E-Waste and What To Do About It
Thursday, May 20, 2010 at 8:01AM | Share Article E-Waste Rising and so are Solutions
The problem surrounding waste in this country is an obvious one, so enormous that various issues surrounding the disposal of waste often get overlooked. One of the fastest rising in terms of economic opportunity and overall exposure is the issue of electronic waste (e-waste).
The Big Money
For years much of the American e-waste has been shipped to countries like India and China, where regulations are not as stiff and the process becomes easier and more lucrative. 10 new e-waste plants are opening on the eastern side of the United States, as they can look to California for guidance. Although lacking still, California has the best e-scrap programs. With tougher restrictions for the exporting of e-waste, hopefully more of these centers will open up to create jobs and dispose of waste properly.
It is not surprising that in this time of recession and excess waste the two forces are combining. Many people are looking to computer and cell phone repair services for help. Others are digging deeper and venturing to DIY repairs. Items like iPhone repair and other popular products generally have the most repair information available on the web.
This information is quite extensive for video game consoles, computers and cell phones. It is easier than ever to make profits by selling old or saving by trade-in-then upgrade.
Sometimes a broken screen on a cell phone can be very cheap to fix. If the LCD display is messed up, the difficulty rises quickly. If you face a repair that may seem daunting, don't be afraid to ask for help, as there are plenty of services, likely in your area, that can help.
The need for appliances and gadgets that last a long time before breaking is as important as ever. But until manufacturers beging making our popular items with hardware that is build to last 10+ years, repairs are going to be the only well you could ever dream of a cell phone lasting that long.
If you would like to learn more about E-Waste, check out BAN to get you started.
DIY, cell phone, e-scrap, e-waste, video console
Reader Comments (2)
It all comes back to commercialism and mass production. If they can make a cell phone new for pennies they will, irrespective of the effect on the environment. It's going to fall to us to pick up the slack and make use of the refuse to minimise demand.
what is e-waste? there is obviously a lack of eco friendly living throughout our country and hopefully by explaining and bringing more attention to issues such as this, more people will feel the need to get involved.