In an article in Upfront Magazine, it talks about how our e-waste (electronic waste) is being
given to other countries and is not being recycled properly. I think that it is wrong for electronic
manufacturers to pay developing countries to take the United State's waste.
The electronic waste can affect people. For example in the text it says, "In far-flung, mostly
impoverished places in Ghana, India, and China....of children inhaling the smoke from phone casings
as they identify and separate different kinds of plastics for recyclers." And also in the text it says, "most
scientists agree that exposure poses serious health risks, especially to pregnant women and
children....[and] can cause irreversible neurological damage and threaten the development of a child."
The waste can affect people in terrible ways and can put them at risk. It's not right that the United
State's waste is causing this.
Also, the e-waste is not being recycled properly. For example in the article it says, "Changes in
the way manufacturers glue, screw, and solder components together would make it easier to dismantle
discarded phones and thus reduce the risks posed by crude recycling techniques, like those employed
by children in Ghana." If we don't help change the way that we recycle our e-waste, it can affect our
environment, hurting us. As the quote states, making the components of the electronics easier to
dismantle could help us recycle better. If we did this and recycled the waste on our own, it could help
our environment and the people being affected by the e-waste in the places that the United States is
sending our waste to.
In conclusion, I think that wrong for manufacturers to be paying other countries to take the
Unites States' e-waste. It affects the people in the countries that the e-waste is being sent to and it is not
being recycled properly. We should recycle our e-waste in the U.S. If we recycled our e-waste on our
own, it would help the people and the environment.
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