With the development of science and technology, modern people live in a world full of electronic products, especially since the invention of smart phones, almost everyone has a mobile phone, and some people will hold more than two mobile phones at the same time. According to United Nations statistics, in 20 14 years, the global e-waste generated reached a record 41800,000 tons. At present, the global e-waste categories mainly include household appliances such as mobile phones, refrigerators and washing machines. Among them, the United States and China produce the largest amount of e-waste, while countries recognized as highly environmentally friendly, including Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Denmark and the United Kingdom, unexpectedly rank among the best in per capita e-waste. (Source: Greenpeace, Taiwan Province Province)
Where are these discarded electronic wastes? Most of them are illegally exported by Europe, the United States, Japan and other major consumer countries to developing regions such as China, India and Africa for dismantling, recycling and reuse. However, although the amount of e-waste is as high as 4 1 0.8 million tons, less than1has been properly recycled. As for the others that are not recycled, they are distributed in a corner of the earth.
The substances found in these electronic wastes include epoxy resin, glass fiber reinforced plastics, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), thermosetting plastics, lead, tin, copper, silicon, beryllium, carbon, iron and aluminum. Greenpeace, a non-profit organization, once revealed that during the recycling process, workers will be exposed to various toxic substances when dismantling electronic waste, which seriously affects workers' health and pollutes local land and water sources.
How to solve these problems? At present, most industrial groups and public policies focus on "recycling" and "safe disposal of electronic waste". For example, the goal of WEEE in Europe is to achieve 45% recycling of e-waste by 2020, and since each electronic product is mixed with dozens of different materials, including toxic and non-toxic, it is argued that the e-waste industry needs to take concrete measures to protect workers' health.
However, in the information released in February of 20 15, the solving the-waste problem initiative (STEP) of United Nation put forward new suggestions, because from the current recycling technology and economic point of view, e-waste recycling is still a challenging industry, so it is better to advocate reducing the amount of e-waste than increasing the recycling ratio.
How to reduce electronic waste from the source? For example, in industrialized countries, it is a good way to encourage consumers not to update their equipment too frequently, such as mobile phones, laptops and general-purpose computers, to use flea markets more, to increase electronic equipment maintenance stations and to extend the life of electronic equipment.
Experts say that extending the product life cycle has three major benefits:
First of all, environmental benefits: whenever consumers buy second-hand products instead of new products, it reduces the energy consumed in raw materials and manufacturing processes, thus reducing the impact on the environment.
Second, economic benefits: reducing the number of products purchased can save taxpayers' money.
Third, social benefits: second-hand shops and maintenance activities are traditionally carried out by vulnerable groups, while in industrialized countries, social enterprises or non-profit enterprises are responsible. In the EU, it is estimated that the reuse and recovery of e-waste by social enterprises can provide 654.38+00000 jobs and collect and treat 200,000 tons of e-waste.
In the past ten years, developing countries have entered modernization, gradually eliminated many outdated household appliances and bought many latest intelligent electronic products. Compared with 15 years ago, the price of computers has dropped to about one tenth. Many people hesitate and think when considering whether to extend the life of electronic equipment. What are the benefits of extending the product life cycle? Is it worth it? If national units can strengthen publicity and educate the next generation of correct consumption concepts from an early age, it will contribute to the sustainable development of the earth.