gadget mountain rising in asia threatens health, environment
by：Rocket PCB
2019-11-03
Jakarta —
In East Asia, waste from discarded electronic equipment and electrical appliances has reached a serious level, posing an increasing threat to health and the environment unless safe disposal becomes the norm.
According to a new study by the United Nations University, China is the biggest culprit for more than doubling the amount of electronic waste.
But almost every country in the region has grown significantly between 2010 and 2015, including those preparing to deal with the growing number of abandoned smartphones, computers, televisions, air conditioners and other goods.
The average number of e-waste in the 12 countries studied increased by nearly 2 out of 3 in five years, totaling 12.
There were 3 million tons in 2015 alone.
Rising incomes in Asia, an increase in the number of young adults, the rapid obsolescence of products resulting from technological innovation and changes in fashion, and illegal global waste trade are among the factors driving growth.
\"Today, Asian consumers are changing electronics more frequently.
In addition, many products are low
\"The cost is produced, but not necessarily repaired, refurbished or easy to recycle,\" the study said . \".
It urged governments to enact specific laws on the management of electronic waste or to strictly implement existing legislation.
Only South Korea, Taiwan and Japan have long established recycling systems under the laws introduced in the 1990 s.
Open dumping of leadand mercury-
Ladencomponents, open burning plastic to release the copper of the package, and unsafe backyard operations to extract precious metals, are normal in most countries, including Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia, there is also a lack of laws to deal with e-waste and e-waste.
Open-air incineration and unsafe recycling are linked to a range of health issues in workers and communities near recycling operations, including infertility, child development issues, impaired lung function, and impaired liver and kidney function, the study said, genetic impairment and mental health issues.
Backyard recyclers mainly recover gold, silver, palladium and copper from printed circuit boards, but the crude acid bath extraction process releases toxic gases, and the efficiency is also low, only a part of valuable material is recovered
Asia as a whole is the largest market for electronic products and appliances, accounting for nearly half of global sales by sales volume and producing the most waste.
Dangerous behavior continues.
China\'s heavily polluted rural town specializes in dismantling consumer electronics, some of which are exported from rich countries and have become synonymous with a one-time high price. tech world.
China has cleared Guiyu and other similar centres, but the Basel Action Network says most of the dangerous practices in Guiyu continue to focus on a new industrial park in its suburbs.
RuedigerKuehr, one of the authors of the study, said that more waste is generated than the government estimates, partly because their definition is narrower and should be a wake-up call
Manufacturers and consumers.
\"To some extent, we all benefit from the luxury of these electrical and electronic products, which makes our lives easier and sometimes more complex,\" he said . \".
\"However, if we want to continue this way, we have to reuse the resources contained in electronic and electronic devices.
For example, Asmartphone uses more than half of the elements in the periodictable, some of which are very rare, for a longer period of time
Kuehr says running will run out without recycling.
In East Asia, waste from discarded electronic equipment and electrical appliances has reached a serious level, posing an increasing threat to health and the environment unless safe disposal becomes the norm.
According to a new study by the United Nations University, China is the biggest culprit for more than doubling the amount of electronic waste.
But almost every country in the region has grown significantly between 2010 and 2015, including those preparing to deal with the growing number of abandoned smartphones, computers, televisions, air conditioners and other goods.
The average number of e-waste in the 12 countries studied increased by nearly 2 out of 3 in five years, totaling 12.
There were 3 million tons in 2015 alone.
Rising incomes in Asia, an increase in the number of young adults, the rapid obsolescence of products resulting from technological innovation and changes in fashion, and illegal global waste trade are among the factors driving growth.
\"Today, Asian consumers are changing electronics more frequently.
In addition, many products are low
\"The cost is produced, but not necessarily repaired, refurbished or easy to recycle,\" the study said . \".
It urged governments to enact specific laws on the management of electronic waste or to strictly implement existing legislation.
Only South Korea, Taiwan and Japan have long established recycling systems under the laws introduced in the 1990 s.
Open dumping of leadand mercury-
Ladencomponents, open burning plastic to release the copper of the package, and unsafe backyard operations to extract precious metals, are normal in most countries, including Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia, there is also a lack of laws to deal with e-waste and e-waste.
Open-air incineration and unsafe recycling are linked to a range of health issues in workers and communities near recycling operations, including infertility, child development issues, impaired lung function, and impaired liver and kidney function, the study said, genetic impairment and mental health issues.
Backyard recyclers mainly recover gold, silver, palladium and copper from printed circuit boards, but the crude acid bath extraction process releases toxic gases, and the efficiency is also low, only a part of valuable material is recovered
Asia as a whole is the largest market for electronic products and appliances, accounting for nearly half of global sales by sales volume and producing the most waste.
Dangerous behavior continues.
China\'s heavily polluted rural town specializes in dismantling consumer electronics, some of which are exported from rich countries and have become synonymous with a one-time high price. tech world.
China has cleared Guiyu and other similar centres, but the Basel Action Network says most of the dangerous practices in Guiyu continue to focus on a new industrial park in its suburbs.
RuedigerKuehr, one of the authors of the study, said that more waste is generated than the government estimates, partly because their definition is narrower and should be a wake-up call
Manufacturers and consumers.
\"To some extent, we all benefit from the luxury of these electrical and electronic products, which makes our lives easier and sometimes more complex,\" he said . \".
\"However, if we want to continue this way, we have to reuse the resources contained in electronic and electronic devices.
For example, Asmartphone uses more than half of the elements in the periodictable, some of which are very rare, for a longer period of time
Kuehr says running will run out without recycling.
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