This post discusses electronic waste (e-waste), highlights some of the health and environmental effects, and suggests what we in the Caribbean should be doing to address this important issue.
Do you know what happens to your electronic devices – laptop, mobile phone, PC, TV, DVD player, etc. – when you no longer have any use for them? Usually they might languish in a corner for some time, or get a second life as a pre-loved item, or even get used for spare parts, but eventually they are put out with the garbage for disposal. In some countries discarded materials from electronic products can be recycled, but in the Caribbean, these devices eventually end up at a garbage dump or in a landfill.
The majority of electronic devices contain a number of chemicals that are toxic to humans and to the environment. Due to the proliferation of such appliances worldwide, there is a growing concern that they must be carefully disposed of to reduce waste and to safeguard our own health.
What is e-Waste?
Although there is no universally agreed definition, according to ewasteguide.info, electronic waste (e-waste), or Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE), generally speaks to
old, end-of-life or discarded appliances using electricity. It includes computers, consumer electronics, fridges etc which have been disposed of by their original users.
Some countries make a distinction between material that can be salvaged and recycled, and that which will not be used or repurposed, and ultimately will be dumped. Nevertheless, it must be highlighted that most developing countries, including those in the Caribbean, are not managing the waste derived from electrical and electronic products.
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