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Additions to Electronic waste in the United States

Overview/Introduction

The term electronic waste (e-waste) refers to electronic products that are near the end of the period of time in which they are able to function. 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 United States is the world leader in producing the most e-waste, followed closely by China. As the production of electronic waste continues to increase all around the world, in developing and developed countries, the environmental and health effects become increasingly documented and evident. Only recently has the United States begun to make an effort to start regulating where e-waste goes and how it is disposed of. That being said, to this day the U.S. does not have an official federal e-waste regulation system. 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 EPA, toxic substances such as lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium are often released into the environment and endanger whole communities; these toxic contaminants can have detrimental effects on the health of ecosystems and living organisms. United States e-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; 25% of which was recycled domestically.

Brief History

Up until 1965, there was no federal legislation regulating the disposal of solid and hazardous waste in the United States. The Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) was passed by congress in 1965, and has since been amended. A major amendment to SWDA was the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), passed by congress in 1976. The RCRA gives the EPA the ability to regulate the flow of hazardous waste for the entire lifetime of the product, from beginning to end, including development, transport, and disposal. In 1986, a cargo vessel carrying 14,000 tons of toxic waste left Philadelphia and traveled around the world for more than five months continually being turned away from areas where it attempted to dump its contents. Eventually, much of the toxic waste was dumped into the Indian Ocean. This event sparked some of the current efforts to regulate the flows of electronic waste around the world and ensure the health and safety of our global environment.

The U.S. has not enacted a federal law to regulate the domestic recycling of e-waste, however, certain U.S. states are implementing policies to address its increasing accumulation. In the US, when electronic products stop functioning they will either be incinerated, landfilled, or recycled to salvage materials and protect public health and the environment by removing its toxic materials. Despite attempts to push federal e-waste bills forward, which stem as far back as the 1990s , US states have held the most legislative agency on e-waste. So far, 25 states have enacted legislation to regulate statewide e-waste recycling initiatives, which means 65% of the US population must uphold their state's e-waste recycling policies. The majority of the states with e-waste laws use the Producer Responsibility approach to hold manufacturers accountable for recycling retired electronic products but because state e-waste laws vary, the effectiveness of the laws in regulating environmental and health harms can differ. In addition, because the US has not ratified the Basel Convention on hazardous waste, the US can export e-waste to countries where the dismantling and recycling of e-waste are cheaper due to lax environmental and workplace regulations.

International Regulation/regulatory bodies

The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal of 1989 is an international treaty that stipulates guidelines of hazardous waste movement. In 2006, members of the Basel Convention began to discuss the addition of electronic waste management. Though 185 states including the European Union have ratified the treaty, the United States, one of the largest exporters of electronic waste, has not ratified it. In terms of international regulatory bodies, in 2010 the United States EPA and United Nations University Solving the E-waste Problem Initiative (UNU-Step) began responding to the issue of electronic waste being exported to developing countries by tracking global flows of electronic waste. In addition, in 2011 the United States EPA, Taiwanese EPA, and other international governments collaborated to form the International E-Waste Management Network (IEMN) to outline best practices on global electronic waste management and highlight next steps.

United States E-Waste Export

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 number 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, the EPA states 25%, 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 this gap exists primarily because of: undifferentiated trade codes, inconsistent methods of marking and classifying different electronic products, inconsistent records kept in waste destination countries, and a lack of pressure holding companies accountable. Shipment of e-waste is not a partisan issue since local governments and private industries collaborate to mange non-functioning electronics. Though the EPA has been an influential force on e-waste, export of e-waste and recycling may largely fall on the states under the Trump administration.

To address consumer and manufacturer desires to properly handle e-waste in the absence of Federal legislation, two US recycling standards were put in place, the e-stewards Standard for Responsible Recycling and Reuse of Electronic Equipment and the Responsible Recycling Practices (R2). Certified e-waste recyclers must comply with outlined best practices for handling e-waste. R2 was released in 2008 and revised in 2013 and is thought of as more practical to implement while also being fully consistent with the Basel Convention because it was organized by the EPA and other e-waste stakeholders. E-stewards and R2 recyclers are regulated by different protocols. In the area of exporting e-waste to developing countries for repairs or recycling, R2 recyclers can still export while e-stewards recyclers are prohibited. In the area of incinerating or land-filling e-waste, R2 recyclers are able to put toxic e-waste in landfills or incinerators if undefined ‘circumstances beyond their control’ take place while e-stewards are prohibited. In regards to workplace safety, R2 recyclers are permitted to determine which chemicals are toxic and the appropriate levels of exposure while e-stewards must test practices for their hazards, like breaking CRTs, removing mercury-containing devices, shredding and using solvents or thermal processes to break down e-waste. Another consumer and public health issue is prison e-waste recycling. In this area, R2 recyclers may use prison recycling operations at their discretion while e-steward recyclers are banned from doing so. Currently, there are more than 600 certified R2 recyclers in about 21 countries. . The Basel Action Network (BAN) was a participant in the EPA’s R2 recycling certification but broke away within two-and-a-half years. Because of the less stringent regulations on R2 recyclers, the Basel Action Network formed the e-stewards recycling certification to generate more robust e-waste regulations. Though most companies choose R2 or e-stewards certification, some companies like Sims Recycling Solutions are certified by both. BAN devised the e-steward certification to protect the environment and vulnerable communities. Materials in electronic waste contain toxic materials like lead, mercury, cadmium, and brominated flame retardants. Informal e-waste recycling methods can release these toxins and disrupt ecosystems, which results in loss of plants and wildlife and pollution of water tables, rivers, and wetlands . These environmental burdens disproportionately fall on low-income communities and communities of color . BAN finds that many e-waste recycling operations produce blood levels contain over 90 times the safe amount of lead in children, pollutes soils, streams, and waterways, which threatens farming and fresh water, and replaces centuries-old ways of life .

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 have the 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-export 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 income 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.

Re-export Destination Flows

Completely accurate data concerning E-waste export flows is difficult to acquire and accumulate for multiple reasons. For one, there is a difference between simply used electronics that are exported and re-used in different countries and used electronics that are broken down as waste. Reports that distinguish the two are lacking. Secondly, in many cases used electronic are shipped to a hub, where they are then exported to lower income areas that break down the devices, thus exposing the community to toxins in the devices. These generally more rural locations, however, often lack accurate reports tracking the amount of waste that is imported. According to the records that track the initial export of used electronics, the major re-export destination hubs are: Lebanon, Argentina, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, Chile, Mexico, and China.

International Unregulated E-waste Junkyards

E-waste is primarily shipped to large international hubs, such as Hong Kong. However, the majority of waste that is not recycled in those hubs is exported to rural areas where the waste is often improperly managed and becomes a severe contaminant. Unregulated junkyards and processing sites are unlicensed and almost always in violation of the law. This results in a lack of worker protection and rights, generally indicating a lack of awareness of the risks and hazards. Aside from general improper dismantling of the devices, open burnings and waste storage commonly take place.

Improper Dismantling and Processing

Unregulated e-waste processing junkyards do not contain proper equipment or employ safety precautions. The primary dismantling process generally includes manual separation of the plastic sections from the rest of the device; the plastic sections are then shredded into small portions if not re-usable themselves. If these plastic fragments are not directly resold to larger companies, they are further broken down into a fine powder. When this process is poorly regulated, the powder is easily inhaled and absorbed into the soil, air, and surrounding vegetation. The electronic devices are also stripped of their heavy metal components; this process in turn exposes workers to the raw elements of the metals. In addition to manually dismantling the devices, unregulated junkyards are ultimate disposal sites. Device disposal is mainly done by burning or smashing and burying the fragments; the aftermath of which has been documented to cause significant health problems in the surrounding area.

Open Burning

Open burnings are the most common means of 'disposing of' e-waste and occur primarily in rural areas with low incomes of developing countries. Communities use open burning for a variety of functions: For direct disposal, it takes the least amount of man-power and is the cheapest option. For precious metal extraction, it can be an effective method to extract certain valuable metals, such as gold. The combustion of burning e-waste results in ash that contains fine particulate matter; a measure of pollutants that has been linked to cardiovascular and pulmonary issues.Additional health risks result from direct exposure to the toxic metals that release dioxins when burned and in addition to being inhaled, become embedded into the soil and plants in the surrounding area. The United Nations has done significant research into the growing issue of e-waste disposal and has documented that different communities are disproportionately affected by this issue: "Such practices are closely related to poverty because uncontrolled waste dumps typically are located close to human settlements. Since poor people neither have the economic means nor the technical knowledge, they also ignite their own wastes and thus create their own dioxin sources in their backyards. Therefore, women and children spending most time at home and living close to the burning areas are most exposed and at higher risk than others, e.g., urban and wealthier populations.”

Waste Storage for Processing

In addition to open burning of electronic waste, rural communities are often used as storage locations. There exist varying stages in the life of an electronic device, and devices are stored or recycled depending on their specific stage. Storage facilities are almost always improperly constructed and regulated and thus generally result in the contamination of the soil and natural area surrounding the facility. Facilities that store cathode ray tubes (CRT) are particularly contaminated. Soil and dust samples collected at these locations indicate high levels of cadmium, zinc, and yttrium along with other heavy metal dioxins.

Export Responsibility

While the number of e-Waste recycling programs in the United States has increased, a portion of the waste continues to be shipped overseas. Recent research done by the Basel Action Network indicates that along with companies directly attempting to ship their waste overseas or into domestic landfills, certain questionable recycling programs themselves have contributed to the export numbers. Questionable recycling companies act as brokers and "cut costs by offloading dismantling and recycling to impoverished countries with lax labor laws, weak environmental regulations, and poor human rights track records." Basel Action Network gained credibility after exposing electronic take-back programs that promoted their focus on sustainability by attaching tracking devices to the donated used electronic devices. About one third of the 200 geolocating tracking devices of BAN's primary investigation ended up overseas and finished their journey in rural Hong Kong.

Before any legislation regulating e-waste was enacted, companies could directly export their e-waste to recycling or landfill hubs. After regulation measures were introduced, the majority of exports are done through either certified e-waste handlers or uncertified handlers. The largest two competing certified handlers are e-stewards and Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI). ISRI represents some of the largest waste handlers because they are in trade with Asia and Africa. Although many recycling programs have increased in efficiency, loopholes still exist within the recycling program that allow companies to continue to export parts of the used electronic devices. The majority of e-stewards recyclers implement no-export policies regarding the entire device, yet are still allowed to export raw plastics and metals in their simplest form. Due to this loophole, electronics are often labeled as raw plastics in order to pass customs, but in reality contain most of the components of the full electronic device; this nearly complete device then follows the general export process of being shipped and broken down at an e-waste hub, where the non-valuable components are then shipped to a junkyard to be broken down.Additionally, reports show that recyclers with e-steward certification are able to export used electronics if the devices have undergone a test that proves they can still function. These devices similarly make up the shipments made to hubs for the extraction of valuable parts.

Environmental and Health Effects

Because the US does not have federal or intergovernmental e-waste policies and electronics producers still manufacture products with hazardous materials, e-waste is often times dismantled without strict regulations or compliance so substances like heavy metals, flame retardants, and plastics produce public health risks. Due to the unregulated nature of the informal recycling sector in developing countries, US e-waste handlers could be exporting threats to human and environmental health.

Hazardous Materials in Electronic Devices

Electronic devices are combinations of hundreds of different types of materials; many of them are considered to be toxic when exposed to humans. Although present within the device, these toxic heavy metals have only been documented to become a health hazard once the device is broken down. The process of electrical device breakdown occurs in a variety of locations and settings (recycling sites, storage locations), yet becomes a prominent health hazard when broken down in domestic or international sites that do not have the correct equipment or recycling methods. When taken apart without proper recycling methods and tools, workers and residents become exposed to the toxic chemicals in the devices. E-waste negatively impacts health primarily through the exposure of heavy metal dioxins. Incinerating e-waste without proper workplace and environmental regulations poses a risk because it generates dioxins, which can cause cancer and plague the human body and environment for long periods of time. Moreover, open burning, a common practice in developing countries receiving e-waste, releases toxic fumes and dust that can be easily inhaled and effect nearby food sources and water bodies. In addition to direct exposure through open burning and dismantling, e-waste storages and landfills can result in leakage of dioxins into the natural surroundings area. These dioxins are able to permeate the soil and contaminate ground water and nearby vegetation; not only does ecological contamination negatively affect overall ecosystem function, but it is another method in which all living organisms' health risks increase dramatically.

A few of these chemicals include:

• Flame Retardants: Some flame retardants like Brominated Flame Retardants (BFRs), which can be found in e-waste plastic to make electronic products more flame resistant, are emitted into the environment through e-waste dismantling and become dust and air. BFRs are one of the materials that are used in the making of circuit boards and plastic casings. BFRs, which are fat-soluble, bioaccumulate causing neurological disorders and endocrine disruption. PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers), a class of BFRs, interfere with brain development of animals and in the hormones associated with sexual development. Long Term exposure to this toxin can result in problems concerning learning capability and memory function. Because of their toxicity, electronic manufacturers are phasing out BFRs.
• Lead: One can be exposed to lead through inhalation, ingestion, and skin contact , which could produce nausea, vomiting, and convulsions, coma, or even death and in chronic cases can cause anemia and abdominal pain. Metallic lead exists in the electrical circuit boards and lead oxide is a component of the cathode ray tubes (CRTs) and is used to connect the glass face plate with funnel sections. Lead can be found in lead-acid batteries, solders, and in televisions and monitors. Lead can leach from CRTs in landfill conditions, be released into the air through incineration, glass crushing, or high temperature processing. Similar to other toxins, lead can accumulate in the human body and biomass over a long period of time and can have damaging impacts on the nervous, respiratory, and cardiovascular systems.
• Cadmium: Cadmium is another metal, which is found in rechargeable batteries and “phosphor” coatings in older cathode ray tubes (CRTs). Cadmium compounds are used in a variety of electronic products, their functions ranging from stabilizing PVC formations to serving as wire insulators. Cadmium is a rare metal that is very toxic to plants, animals, and humans and is released into the air by incineration or poorly executed dismantling. When released, cadmium commonly accumulates in near-by crops, resulting in the additional exposure to humans and animals. Occupationally, fumes and dust containing cadmium compounds, a known carcinogen, can be inhaled directly and long term exposure results in kidney failure and bone problems. Heart disease, hypertension, and lung cancer are other health effects of cadmium inhalation. Cadmium exposure is also associated with deficits in motor skills, cognition, and learning in children.
• Mercury: Mercury is primarily utilized in the lighting mechanisms for flat-screen devices. Mercury is a highly toxic chemical that can have fatal or severely damaging effects on the human central nervous system, especially during early development ages. As one of the most toxic and popular metals used in electronic products, Mercury is an e-waste pollutant that one can be exposed to through inhalation and skin contact, and is known to cause vomiting, fever, and diarrhea symptoms and in chronic cases produce tremors. Because of its widespread application, Mercury can be found in common household products like batteries, fluorescent lamps, and thermostats.

Domestic Effects

One end-of-life treatment for electronic products is land-filling. In the US, some states implemented landfill bans to accompany e-waste laws to reach collection goals and ensure e-waste is funneled through the proper channels. Monitors and televisions, which contain a fair amount of lead, are the most common e-waste items found in landfills. The danger in landfilling e-waste is that hazardous materials can leach out into groundwater or run off and pollute nearby water bodies. To address this, the US e-waste recycling industry is growing and continuing to implement robust workplace and environmental standards. In 2011, US e-waste recycling added an estimated $20.6 billion to the US economy and created roughly 45,000 jobs. Still, e-waste can contain toxic materials like lead and cadmium , which pose risks for US e-waste workers, especially when processed manually. For instance, when processing cathode ray tubes (CRTs), which are found in television and computer monitors, workers use handheld tools like hammers that expose them to hazardous materials. As a result, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) investigate e-waste recycling facilities for health and environmental compliance. At e-waste recycling facilities, manually dismantling and sorting e-waste is the most popular technique and shredding or other automated separation techniques are secondary. One risk associated with manual dismantling is the potential for lead and cadmium contamination. Lead can disperse throughout e-waste recycling facilities covering surfaces, worker's uniforms, and areas outside the production floor, which can result in ingestion or inhalation of lead. Because of this, federal regulatory bodies like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) state that e-waste recycling facilities must provide uniforms, showers, and laundry services for workers. When facilities don't meet these protocols, lead and cadmium exposures can leave the production floor with workers and enter their personal vehicles or homes, which can adversely affect the health of family members.

Federal Prison Industries (FPI), also known as UNICOR, a government corporation that employs federal prison inmates, started an electronic-waste recycling program in 1994. UNICOR, a large government contractor, produced over $765 million in sales in 2005 and has accepted contracts for recycling e-waste since 1997. UNICOR has developed e-waste recycling operations in 10 federal prisons. In addition, in 2009, UNICOR had 1,000 incarcerated individuals processing about 40 million pounds of e-waste. . Since its inception, the e-waste recycling program has faced scrutiny regarding its lax safety enforcement, and has been subject to multiple health and safety investigations. Additionally, prisoners participating in this program are not protected under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and since they are not considered employees, they cannot formally organize and are not protected to speak out in unsafe working conditions. This lack of legal protection leads workers to continue to operate in unsafe conditions, with fears of being fired or sent to another prison. The UNICOR facility in Atwater was shut down in 2002 after an air quality test found lead and cadmium levels exceeding the standards set by OSHA. Between 2002 and 2005, a series of renovations and safety measures were taken to comply with safety standards, but the effectiveness of these efforts in reducing worker exposure to toxics was debated. In 2010, a report from the Inspector General revealed that UNICOR was in violation of e-waste recycling standards. The report found that UNICOR failed to provide protective workplace equipment or proper tools to dismantle electronic products, which resulted in staff and incarcerated individuals being exposed to lead and cadmium above permissible levels. . Moreover, unspecified amounts of e-waste processed by UNICOR were also shipped overseas. .

Global Effects

50-80% of e-waste collected in the US for recycling is exported to developing countries, which commonly ends up in the informal recycling sectors of Asian and West Africa. China receives the largest e-recycling volume, followed by India, Nigeria, and Ghana. Burning and dismantling e-waste is the main driver of atmospheric pollution and is the primary workplace exposure to hazardous materials. In China, e-waste, like printed circuit boards, is shredded and melted in open fires to recover metals like solder, and then the left-over plastics are burnt off. Water is used in the process, and unlike in the US is not treated, and is later discharged to the nearest water body. In the case of Guiyu China, the region with the world's highest levels of cancer-causing dioxins , discharge water runs off into Lianjiang River. The Lianjiang River is considered to be a category 5 river; meaning that according to the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection, the water quality is not safe for human consumption or agricultural function and use. Some open air workshops in China use acid to recover valuable materials from e-waste and wastewater is transported to drainage pits , which can run off into other water bodies and severely impact freshwater ecosystems and impact agricultural sources. In some cases, groundwater is contaminated from the acids of shredding and separating workshops. Most e-waste workers in developing countries adhere to the industry despite potential health and environmental risks for economic reasons. In Guiyu China, e-waste workers can make an equivalent of $600 a month, which pays more than other occupations. Often times workers don't have the workplace protective equipment, like uniforms and face masks, necessary to shield them from the toxic fumes and dust. Furthermore, children are particularly at risk of e-waste pollution harms. In Guiyu, 80% of the children suffer from respiratory diseases because children typically work in or live near waste disposal sites. Children in China also can experience elevated blood levels, skin damage, headaches, chronic gastritis, and duodenal ulcers due to e-waste recycling pollutants. In India, over 1 million urban poor, often with low literacy skills and awareness of the potential hazards of e-waste exposure, manually dismantle e-waste. A great portion of Indian e-waste workers are children and women. High levels of dioxin compounds, which are linked to cancer and developmental defects, have been commonly found in the breast milk and placentas of women exposed to e-waste, which can reveal improper disposal and handling of electronic products.