E- waste and the Equity principle

Electronic waste or E-waste is a major problem for the 21st century. Since the 1990’s, relatively cheap electronic technology has been made available to the public and this has lead to some serious repercussions. With new and improved models appearing every couple months consumers are pressured to upgrade their “old” models. In the USA alone, 350,000 cell phones and 130,000 computers are thrown out every day (Walsh 2009). As a result E-waste is becoming a major component of solid waste. E-waste is even worse than household solid waste because of the nasty combination of toxic chemicals such as mercury and lead, which if improperly disposed of can cause serious health problems for both the local environment and local human populations. For humans, these heavy metals bioaccumlate in the body and cause a range of neurological disorders.
Only 20% of the American population recycles its E-waste, but despite this effort, some recycling companies ship the waste to developing nations(Walsh 2009). Once in these countries the E-waste goes to poor people, for dismantling. The precious metals are extracted through opening burning and the use of corrosive chemicals. With no regard for health or safety, these people expose themselves and the local environment to a wide range of toxic chemicals that have been linked to a startling number of health issues. For example, Guiyu , a town in China, is a common destination for a large proportion of E-waste. Guiyu has the highest levels of carcinogenic dioxins in the environment anywhere in the world and high incidence rates of miscarriages (Walsh 2009).
This issue of E-waste touches upon many of the topics discussed in Environmental Principles and Policies, but specifically, the equity principle and the human rights principle. These two principles highlight how social inequalities are tied to environmental degradation. The E-waste issue can be considered as a socio-economic problem that inevitably leads to environmental degradation.
In theory, “equity means that there should be a minimum level of income and environmental quality below which nobody falls” (Beder 2006). Unfortunately this is not the case in the world, where a vast majority of the population lives in poverty. While burning E-waste and living in squalid conditions seems unthinkable to people living in developed countries, for the individuals of towns such as Guiyu, it is a way of feeding their families. In addition, these people generally lack an education and as a result, they are unaware of the harm that their practises are causing on their own health and the environment. For individuals who live in perpetual poverty, where meeting basic needs such as food and water are the primary concern, environmental protection is quite often the furthest thing from their minds. These people do not have the luxury of making good environmental choices because they must focus all of their efforts towards keeping themselves alive.
The human rights principle also reinforces the main points of the equity principle. Every human being has a right to life, health and general wellbeing as stated by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Beder 2006). Since the most fundamental requirements for life such as food, water and air come directly from the environment it is then reasonable to conclude that in order for these rights to be met a level of environmental health must be maintained as well. The processing of E-waste directly damages the local environment and health of the local people thereby preventing their attainment of the above rights.

The E-waste issue is just one example of the conflict between poverty and environmental protection. All over the world there are similar stories, where the environment is put second to meeting people’s basic needs. In privileged countries lack of environmental action is due to apathy, whereas in developing countries, a large proportion of environmental degradation is linked to poverty. Up until recently, poverty and environmental degradation were viewed as two separate issues. But as the urgency to protect the environment increases, more individuals are beginning to realize that if we are to solve Earth’s environmental issue we will also have to address poverty as well.

References
Beder, S. (2006). Environmental principles and policies: an interdisciplinary introduction. New South Wales: Earthscan
Walsh, B. (2009). E-waste not. Retrieved November 20 2009 from: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1870485,00.html