act will push producers to think an more ecological design for their products.

opportunity

NEED TO KNOW CAMPAIGN OPPORTUNITY 3

FORMAT

Print Campain

AUDIENCE Electronic users

According to the EPA research, 75% of old electronic devices are in storage and there are no clear definitions of e-waste. Many people in this world will buy new devices and then dump the out dated device without considering of its hazards on their living environment. Most of people donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seems to care where will there devices really end. I want to design an advertising campaign co-operate with e-waste recycling center, non-profit organizations or local governments to show the hazards of e-wastes. The campaign includes e-waste reduction advertisement on locations such as bus stops, railway stations, large electronic stores chains etc. By making advertisments, we can gather more people, and let people be aware of e-waste problem around them.

The problems

LACK OF ACCESSIBILITY Lack of accessibility is a huge cause of the increasing amount of e-waste. Although people want to be responsible, they can’t find easy way to take their responsibility. Nowadays, people are really busy with their works and lives. Everyday is in a hurry. How many people would like to spend their time to go far away from home to a place and just for dumping their old gadgets? They probably prefer to store their stuffs at home. People want their life easlier. There are 23 states have passed

any specific obligations. The Texas

e-waste recycling laws in the USA

law says that recycling options must

for taking back and recycling their be free, “reasonably convenient” and old products so far. But in most of “designed to meet the collection the states, the “taking back” law is needs of consumers in this state.” not working well. Some states have

As a result, companies can really

laws with collection goals or spe-

do whatever they want— including

cific measures for requiring how

simply offering a mail back program,

convenient collection must be. But even though they know few consumseveral states, including Texas, Virginia, Oklahoma, and Missouri, have passed laws which simply require the companies to offer a takeback program, but which don’t establish

ers will actually use it.

68%

OF CONSUMERS STOCKPILE USED OR UNWATED COMPTER EQUIPMENT IN THEIR HOMES.

In a 2005 study commissioned for

that more than 235 million units had

HP by market research firm Penn

accumulated in storage by 2007.

Schoen Berland, it was said that sixty- We're willing to bet dollars to donuts eight percent of consumers stock- that figure has increased substanpile used or unwanted computer tially since then, given the onslaught equipment in their homes. In a 2008 of portable, personal devices in the EPA study of select electronics sold

past few years.

between 1980 and 2007â&#x20AC;&#x201D; specifically items like televisions, computers and peripherals, hard copy imaging devices such as printers and scanners, and cell phonesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;it was found

The problems

BEN AGE 35 MUSICIAN Hey, this is Ben. I’m from Texas and I’m a musician. I’m not famous yet, haha, but I think I will. I love doing music that’s why I paid big money for my musical equipments! This industry is developing so fast and if I want to catch up the step of trend, I need to update my equipments frequently. That’s a lot of money! But I have to do.

I TRIED TO RECYCLE MY STUFF BUT IT CAME OUT INCONVENIENT SO I GAVE UP

I came in San Francisco for vacation, so I’m not familiar with the recycle system here. But what I really want to say is, recycling system of e-stuff in Texas is a tragedy. I once tried to get rid of my e-trashes but I can’t find a way! So I gave up and my old, broken equipments are still lying in my garage...What I want to say is, government should really do something to offer us a way! Responsible citizens here want to do something good but can’t find a right path, how ridiculous!

opportunity

E-RECYCLABLE APP OPPORTUNITY 4

FORMAT

Smart Phone App

AUDIENCE Smart phone users

This app is focusing on e-waste recycling and reduction. It is designed to raise customer e-waste awareness and offer them a convenient way to let them know how to recycle old devices. By making this app possible, I will need the cooperation from the government, electronic companies and non-profit organizations.

FEATURES: 1: By scaning the QR codes or barcode/serial number of each electronic product, customers can check all the information they need including the manual, user’s guide, insurance information, the material contained, how to recycle, information of nearby good recycle centers and also if the device included in “Electronic Take Back Program”. The information of this device will be stored. It can be export to computer or drive. People can check the status of this device frequently. If people want to get rid of this device, this app can help them finding right way to recycle it. 2: Show the facts about environmental pollutions caused by e-waste via documentary videos and pictures of e-waste dumping places. Any hazardous influence the device may cause when the buyer didn’t recycle it. And this app also including news of e-waste recycling. consumers can check the latest recycle information.

eRecyclable

The problems

LACK OF RESPONSIBILITY THE E-WASTE PROBLEM IS GETTING WORSE BECAUSE OF THE IGNORANCE OF MANUFACTURES, LAW LOOPHOLES AND PEOPLE’S LACK OF AWARENESS. THE INDUST R Y IS NO T T AK ING

panies are missing in action. For

RESPONSIBILITY. The industry has

example, HP, they are clearly mak-

built in obsolescence unfortunately,

ing a little affort in that statement. In so you can find we're seeing things 2010 HP collected a paltry 45,931 lbs. become waste quicker than every That’s 0.19% of the total 24 million before,” Puckett said. “Computers

lbs. In 2009, Dell alone accounted for

now have a life span of about two

85% of the total 15 million pounds

years now in the North; many mobile

collected. HP has roughly the same

phones are turned over within six

market share as Dell (often a coumonths when somebody wants to ple points more) in the U.S., so one newest model. So we are creating would expect roughly the same a mountain and we're not going to stop people from consuming.” And the “Electronics Take Back Program” forced by law didn’t going well through companies. Some com-

effort at takeback as Dell.

C U S T O M E R S A R E N O T T A K I N G stand this. They think this is not in RESPONSIBILITY. Because the lack- their backyard and will never harm ing of promotion and education. Most

them. As the online servay about peo-

customers didn’t notice the e-waste

ple’s e-waste recycling habits men-

problem is getting worse because of

tioned before shows, 26% of the

the gadgets they are buying. What’s

people didn’t get around to e-waste

more, there is a little part of people

recycling and 7% of them said they

don’t care about e-waste issue just don’t care. because they are not deeply under-

MANY RECYCLERS ARE NOT TAK-

of e-waste that gets into recyclers’ ING RESPONSIBILITY. Many “recy- hands is exported to developing counclers” don’t recycle e-waste. In fact, tries, where it causes great harm. not all the e-waste sent to recycle

We need to close the door on this center is really recycling. Some of the cheap and dirty option now, for that manufacturers have policies prohibit- all these new efforts to promote recying e-waste exporting to developing cling are just taking off. nations, but their takeback programs don’t handle all the e-waste being collected. Still, we estimate that 50-80%

The problems

NADIA AGE 24 STUDENT Hello, My name is Nadia. I’m from Hongkong and now studying medical here in San Francisco. I like buying new stuffs, off course including electronic stuffs. I tried many different kinds of smart phones and it’s my hobby to try new things. I don’t think there is any bad of this.

I DON’T CARE ABOUT E-WASTE IT’S NONE OF MY BUSINESS

I didn’t know anything about e-waste before. I don’t understand what harmful can they bring to us? We can show sympathy on people living with trashes, but what we can do to change it? Or should we change it? They are living their life, right? I don’t think there are anything about me in this issue. Issues occurred in the world but I’m just living my own life. That’s it.

opportunity

E-WASTE EXHIBITION OPPORTUNITY 5

FORMAT

Community Exhibition

AUDIENCE People in one community. People who are interested in e-waste issue.

Nowadays, almost everyone owns more than one device. People who buy new gadgets usually dump the old one away. Everyone share a part in this industry one way or another, that’s why everyone needs to take responsibility to help reduce e-waste. To give people a chance to get to know e-waste issue and take responsibility, I’d like to design an e-waste exhibition in a museum or some local community in order to educate people and encourage these people to take responsibility.

WHAT’S IN E-WASET EXHIBITION Part 1: This exhibition encourages gadgets owners to donate their old devices, and will have a show for the out-dated devices they had donated. People can also redesign their devices, for example, dress them up to make them an art piece. The main point of this exhibition is to gather old devices in storage and sent to recycle center for reuse or recycle after the event. Part 2: In this exhibition, there will be artworks to show e-waste issues and some arts models made by using e-wastes. People who come to the show can be educated and entertained. Part 3: This exhibition will invite people from local e-waste recycling center to show their recycling procedure and give them a chance to communicate with gadgets owners. And the owners will discover more ways to recycle their old devices and take their responsibility steps towards e-waste reduction.

opportunity

“E–COMMUNITY” WEBSITE OPPORTUNITY 6

FORMAT

Website

AUDIENCE

Electronic devices users.

I want to design a website for electronic devices and their users. It is like a small society for electronic devices and their users. People on the site can chat with each other and discuss about e-waste recycling. And this kind of fun website will attract more teenagers and young people, the major consumers of electronic devices to come and contribute on e-waste reduction plan. When people care more about their devices, they will care more about recycling them.

FUNCTIONS OF “E–COMMUNITY” WEBBSITE Function 1: Owners can register IDs and will have their own space for their device. After put in the required information, they can check information like interior components, producer, etc. about their old and new devices. From this “community” people will know the age of their device and see if anyone wants their old devices or if the device can be repaired and reused. Function 2: After the old devices get sent to a recycle center, owners can track the data of recycling process of the device; the recycling process will be open to the public. This function can supervise the recycling center and pushes them to make the right recycling choice and take responsibility.

COMMUNITY OF ELECTRONICS

E-waste is a global issue; every single electronic user in this world has something to do with it. It is ok to use electronic devices as long as people pay for their share and take their responsibility to keep our world clean.

about me

MANJIA ZHAO AGE 23 FROM CHINA GRAPHIC DESIGN STUDENT

about author

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m an international student from China. I had a goal to change the world with my design skills little by little, from capturing small everyday life in to my work to making life changing artworks. I am a tree hugger and love new electronic devices. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why I chose E-waste as my topic. This is a worldwide problem and is closely connected to our personal life, because everyone is an electronic user and these electronics will sooner or later ends up in the garbage can; our own living environment is suffering because of e-waste. I love nature and I think San Francisco did a great job protecting our nature. San Francisco is one of the leaders in green recycling technology. However, what I found in my research is very surprising. San Francisco is a green city, but there are only a few people know and care about E-waste problem, so what about other places in the world thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot worse than San Francisco? As a student from China, I feel sad when I see so many people suffering from toxic wastes came from developed countries. Therefore I need to fight against e-waste and my weapon is my designing skill.

glossary

E-WASTE Any discarded electronic or electrical devices or their parts; also called electronic waste. Most common e-waste are house hold gadgets and computers.

EPA U.S. Government. Environmental Protection Agency: an independent federal agency, created in 1970, that sets and enforces rules and standards that protect the environment and control pollution.

GROUNDWATER the water beneath the surface of the ground, consisting largely of surface water that has seeped down: the source of water in springs and wells.

GREENPEACE An organization founded in 1971 that stresses the need to maintain a balance between human progress and environmental conservation. Members take active but nonviolent measures against what are regarded as threats to environmental safety, such as the dumping of nuclear waste in the sea

INCINERATORS A furnace or apparatus for burning trash, garbage, etc., to ashes.

LANDFILL A low area of land that is built up from deposits of solid refuse in layers covered by soil.

NPR National Public Radio.

QR CODE A QR code (abbreviated from Quick Response code) is a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) first designed for the automotive industry. More recently, the system has become popular outside of the industry due to its fast readability and comparatively large storage capacity. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be made up of any kind of data.

references

WEBSITES: 1. CollectiveGood and Environmental Issues 2. Story of stuffs 3. California Department of Toxic Substances Control 4. Electronics TakeBack Coalition–How to Find a Responsible Recycler 5. National Geographic Magazine Online–Carroll. "High-Tech Trash" (January 2008).

ARTICLES 1.“What is 'E-Waste' & How Can I Get Rid Of It?!” Kozlan, Melanie (2010-11-02). 2. “Scrapping the Hi-tech Myth: Computer waste in India” India: Toxics Link. February 2003. Retrieved 25 March 2011. 3. “The recycling and disposal of electrical and electronic waste in China—legislative and market responses”. Hicks, C; Dietmara, R., Eugsterb, M. (2005). 4. “Poison PCs and toxic TVs” 5. “Urgent need to prepare developing countries for surges in E-Waste” 6. United States Government Accountability Office GAO-08-1044 Electronic Waste

VIDEOS 1. “Computer waste disposal in China” (WMV). CBC News. 2. “Electronic Waste in Ghana”. YouTube. 3. “GOOD Magazine: E-Waste” YouTube 4. “'60 Minutes': The Trail Of Toxic E-Waste video” CNET TV 5. “Where does e-waste end up?” YouTube

POST MORTEM Designed by Manjia Zhao Graphics by Manjia Zhao Printing by Manjia Zhao Binding by Ken Li & Manjia Zhao Fonts: Univers 45 light Eurostile Regular Hooge Regular