The issue of electronic waste seems like a simple problem on the surface. By simply sending their old electronics to recyclers, a consumer has thwarted having their computer or cellphone tossed in a landfill. However, many consumers do not realize that underhanded recyclers sell computers on the 'gray market' overseas to third world nations. After the recyclers take the harmless materials and materials that can be easily reused, the remaining products end up in Nigera, China, India and other poor nations. Workers spend hours a day stripping metals and burning harmful materials like lead and cadmium for dollars a day. What is most startling about this issue is that most consumers, myself included, thought that recycling a computer was the safest and easiest way to handle e-waste. I never realized the money made by smugglers and recyclers selling products abroad. Like the Salon article noted, a school in Wisconsin thought they were doing good by recycling their computer through SWAP, yet their computers still ended up in Nigeria. Unless there is a federal law against exporting electronic waste abroad, there will be no end to the problem. Likewise, companies like scrapcomputer.com, send so much waste to different sources, making it difficult to track what is going to e-bay, what is being refurbished or what is getting sent to Africa. If there were federal laws against shipping to foreign countries, and forcing recyclers to organize their data and report what is happening with used products, the amount of e-waste that ended up in foreign landfills would diminish.
As a college student consumer I'm already pretty cheap. I only buy a new cellphone or ipod if I really need it, they're expensive and I only work part time. However, I will be more leery of where I send my old electronics, instead of recycling them I could donate them to GoodWill instead or find recyclers from the Basel Action Network which vows not to send their products to a third world nation. Additionally I'm going to hold on to my old electronics that may have a high resale value. I still have my Super NES from when I was a kid, and I actually have more fun playing 2d Bomberman or Mario Kart than I do playing a ridiculous tennis game on the Wii (seriously I don't like flailing around like an idiot). Also, I will pay more attention to politician's stances on e-waste. The US is the largest consumer of electronics and it's the only large scale consumer who hasn't ratified the Basel Convention. This is a big issue affecting both human rights and global warming, two major concerns of the presidential race, yet I haven't heard this issue brought up in a debate. As a voter who is highly attentive of the damaging affects of global warming, I want to be sure that the candidate I vote for will make every effort to support the Basel Convention.
