Personal Computer - Electronic Waste

Electronic Waste

Personal computers can become a large contributor to the 50 million tons of waste of discarded electronic goods that is being generated annually, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. To solve the electronic waste issue affecting developing countries and the environment, an Extended producer responsibility act was implemented. Organizations, such as the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, Basel Action Network, Toxics Link India, SCOPE, and Greenpeace contribute to the strategy. The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition and BAN (Basel Action Network) teamed up with 32 electronic recyclers in the US and Canada to create an e-steward program due to the lack of national legislation and regulation for the exporting and importing of electronic waste. The creation of an e-steward program created another option for manufacturers and customers to dispose of their electronic waste properly. The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition founded the Electronics TakeBack Coalition, which is a coalition that advocates for the production of environmentally friendly products. The TakeBack Coalition works with policy makers, recyclers, and smart businesses to get manufacturers to take full responsibility of their products. There are organizations opposing EPR, such as the Reason Foundation opposes the EPR for two main reasons. The first reason is that the EPR relies on the idea that is the manufacturers pay for the harm they do to the environment, they will learn their lesson. The second reason is that the EPR assumes the current design practices are environmentally inefficient. The Reason Foundation claims that manufacturers are moving toward reduced material use and energy use instead.