The tragic costs of e-waste
Summary
TLDRThe script highlights the grim reality of e-waste, particularly in Ghana, where mountains of discarded electronics are mined for valuable materials like gold, posing serious health and environmental risks. It underscores the need for sustainable practices, featuring initiatives like Fairphone that aim for longer-lasting, modular devices to reduce waste. It also touches on the role of corporations in managing end-of-life products and the importance of global recycling efforts to mitigate the environmental impact.
Takeaways
- 📱 The script discusses the environmental impact of electronic waste (e-waste), particularly highlighting the situation in Ghana where e-waste is informally recycled.
- 🌍 It emphasizes the global nature of the problem, with e-waste from developed countries often ending up in developing nations like Ghana.
- 🏭 The script introduces 'urban mining', a term used to describe the process of extracting valuable materials from discarded electronics.
- 💸 The value of e-waste is underscored by the fact that there is more gold in a ton of smartphones than in a ton of gold ore.
- 👨👩👧👦 The script features individuals like Mohammed Awal, who supports his family by working in these hazardous conditions, illustrating the human cost of e-waste.
- 🔥 It mentions the dangerous methods used to extract minerals, such as burning e-waste to retrieve materials, which releases toxic chemicals.
- 👶 The impact on children is highlighted, with concerns about lead exposure and other health risks due to the toxic environment.
- 🌿 The script discusses the broader environmental impact, including pollution and the release of poisonous chemicals into the air and water.
- 📉 It points out the inefficiency of current recycling methods, with only 20% of e-waste being formally recycled.
- 💡 The script introduces solutions like Fairphone, a company aiming to create sustainable phones that are easier to recycle or repair.
- 🌐 It touches on the role of corporations and the need for them to consider a product's end of life during the design phase to reduce e-waste.
- 📈 The script concludes with a call to action, suggesting that consumers and producers alike have a responsibility to address the e-waste problem.
Q & A
What is the main issue discussed in the video script?
-The main issue discussed is the environmental and social impact of electronic waste, particularly how discarded electronics end up in landfills and are informally recycled in places like Ghana, leading to hazardous conditions for workers and the environment.
What is 'Urban mining' as mentioned in the script?
-'Urban mining' refers to the process of extracting valuable materials from discarded electronics, often in unsafe and informal settings, such as the waste sites in Ghana.
Why is there 100 times more gold in a ton of smartphones than a ton of gold ore?
-Electronic devices like smartphones contain precious metals used in their circuitry. The concentration of these metals is much higher in electronic waste compared to natural ores, making it a potentially rich source for extraction.
What are the health risks faced by workers involved in informal e-waste recycling?
-Workers face numerous health risks, including exposure to toxic substances, lead poisoning, and physical injuries from handling hazardous materials without proper safety equipment.
How much of the world's electronic waste is formally recycled?
-Only 20% of electronic waste is formally recycled, with the majority ending up in landfills or being dealt with informally.
What is the significance of the Fairphone mentioned in the script?
-Fairphone is a company that produces modular smartphones designed for easy repair and recycling, aiming to reduce e-waste and promote more sustainable practices in the electronics industry.
What role does the Basel Convention play in the context of e-waste?
-The Basel Convention is an international treaty aimed at reducing the movements of hazardous waste between nations, especially from developed to developing countries, which often lack the capacity to manage it properly.
Why is it important to consider a product's end of life during its design?
-Considering a product's end of life during design can lead to more sustainable products that are easier to repair, recycle, or dispose of, thus reducing the environmental impact of electronic waste.
What is the significance of the Mountain Research Institute mentioned in the script?
-The Mountain Research Institute is a recycling initiative at the Agbogbloshie dump site in Ghana, aiming to provide a safer and more sustainable method for handling e-waste.
What is the impact of e-waste on the local environment and communities, as described in the script?
-The script describes e-waste leading to pollution, health issues, and economic challenges for local communities, with children exposed to hazardous conditions and the environment suffering from improper waste disposal practices.
How does the script suggest consumers can help address the issue of e-waste?
-The script suggests that consumers can help by demanding more sustainable products, supporting companies that prioritize recycling and responsible waste management, and considering the end-of-life impact when purchasing electronics.
Outlines
🌍 E-Waste and Its Impact
This paragraph discusses the environmental and social consequences of electronic waste, particularly in Ghana. It highlights the contrast between the glossy advertisements promoting new electronics and the reality of e-waste disposal, which often ends up in landfills or is informally recycled in hazardous conditions. The paragraph introduces 'urban mining,' the dangerous work of extracting valuable materials from discarded electronics. It also touches on the health risks faced by workers, including children, who sort through toxic waste, and the broader environmental pollution caused by burning e-waste to extract minerals. The narrative emphasizes the need for a more responsible approach to e-waste management and the role of consumer behavior in perpetuating this issue.
📱 Sustainable Electronics and the Fairphone
This paragraph focuses on the efforts to create more sustainable electronics, exemplified by the Fairphone company. It contrasts the typical design of electronics, which are difficult to disassemble and recycle, with Fairphone's modular design that facilitates easy replacement and recycling of parts. The Fairphone aims to reduce e-waste by encouraging longer usage of devices. The paragraph also discusses the broader implications of e-waste on the environment, including pollution of water sources and the impact on marine life. It raises questions about the responsibility of producers and consumers in managing e-waste and the need for better recycling practices. The narrative includes perspectives from a Samsung representative on corporate sustainability and the company's efforts to incorporate recycled materials into their products.
🔄 Recycling Initiatives and the Future of E-Waste Management
The final paragraph explores potential solutions to the e-waste problem, including initiatives that incentivize proper recycling rather than burning cables for metal extraction. It introduces Vincent Kyere, who runs a recycling initiative at a dump site, and Bas van Abel, the founder of Fairphone, who advocates for using recycled materials to reduce the need for mining. The paragraph discusses the importance of managing e-waste responsibly to protect both the environment and the livelihoods of those who depend on recycling as a source of income. It also touches on the global aspect of e-waste, including the role of developed countries in exporting waste to developing nations and the need for better enforcement of regulations to prevent improper disposal of hazardous waste.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡E-Waste
💡Urban Mining
💡Toxic Waste
💡Recycling
💡Sustainability
💡Fairphone
💡Lead Exposure
💡Poisonous Chemicals
💡Environmental Chemist
💡End of Life
💡Microplastics
Highlights
The reality of electronic waste in Ghana is starkly different from the glossy advertisements for new devices.
Many electronics end up in massive garbage dumps where people sift through them for valuable materials.
Mohammed Awal supports his family by working in the dangerous conditions of an electronic waste city in Accra, Ghana.
Urban mining, extracting valuable materials from discarded electronics, is a hazardous job with little safety equipment.
There is 100 times more gold in a ton of smartphones than a ton of gold ore, but extracting it comes at a high cost.
Children as young as 10 work in these toxic environments for a meager income.
The UN reports that only 20% of electronic waste is formally recycled, with the rest ending up in landfills or informally processed.
The demand for materials drives these waste sites, which wouldn't exist without the need for extracted minerals.
Lead exposure among urban poor children is a significant ramification of burning e-waste to extract minerals.
E-waste provides opportunities for social mobility but also contributes to dangerous pollution.
Producers need to consider a product's end of life when designing it to reduce the environmental impact.
Fairphone, a company started by Dutch activist Bas van Abel, aims to create a more sustainable phone.
Fairphone's modular design allows for easy recycling or replacement of parts, reducing electronic waste.
Samsung is making efforts to use recycled materials in their products and has recycling centers in 50 countries.
There is a push for proper recycling and enforcement to prevent the export of hazardous waste to developing countries.
Vincent Kyere runs a recycling initiative to provide a safer alternative to burning cables for valuable materials.
The energy transition requires minerals found in mines, and recycling e-waste can help reduce the need for mining.
Transcripts
as we begin the busiest time of year for shopping and gift giving you may
be thinking about a new phone or laptop this morning Seth Doane asks at what
cost these are not the images we see in the glossy advertisements enticing us to buy a new
cell phone laptop or TV but this should be part of the picture because this is where many of our
electronics wind up strewn in mountains of garbage across acres of land with tens of thousands of
people sifting through it in places like this the African nation of Ghana we think a lot about
where products come from when we buy them less so about where they go when we're finished one
researcher told us when we throw things away well this is away it's also home for Mohammed Awal who
supports his mother and four kids by working despite the risks here in this city of waste
in Ghana's Capital Accra what happens to your body in doing this work if you see my body cut a
wound yeah you see there's another scar there this dangerous difficult and yes Dirty Work is called
Urban mining it's all about extracting something usable from the world's discarded electronic
they do it because there's treasure here recovered in this case by sawing a monitor circuit board
incredibly there's 100 times more gold in a ton of smartphones than a ton of gold ore but finding
it comes with a real cost it's hazardous work and safety equipment is not exactly standard children
children as young as 10 toil and sometimes live amid this toxic garbage desperate for a
meager payday you're selling this this is all copper Abdullah Illias endures the sweltering
heat to pluck out tiny pieces of copper so this is maybe worth $3 the UN figures we produce around 50
million tons of electronic waste or e-waste every year and this is is not what's supposed to happen
to it only 20% is formally recycled the vast majority winds up in landfills or is dealt with
informally these places wouldn't exist without the demand for the materials they extracts Muntaka
Chasant has been documenting the lives of those living on the margins here what cannot be Pride
out is often burned to extract minerals one of the ramifications of this is lead exposure among
Urban poor children but he urged us to see this place with Nuance the reality is a murky polluted
gray e-waste provides opportunities for upward social Mobility you're saying you can't just look
at this as all bad because this is creating jobs absolutely but this is also dangerous polluting
the environment Seth we've been having this same conversation for more than a decade now
and absolutely nothing has changed well we've been talking someone set a fire here you look
at the pollution that goes into the sky behind you yes this is what people in accra have been
living with and just across here is the largest open Food Market in the city when you burn a lot
of chemicals are released poisonous chemicals Anita Asimo is an environmental chemist at
Ghana's atomic energy commission she's not only a scientist I me a mother myself and I wouldn't want
to give poisonous substances to my baby she'd seen the smoke wafting over homes and markets and food
is regularly sold in the open at the dump so Anita Asamoah whether those toxins were so pervasive
that they were even getting into the breast milk of mothers what did you find when you examine this
breast milk PCBs these are poisonous substances which can result in death which can result in
diseases like Cancers and infants are even more susceptible to these chemicals these burdens are
the consequence of consumption in a much richer West what you see here is the the result of the
very very short kind of Cycles we have in using stuff you buy something you use it you throw
it away and you throw it away boss unable argues producers need to consider a product's end of life
when designing it right now we're incentivized to throw away stuff because it's cheaper to
buy a new one than actually have it repaired Bas van Abel is a Dutch activist turned entrepreneur
whose investigations into mining practices led him to start a company called fairphone its aim
is to create a more sustainable phone and cut down on scenes like these unfortunately for
and electronics are designed in a way that you can't really reuse components and parts of it so
what happens is that this whole product basically goes into the oven and you burn it and you get the
minerals out of it it's a very stupid process what do you mean stupid process well it's it's
you know it's kind of stupid to put something in an incinerator that's that's put so much effort
into making most of the footprint of a phone is in the making of it so the best thing is to keep
it as long as possible it's a bit thicker than he showed us his fair phone which he Likens to
Legos because of its removable modular Parts pops right off yours to open yours to keep the battery
is not glued in making it simple and inexpensive to recycle or replace it's the same for the camera
lens and Screen fairphone which just launched in the US and sells for up to $700 a piece has half a
million customers worldwide proof of concept they say Americans on average upgrade their cell phone
every 2 and 1/2 years Fairphones under warranty for five if you use your phone twice as long you
need to produce only half the amount of phones and you have half the amount of electronic waste
it's a very simple calculation imprecise methods of recycling produce more waste which bleaches
into the Earth Here pollutants and microplastics run into a nearby River in the ocean on the beach
we found Plastics that were not exactly micro oh our Nets fishermen told us how their Nets tear
because now their Catch of the Day often includes E-Waste the refrigerators the laptops it shouldn't
be around the ocean causes harm it's your waste so don't just shift your waist to us and tell us
that it's second hand you can use it come inside Vincent Kyere calls himself The Graduate scrap
dealer he's a PhD who's been studying this dump in the old one nearby known as Agbogbloshie for more
than a decade I think a lot of people will watch this and be upset but also feel powerless what
can people consumers a world away do I believe strongly that those who are producing this when
they put this materials on their Market they are responsible for the end of life we reached out to
Apple the largest mobile phone seller in the US Apple did not make someone available to talk with
us for this story but Samsung one of the largest electronics manufacturers in the world invited
us to their store in Palo Alto California where does the responsibility lie here in Ghana we hear
it's the producer I think every uh party in the entire value chain has some responsibility Mark
Newton is the head of corporate sustainability at Samsung us he says every product is designed with
the ultimate end of life life in mind this doesn't look like a place that's encouraging me to hold on
to my phone longer it looks like some place that's encouraging me to buy a new phone well of course
we want to excite you with the newest technology but what's cool now we're making our highest
performing products with 20% recycled Plastics 20% recycled glass 20% recycled Metals in the back of
this store there's the first stage of a recycling operation Samsung takes back Electronics of any
brand Samsung has recycling centers International in something like 50 countries but in Africa the
only one is in South Africa why not in Ghana Nigeria these places where we know the need
really exists I think that we're really leaning into that now so we've fairly recently recognized
that and in in made a significant commitment to expand our collection Network globally but this
recycling effort is largely self- policed in the United States us the most wasteful country
per capita on Earth is not part of this very treaty America has not ratified an agreement
that 191 other countries support Bas convention is the treaty that was supposed to deal with this
phenomenon of hazardous waste suddenly flowing to developing countries and there is a strong Lobby
that is happy to have no trade restrictions on waste Jim Puckett founded the basel Action Network
a watchdog Group which pushes for proper recycling once the rich countries realized oh my God we got
a problem with hazardous waste the price went up for properly managing it and so the export
trade took off sending tons of hazardous waste to the developing World much of it getting through
customs under the guise of being repairable why Ghana we have issues of compliance and enforcement
open the truck Vincent Kyere now runs a recycling initiative Mountain Research Institute at the
dump site this is a small project but it is one possible solution they buy cables to incentivize
people not to burn them there is a real gray area here these are important jobs these are
livelihoods should I sit down and not eat because if I bend somebody will die if I don't bend I will
also die so it was not a question of why don't you close down the place it was rather a question of
how do you do this better this metal can be reused Kyere's group is now building a partnership with
fairphone bas van abel started focusing on the problems of mining these materials on the front
end wound up realizing much more can be done to save what's already been pulled from the earth
the whole energy transition needs all these minerals that are found in mines so the best
thing to do is also to make sure that we can get recycled sources so that we don't get the minerals
only from mines but actually take it back from the products that we already use it's all about
mining the precious materials we've carelessly cast aside and managing our garbage with less
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