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My group and I are adding on to the pre-existing wikipedia page "Electronic Waste in the United States." This page is heavily lacking in any information regarding US E-waste exports and the health/environmental risks and issues it has caused. I personally will be working on creating a coherent overview (not done yet) and working on the section "US shipment of E-waste" in addition to researching specific case studies for the Environmental and Health Impacts sections. Also note: for some reason the citations/footnotes did not copy over to my sandbox, but they should exist in Ejlauren121's.

New overview for "Electronic Waste in the United States" that should be added (copied and pasted into Ejlauren121 sandbox)

Overview/Introduction - Electronic waste is a growing problem: As the industrial world continues to technologically advance at a pace never seen before, used electronics are becoming the quickest-growing source of waste. The term "electronic waste" refers to electronic products that are near the end of the period of time in which they are able to function. As the production of Electronic waste continues to increase all around the world, the environmental and health effects become increasingly documented and evident. The United States in particular has made an effort to start tracking and documenting where their E-waste goes and how it is disposed of. The National Strategy for Electronic Stewardship was co-founded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Council on Environmental Quality, and the General Services Administration (GSA), and was introduced in 2011 to focus on federal action to establish electronic stewardship in the United States. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, toxic substances such as lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium are too often exposed to the environment and whole communities; these toxic contaminants can have detrimental effects on the health of ecosystems and living organisms. Electronic waste management includes newer recycling and reuse programs, domestic landfill dumping, and international shipments of domestically produced E-waste. The EPA approximates that in the year of 2009, the United States disposed of 2.37 million tons of E-waste; only 25% of which was domestically recycled.

4.) United States Shipment of E-Waste

1.) Largely due to public outcry, the aforementioned regulations and regulatory bodies have been put in place to prioritize the recycling and re-use of United States produced E-waste. While these programs are indeed increasing, the United States (along with a variety of economically developed countries) continues to ship portions of its E-waste across seas to economically developing countries. The exact amount of E-waste that the US exports has yet to be clarified: The United Nations estimates that between 10% and 40% of E-waste is exported, while the International Trade Commission estimates that the number is closer to 13 %. Despite the numerous reports existing that document the waste's movement and existence, there lacks a coherent presentation of the data; largely due to the difficulty of accessing this information. Studies indicate that there lacks a coherent summary of information primarily because of: undifferentiated trade codes, inconsistent methods of marking and classifying different electronic products, a lack of consistent records kept in waste destination countries, and a lack of pressure holding companies accountable. 

2.) Research indicates that while mobile cell phones make up the overall greatest used electronics flows, TVs account for the largest flow of used electronics that are collected, and monitors are the group with highest export rates. The data records available show that the largest hubs for mobile phone deportation are Asia (Hong Kong, HKSAR) and the Caribbean and parts of Latin America (Guatemala, Paraguay, Panama, Peru, and Colombia.). Furthermore, larger electronics, such as TVs and monitors, have a higher likelihood of being exported to countries such as Mexico, Paraguay, Venezuela, and China. In addition to directly shipping waste overseas, many developed countries ship their E-waste to "transport sites", which then re-eport the waste to surrounding countries and make an extra profit. The largest international transit ports reside in Asia (Hong Kong, China, United Arab Emirates), which results in large quantities of waste ending up in smaller regions in the area. A prime example of this is the Chinese town of Guiyu, which has been denoted as the E-waste capital of the world.Data records indicate, however, that E-waste flows to Africa are minimal and that approximately 80% of used electronics are exported to countries with upper middle, lower middle, and low income economies. While this is true, destinations with higher economies generally serve as re-export centers for continued transport to surrounding low-income locations.

Export Results:

A.) TVs:

  • Color TVs comprise the group with highest export rates.
  • Higher transportation rates by vessel or over land rather than by air

B.) Mobile Phones:

  • Largest export destinations: Latin America, Asia, South America
  • 73% of exports occur by air

C.) Computers:

  • Split into two categories: Desktop and Laptop
  • Laptops have much higher export rates due to lower weight and higher re-use value
  • Largest destination countries include Asia and Europe

D.) Monitors:

  • Split into two categories: CRT Monitors and Flat Panel Monitors

- Strong Stakeholders:  Basel Action Network  (Seattle-based e-waste watchdog group), "United Nations University - Solving the E-waste Problem Initiative (UNU-Step)" 

    1.) INTRODUCTION OF US SHIPMENT. 

    2.) SUMMARIZE US E-WASTE TRADE FLOWS. 

    - EPA generated report: http://www.step-initiative.org/files/step/_documents/MIT-NCER%20US%20Used%20Electronics%20Flows%20Report%20-%20December%202013.pdf

    - NRDC reports:  https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/ny104A.pdf 

    3.) MENTION CASE STUDIES (most targeted areas): CHINA, INDIA - maybe case studies under effects section

- Good Guiyu article: http://old.seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2002920133_ewaste09.html 

    4.) RELATION TO GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION (INFLUENCE OF TRUMP ADMINISTRATION?) 

          - Anti-regulation, anti-environment platform that could affect federal and international regulation of e-waste disposal. 

Possible Articles:

  • Regulation of US E-waste to developing countries & the health/environmental impacts
    • Content Gap: There is not a detailed, general page that conveys how the US (and most developed countries) continues to export E-waste to poorer/less economically developed countries and the health/environmental implications of this action.
    • Relevancy: Governmental regulation on this topic has varied in the past - with an administration that is anti-globalist and anti-regulation, and also has not shown that any priority will be made to help mitigate climate change, we want to investigate what the EPA and other agencies will be doing in terms of E-waste management/deportation.

Possible Stakeholders:

  • EPA
  • UN sub public health groups
  • Greenpeace International
  • Basel Action Network
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