Electronic Waste:

The first social justice issue that I am going to touch base on is the dumping of electronics, which our class went over earlier in the week. The reason I am coming back to this topic is because after doing research and reading about it, I found the topic interesting. The dumping of electronic waste in countries such as India and China is obviously harmful, but when was the last time you heard about this topic on any social media websites or saw a commercial about it on TV?

In article by CNN titled China: The electric wastebucket of the world,  they say most electronic products were initially manufactured in China, then they return to China after they're done being used. 70% of electronic waste ended up in China, and most of these products have harmful materials in them that cause toxic waste, in which the people breathe them in.  When computers and electronics are recycled the right way they can be good for the environment, but if they they aren't, it can be devastating to the environment. Recycling electronic waste is not impossible, it is just that companies would have to spend more money to properly recycle the waste or make their products without harmful toxins. The more profitable way for them to get rid of electronic waste is to send them to China. There are companies that exist where the owner can actually pay money to them for their unused electronics to get recycled properly.

I had no idea this issue existed until it was talked about in class, but I do believe that this is a huge problem due to the magnitude of how damaging it is.  In order for this issue to become known world-wide, I believe that we have to use the power of social media and television to spread it. With everyone around the world being so big into technology, the possibility to spread this problem via social networking and through television seems doable.


This is the video that goes along with the article I referred to:

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/world/2013/05/30/pkg-aoc-watson-china-e-waste.cnn.html

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/30/world/asia/china-electronic-waste-e-waste/
Title: China: The electric wastebucket of the world
Date accessed: 11 September 2014