The Shocking Environmental Impacts of E-Waste

Electronics are integrated into our daily lives more than ever before. Technological advancements can make older electronic devices obsolete well before they stop functioning.

There are also more gadgets available every day that may make your job a bit easier. This trend of quick electronic turnaround can have serious environmental consequences when old devices are disposed of improperly.

E-waste is a term used for any devices with electronic components that have reached the end of their useful lives. When you update your computers or other electronics, your old devices are usually considered e-waste.

What Is in E-Waste?

E-waste in the workplace can really add up. Computers, phones, tablets, printers, flash drives, and network hardware are just a few examples of the e-waste that your business may be accumulating.

Some pollutants commonly found in e-waste include:

• Mercury
• Lead
• Cadmium
• Polybrominated flame retardants
• Barium
• Lithium

Other materials, such as aluminum, ferrous metals, copper, gold, and silver, can be recovered through proper recycling to conserve natural resources and the energy needed to produce new components from virgin resources. When it is time to update your electronics, make sure your old devices are properly disposed of to prevent pollution and recover these valuable materials.

Health Concerns of Improper E-Waste Disposal

The environmental impact of e-waste is linked to a rise in a variety of health concerns. Pollutants in e-waste can cause health concerns in plants, animals, and humans. This environmental damage has been tied to brain, heart, liver, kidney, and skeletal system damage in large animals and humans.

Air Pollution

The rising volume of e-waste has led to these materials being severely mishandled. E-waste can pollute the air when improperly shredded, melted, or burned.

The chemicals released while burning e-waste can travel thousands of miles and cause serious health concerns for all living things. Chronic respiratory diseases have been tied to regions with high levels of improperly disposed e-waste.

Soil Pollution

When e-waste is treated as traditional waste and sent to landfills, pollution is often unavoidable. 70% of toxic waste in landfills comes from e-waste. Many landfills are becoming increasingly strict in refusing to handle e-waste. For example, the City of Sioux Falls banned all electronics from the regional landfill in 2004. Although the increase in requirements around disposal has led to more awareness, this evolution has also led to an increase in the illegal dumping of e-waste in untreated areas.

Heavy metals and strong chemicals from improperly disposed-of electronic materials can make their way into the soil with ease. While smaller particles of e-waste often remain airborne, large pollutants seep into the soil and cause a variety of internal health problems.

Water Pollution

Agricultural land use is significantly impacted by soil and water pollution. Heavy metals and flame retardant chemicals can stick around in crops. Livestock, wildlife, and human populations are at an increased risk of consuming crops contaminated with these pollutants.

Groundwater is easily contaminated by heavy metals once they have seeped far enough into the soil. This groundwater contamination can make its way into rivers, streams, and lakes. Drinking water for animals and humans alike is at an increased risk of containing heavy metals.

Proper E-Waste Disposal

E-waste can be properly disposed of through recycling, reusing, refurbishing, and reselling. While all e-waste is recyclable, only 15% to 20% of all e-waste ends up being recycled.

SEAM offers responsible, certified and safe electronics recycling services to customers in the upper Midwest, including those in North Dakota and South Dakota. Contact us today if you are unsure of the best way to handle your electronic waste.