Category: origins

Covid-19 and Zoom University

The rise of e-waste pollution in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic

Lockdown, early 2020.

The Covid-19 pandemic that swept the world signalled the start of the majority of the population working or studying from home, via their own personal electronic devices.

The transition to Work-From-Home (WFH) schemes and online classes led to an increase in the consumption of personal devices such as monitors, laptops and other electronic accessories.

The average Work-From-Home (WFH) setup consists of multiple electronic devices, and often more than one monitor (Lovelace, 2020).

In the second quarter of 2020, the personal computing devices (PCD) industry saw a 11.2% year-on-year growth in the sales of desktops, laptops and other related devices (Yu et al., 2020). I myself am guilty of this, having purchased a new monitor to make attending classes from home more comfortable. With many people stuck at home with limited forms of entertainment, many turned to gaming as hobbies. The gaming industry also enjoyed a considerable amount of growth in the wake of the pandemic, with console sales increasing by 155% (Yu et al., 2020). Naturally, with greater consumption comes greater waste generation.

Besides causing the consumption levels of electronic devices to skyrocket, the pandemic also had a significant impact on the the e-waste chain, disrupting processes such as collection and transportation. For instance, the collection frequency of e-waste was affected, while a decrease in workers availability and safety was observed, as well as an increase in retrenchment (Dutta et al., 2021).

As established in my previous posts, there was already an emerging global problem of e-waste prior to the Covid-19 era. Thanks to the pandemic, the problem has escalated even more rapidly. It is thus even more imperative that we take action to address the rapidly escalating issue of e-waste pollution—before it’s too late.

References

Dutta, D., Arya, S., Kumar, S., & Lichtfouse, E. (2021). Electronic waste pollution and the COVID-19 pandemic. Environmental Chemistry Letters, 20(2), 971-974. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-021-01286-9.

Lovelace, B. (2020). Best computer monitors for 2020 under £500. Mirror. Retrieved 12 February 2022, from https://www.mirror.co.uk/tech/best-computer-monitors-2020-under-21799456.

Yu, D., Yu, K., & Tan, R. (2020). Implications of the pandemic-induced electronic equipment demand surge on essential technology metals. Cleaner and Responsible Consumption, 1, 100005. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clrc.2020.100005.

Overconsumption and Irresponsible Consumer Habits

E-waste can’t keep up with consumerism trends

Every 2020 iPhone released by Apple (Gartenberg, 2020).

Though it might be a hard pill to swallow, consumers like you and I are equally guilty in contributing to the global e-waste problem.

As Aaron Blum, co-founder and chief operating officer of ERI, stated,

“In our society, we always have to have the new, best product.”

This is a clear trend observed in society today, where middle-class consumers constantly purchase new tech devices even if they are not absolutely essential. One recent viral video by TikTok user @itskeyonn prompted a wave of people using his sound to show off their unboxing of their newly purchased iPads, with the belief that buying an iPad would help organise and improve their lives in some way. Over 3300 people have since hopped on the bandwagon, posting their videos as part of this trend. Did all these people really need that new iPad? It remains to be seen.

In this day and age, many of us consumers treat our expensive personal electronic devices as though they are disposable commodities. We discard old devices in favour of purchasing the newest models—even if those new models might not differ that much in specifications or features from our current devices.  This psychological craving for novelty drives consumers in the 21st century, highlighting this innate impulse to “buy how things make us feel”. Things like social influence, brand loyalty and sometimes just sheer habit all contribute to such consumer behaviour (Lee, 2020).

The next time you place an order for the newest iPhone model, think twice before you act. Consider: do you really need a new phone? Or is it just a “fear of missing out” and peer pressure that’s enticing you to cart out your purchase?

References

Gartenberg, C. (2020). How to choose between all the new iPhone 12 models. The Verge. Retrieved 6 February 2022, from https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/21508433/apple-iphone-12-models-differences-comparisons-how-to-choose.

Lee, H. J. (2020). A study of consumer repurchase behaviors of smartphones using artificial neural network. Information (Basel), 11(9), 400. https://doi.org/10.3390/INFO11090400.

Taking a Local Look at E-Waste

E-waste in Singapore: What’s the current situation?

Having looked at the overall state of e-waste in the world in the past few posts, let’s take a closer dive into the current situation closer to home—right here in Singapore.

According to a study conducted by the NEA, around 60,000 tonnes of e-waste is generated each year (Bhunia, 2018). To put things into perspective, that’s equivalent to 11 kg per person, the same as if every person in Singapore discarded 70 mobile phones in a year! Shocking, isn’t it? You may not think that our tiny little red dot generates that much e-waste in a year, but the truth is that it does.

The current state of e-waste in Singapore (NEA, 2018).

If handled and dismantled correctly, electronic products can be recycled and reused. However, the NEA study discovered that only a meagre 6% of the e-waste produced was successfully recycled (around 3,660 tonnes). This means that we have a long way to go before we can be satisfied with the state of e-waste disposal in Singapore. The state of waste disposal here is also especially worrying considering that the only landfill in Singapore is projected to run out of space by 2035—we need to find a way to deal with our e-waste problem, and fast.

References

NEA. (2018). Stakeholders Sharing Responsibility Is Key To Building A Sustainable E-Waste Management System: NEA Study. Retrieved 3 February 2022, from https://www.nea.gov.sg/media/news/news/index/stakeholders-sharing-responsibility-is-key-to-building-a-sustainable-e-waste-management-system-nea-study.

The Global Distribution of E-Waste

E-waste around the world: Inequalities and imbalances

Much like any other global issue, the problem of e-waste is one that is riddled with inequalities and imbalances.

 

(a) Global distribution of e-waste generated (kg per capita); (b) percentage increase of e-waste generated from worldwide 2014-2017.

(a) The global distribution of e-waste generated (kg per capita); (b) the percentage increase of global e-waste generated from 2014 to 2017 (Purchase et al., 2020).

The world’s production of e-waste is largely concentrated in Asia and North America. In 2019, Asia alone generated 24.9 Mt (5.6 kg per capita) of e-waste, as compared to just 0.03 Mt (2.5 kg per capita) that Africa generated (Forti et al., 2020). Naturally, the developed world generates more e-waste than the developing world, due to the availability of electronic equipment in developed societies.

Another trend can easily be spotted in Diagram B. Economies which are rapidly growing, such as China, tend to have a high percentage increase of e-waste generated in the recent decade. This is likely due to the sharp increase in electronic products required to facilitate such development processes in these places.

The global flow of e-waste exports.

The global flow of e-waste exports (Purchase et al., 2020).

Subsequently, a few main patterns can be observed in the global flow of e-waste exports. Generally, e-waste flows from developed countries (which don’t always have the space to dispose of their waste properly), to developing countries, which are often exploited in this chain. Remember the previous post on the Khian Sea waste disposal incident? That’s exactly what continues to happen till this day, despite treaties and laws put in place to try and stop this from happening.

Even though e-waste is a global issue, it doesn’t affect all countries equally. This also poses specific challenges for us, should we wish to solve the problem of e-waste effectively and sustainably.

References

Forti V., Baldé C.P., Kuehr R., & Bel G. (2020). The Global E-waste Monitor 2020: Quantities, flows and the circular economy potential. United Nations University (UNU)/United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) – co-hosted SCYCLE Programme, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) & International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), Bonn/Geneva/Rotterdam.

Purchase, D., Abbasi, G., Bisschop, L., Chatterjee, D., Ekberg, C., Ermolin, M., Fedotov, P., Garelick, H., Isimekhai, K., Kandile, N. G., Lundström, M., Matharu, A., Miller, B. W., Pineda, A., Popoola, O. E., Retegan, T., Ruedel, H., Serpe, A., Sheva, Y., . . . Wong, M. H. (2020). Global occurrence, chemical properties, and ecological impacts of e-wastes (IUPAC technical report). Pure and Applied Chemistry, 92(11), 1733-1767. https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2019-0502.

The Khian Sea Waste Disposal Incident

Around the world with the Khian Sea Garbage Barge

This week, we’ll take a look at a historic e-waste incident known as the Khian Sea waste disposal incident. Hailing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the Khian Sea ship carried 15,000 tons of municipal ash from the city’s incinerator and embarked on its journey to the Bahamas in August 1986. Over a course of 27 months, the ship traversed the world hoping to find places to dump its load of toxic ash.

A map and timeline of the route taken by the Khian Sea vessel to dispose of the 15,000 tons of Philadelphia waste ash on board (Groff, 2016).

From this event, it was clear that more had to be done regarding e-waste disposal laws, especially internationally. It sparked the creation of the Basel Convention, an international treaty which restricts the flow of hazardous waste between countries.

More importantly, this incident was one of the first to highlight e-waste as a global controversy, as well as the pressing issue of e-waste exportation from developed to developing countries. Next time, we’ll take a look at what this signifies for the global flow of e-waste exports, the global distribution of e-waste and subsequent imbalances in the politics of e-waste.

References

Groff, D. (2016). Tracking the Khian Sea. Philadelphia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 27 January 2022, from https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/screen-shot-2016-04-18-at-1-03-51-pm/.

A History of E-Waste

E-waste: A rapidly growing problem

The problem of e-waste is a relatively recent pollution issue that truly ballooned in the 20th and 21st century. This is due to its inherent nature—after all, television screens and laptops weren’t a thing in the 1800s!

With the rise of the digital age and technology developments, e-waste levels rose exponentially and continue to grow till the present day.

Global amount of e-waste generated each year (Forti et al., 2020).

It’s clear that the onset of the digital age has exacerbated the problem of e-waste in our society, and that it will only continue to worsen in the coming years.

According to Forti et al. (2020), the global quantity of e-waste is increasing at a worrying rate of nearly 2 Mt per year. This suggests that current recycling activities are failing to keep up with the global growth of e-waste, and that what we’re doing now to tackle e-waste is definitely not enough.

References

Forti V., Baldé C.P., Kuehr R., & Bel G. (2020). The Global E-waste Monitor 2020: Quantities, flows and the circular economy potential. United Nations University (UNU)/United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) – co-hosted SCYCLE Programme, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) & International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), Bonn/Geneva/Rotterdam.