Recycling scandal grows in US
Wednesday, May 18, 2016 - 10:50:27
A study of how electronic waste is handled in the US has revealed that almost a third of the unwanted gadgets which are sent to be recycled actually end up shipped overseas to countries where there is no guarantee that they will be dealt with in an ethical, environmentally friendly manner.
Popular Mechanics reports on the MIT study that was conducted over the course of the past 24 months and involved GPS trackers being placed on devices which were then sent for recycling.
Researchers kept track of the movement of these old items, which were dropped off at sites across America, in order to see whether or not they really were being dealt with as expected.
Almost a third of the items being tracked were shipped internationally, with analysts arguing that this means laws were violated and guarantees of domestic recycling taking place ignored.
Similar scandals have arisen in the UK in recent years, with local councils and the government found to not always be especially scrupulous about making sure that electronic waste is disposed of as sustainably as possible.
Various countries have been making attempts to stem the flow of e-waste out of developed western nations and into developing countries, where it is likely that the hazardous materials contained within mobile phones and other devices will contaminate the environment.
One of the key issues with this new American study is that a lot of the old devices which ended up overseas were actually donated directly to charity projects, suggesting that there is a need for tighter checks and regulations in this sector, to avoid further scandals.
Critics argue that the reputations of certain organisations are being damaged by reports like this, while consumers are advised to sell their old phones to businesses which will definitely be able to handle them in an eco-friendly way.
Latest News
Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - 10:32:41
Every industry around the world has been impacted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and recycling has been especially affected as a result of force [...]
Read More
Wednesday, May 6, 2020 - 21:33:36
Apple has pulled back the curtains on the all-new iPhone SE, bringing with it a raft of eco-friendly design features which aim to improve the green cr [...]
Read More
Wednesday, April 29, 2020 - 21:32:00
Researchers from New Zealand have demonstrated a new recycling solution which could help companies to reclaim rare materials from smartphones, PCs and [...]
Read More