American E-waste is Causing a 'Hidden Tsunami' in Southeast Asia, Report Says (nbcnews.com)
- Reference: 0179857020
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/10/23/1415234/american-e-waste-is-causing-a-hidden-tsunami-in-southeast-asia-report-says
- Source link: https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/american-e-waste-causing-hidden-tsunami-southeast-asia-report-says-rcna239297
> The Seattle-based Basel Action Network, or BAN, said a two-year investigation found at least 10 U.S. companies exporting used electronics to Asia and the Middle East, in what it says is [1]a "hidden tsunami" of electronic waste . "This new, almost invisible tsunami of e-waste, is taking place ... padding already lucrative profit margins of the electronics recycling sector while allowing a major portion of the American public's and corporate IT equipment to be surreptitiously exported to and processed under harmful conditions in Southeast Asia," the report said.
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> Electronic waste, or e-waste, includes discarded devices like phones and computers containing both valuable materials and toxic metals like lead, cadmium and mercury. As gadgets are replaced faster, global e-waste is growing five times quicker than it's formally recycled. The world produced a record 62 million metric tons in 2022. That's expected to climb to 82 million by 2030, according to the United Nations' International Telecommunication Union and its research arm, UNITAR.
[1] https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/american-e-waste-causing-hidden-tsunami-southeast-asia-report-says-rcna239297
Brought to you by the N.S.S. research group (Score:5, Insightful)
This is so damn obvious that it's not funny.
Technology has been pushed into a rapid lifecycle through a combination of manufacturers insisting upon growth of their businesses, software support becoming nonexistent far too rapidly, and a marketing-push that one has to have the latest. It is further increased by the manufacture of low-end garbage electronics that doesn't last very long but is popular with many buyers because they're only looking at initial purchase price.
If you want to slow this down, compel software support for computers, phones, and other electronics for a mandatory extended period of time after final sale, and don't buy low-end garbage devices that you feel need replacement because they wear out so quickly (aka [1]Terry Pratchett's Boots Theory [wikipedia.org]). Buy reasonably good products and skip the truly cheap stuff.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boots_theory
crap back and forth (Score:2)
We request crap. It's made in Asia and when it breaks we send it back to Asia. They take it because we pay them to take it.
It's people paying to move crap around all the way down.
Re: (Score:2)
Sounds like a problem tariffs can help solve.
But then drinkypoo would not have as many shiny new toys to smear his excrement all over, so Trump bad...
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You think the same item made domestically at the lowest profit margin is going to fare better in quality? Nobody forced anyone to buy cheap Chinese garbage. People want to spend as little as possible and China can manufacture it for as little as possible.
Now that our taxes have been collectively raised due to tariffs, where is that money going? Is it building any infrastructure or put towards healthcare?
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Nobody forced anyone to buy cheap Chinese garbage
When that's all that is left available, we are forced by default. When there was still a choice many of us avoided Chinese sourced goods. But the throw away generation has won and here we are.
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Yes sometimes taxes can alter consumer behavior. But most likely it just leads to consumers still buying but at inflated prices.
Interesting how Trump is bragging about how much money his taxes are bringing in, but never once mentions it's Americans who paid it.
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can I has a look into the dumpster before it gets shipped out? brb probably better stuff than I have now
Are devices being replaced faster? (Score:2)
With the incremental improvements in computers and phones slowing to a crawl, my impression is the opposite. In other words, I'm pretty sure people are holding on to devices longer before replacing them.
What if engineers on a strong basic income (Score:2)
What if engineers on a strong basic income designed 3D printable things that had recyclability built-in from the start, instead of working for capitalist profit-seeking bosses maximizing cost, not engineering, efficiency?
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> What if engineers on a strong basic income designed 3D printable things that had recyclability built-in from the start, instead of working for capitalist profit-seeking bosses maximizing cost, not engineering, efficiency?
This model brings you the glorious Trabant, practically unchanged over it's 25 year lifespan.
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
My friend's family had one in Romania. When going up a hill, he passengers would have to get out, as it didn't have enough horsepower to climb anything but a shallow grade. Production numbers were low, and the waitlist stretched for years, as the workers got paid the same if they made 10,000 cars or 50,000 cars per year. They never made any improvements or fixed any bugs because,
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabant_601
Recycling is mostly a farce (Score:4, Insightful)
This is well known. So are all of the warehouses full of CRTs that someone got paid to take and then abaondoned them in their leased warehouse. Plastic recycling barely happens. Paper and cardboard batches are routinely thrown out because of greasy food containers.........
We've all been getting this BS recycling thing pushed on us for decades. I'm not saying nothing is happening, but its in very few places and very few things that are actually getting recycled. And, surprise, it's the easy stuff. We're just trucking and shipping the rest around for no good reason (but people sure are making money off of it!).
Real recycling programs are difficult (for the processors and the consumers) and expensive. SF is (or at least was) a good example of what a more meaningful recycling program looks like, but even they can't do much of anything with most of the plastics and e waste other than shit it off to someone who pinky swears it's getting responsibly taken care of.
Asian governments (Score:2)
The article implies, but does not state, that the governments of the Asian nations in question are incapable of enforcing their relevant laws.
Rare Earth Minerals (Score:2)
Ewaste has high concentrations of rare earth minerals (higher than "natural" ores)
There should be profit in recycling these... or is is cheaper to just buy from the Chinese.
Re: (Score:2)
We can mostly assemble the stuff automatically now, but the recycling process is less refined and mostly not worth it for anyone trying to profit. It's hard because there is just so much junk they put on circuit boards (out of necessity) that contaminates the extraction process. But hey your new phone now has a i.
Return to sender. (Score:2)
What's the problem? That's part of the reason corporations moved manufacturing over there, make it 'not our problem'.
Stop with the planned obsolescence (Score:2)
Apple, Android and Windows OS should get security updates longer term. 15 years?
Keep-it-simple home appliances. The more features, the more things that can go wrong. My fridge doesn't need to be network connected.
With Windows 11... (Score:2)
With Windows 11, there will be much more being added. If people where smart they would upgrade to Linux or a BSD and save the $ they would spend on a new device.
My main device is a Thinkpad W541, released in 2015. It is as fast as just about any newer Laptop. There is no real reason to buy new unless your device has a CPU board issue. Or maybe you need a better GPU for graphics. In that case maybe a desktop would be better so you can replace the GPU easily.
Is this a repeat? (Score:2)
I swear I saw this same story back in 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, ...2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023,2024, 2025, and probably next year too.
I doubt there is a lot of e-waste from Bolivia (Score:1)
Perhaps submittard means trumpistan waste? That's hardly a surprise, the world is severely heating up because of that, and the primary guilty party doesn't care.