• Home
• Section I: Tools and Skills
  • Chapter 1.2: Critiquing The Statistics You Encounter
  • Chapter 1.3: Experimental Design and Sampling
  • Chapter 1.4: Describing and Visualizing Data
  • Chapter 1.5: Examining Relationships: Correlations
  • Chapter 1.6: Testing for Differences Between Means: t-tests and ANOVA`s
  • Chapter 1.7: Making Predictions: Regression Analyses
  • Chapter 1.8: Chi-square (ᵡ2) Test
  • Chapter 1.9: Carbon Footprints
  • Chapter 1.10: Ecological Footprints
  • Chapter 1.11: Cost Benefit Analyses
  • Chapter 1.12: Environmental Risk Assessments
  • Chapter 1.13: Life Cycle Assessments
  • Chapter 1.14: Geospatial Analyses
  • Chapter 1.15: Communicating Like a Professional
• Section II: Global Water Resources Case Studies
  • Case Study 2.2: The Everglades: Changing Hydrology
  • Case Study 2.3: Mediterranean Sea: One System, Many Stressors
  • Case Study 2.4: Gulf of Mexico: Dead Zone
  • Case Study 2.5: Restoration: A Tale of Two Rivers
  • Case Study 2.6: Ocean Acidification
  • Case Study 2.7: Ground Water: What Lies Beneath
  • Case Study 2.8: China`s Three Gorges Dam (TGD): Costs vs. Benefits
• Section III: Air Quality and Atmospheric Science Case Studies
  • Chapter 3.2: Ozone Depletion
  • Chapter 3.3: Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
  • Chapter 3.4: Particulate Matter Pollution (PM)
  • Chapter 3.5: Industrial Smokestack Pollution
  • Chapter 3.6: Household Air Pollution (HAP)
  • Chapter 3.7: Climate Change
• Section IV: Human Impacts on the Global Landscape Case Studies
  • Chapter 4.2: Bark Beetle Infestation
  • Chapter 4.3: Alberta`s Tar Sands
  • Chapter 4.4: Desertification
  • Chapter 4.5: The Amazon Rain Forests
  • Chapter 4.6: Electronic Waste (e-waste)
  • Chapter 4.7: Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
• Section V: Looking Ahead
• Buy Now!

Chapter 4.6: Electronic Waste (e-waste)



While some parts of the world have been very successful in recycling materials and composting various types of food waste, one type of waste, in particular, has outstripped others in recent years. The exploding numbers of devices, from cell-phones to computers to big-screen televisions, have created a solid waste problem that is truly international in scope.  In our rush to get the latest electronic gadgets, too often we forget about “closing the loop” and considering what happens when we’re done with the latest version and ready to buy the newest product.

Start by reviewing the background material on e-waste.

Background Materials:

What is e-waste? http://www.arrowvaluerecovery.com/resources/reports-insights/e-waste-recycling/

E-waste statistics: http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/crazy-e-waste-statistics-explored-in-infographic.html

For a figure showing the pathway of e-waste, go to http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/detox/electronics/the-e-waste-problem/where-does-e-waste-end-up/

 

Textbook References and Links:
 
Exercise 3: Meyer and Katz article: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095965261500801X

Simpleshow explains the carbon footprint. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8q7_aV8eLUE

Exercise 5:  Footprint of a cheeseburger: http://www.openthefuture.com/cheeseburger_CF.html

Exercise 6: calculating your ecological footprint:

http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/
https://islandwood.org/footprint-calculator/#
http://www.ecocamp.us/eco-footprint-calculator
http://footprint.wwf.org.uk/

Exercise 7: Xu et al. article: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653515005615

Exercise 9:  PBS Dateline story on E-waste in
Ghana: www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxcdFAzyR8g

CBS 60 Minutes story on E-waste in Guiyu:

Visit http://e-stewards.org/find-a-recycler/; click on the “Find a Recycler” link, and you can enter your zip code to locate the nearest facility.

Downloadable data and files:

Exercise 3:  Meyer 2016.pdf

Exercise 7: Xu 2015.pdf