Environmental, Social, and Economic Implications of Global Reuse and Recycling of Personal Computers

Williams, Eric; Kahhat, Ramzy; Allenby, Braden; Kavazanjian, Edward; Kim, Junbeum; Xu, Min

doi:10.1021/es702255z

Cited by 270 publications

(165 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…cadmium, lead, zinc, mercury). The potential economical benefit is promoting the development of e-waste disassembly industry, particularly for developing countries including China (Williams et al, 2008;Liu et al, 2009;Ni and Zeng, 2009). In China, a large proportion of e-waste is transported to family-operated recycling facilities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial characteristics of cadmium in topsoils in a typical e-waste recycling area in southeast China and its potential threat to shallow groundwater

Luo

Deng

et al. 2014

Science of The Total Environment

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• We characterize the Cd total in topsoils, pH and SOM in a typical e-waste recycling area.• The relationships between Cd total in topsoils, pH, and SOM were studied.• Impact of topsoil Cd accumulation and acidification on shallow groundwater quality was evaluated. Informal electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) recycling often creates secondary sources of cadmium (Cd) pollution. To characterize the total Cd concentration (Cd total ) in topsoil and evaluate the threat of Cd in topsoils to shallow groundwater, 187 topsoil samples and 12 shallow groundwater samples were collected in a typical e-waste recycling area in southeast China. Soil organic matter content, soil pH and Cd total in topsoil, pH and dissolved Cd concentration in shallow groundwater were measured. Cd total in the topsoils showed an inverse distribution trend with soil pH in that high Cd concentrations (and low pH values) were found in the surrounding area of the metal recycling industrial park where there were many family-operated e-waste recycling facilities before the industrial park was established and with low concentrations (and high pH values) in other areas, and they had similar spatial correlation structures. Cd accumulation and acidification were synchronous in topsoils, and soil pH was significantly correlated with Cd total in topsoils with low to moderate negative correlation coefficient (r = −0.24), indicating that both of them maybe correlated with informal recycling. The shallow groundwater in the surrounding area of the metal recycling industrial park was seriously contaminated by Cd, and topsoil Cd accumulation and acidification in the surrounding area of e-waste recycling sites significantly increase the risk of shallow groundwater contaminated by Cd. Action is urgently required to control Cd accumulation and acidification by improving the recycling operations of e-wastes in order to reduce the risk of Cd leaching from topsoils and shallow groundwater contamination. a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f o

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial characteristics of cadmium in topsoils in a typical e-waste recycling area in southeast China and its potential threat to shallow groundwater

Luo

Deng

et al. 2014

Science of The Total Environment

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“…Myyrya, Juujärvi, and Pesso 2010). For instance, this could consist of learning about what opinion most people in some specific group in society have about some moral issue, such as recycling (Williams et al 2008), or whether we ought to make research into using nuclear power (Cerutti 2010). Doing ethics in school could also consist of studying how teenagers consider electrical cars; whether young people are more positive to surveillance technology than older people, and so on.…”

Section: Three Approaches To Ethics In Schoolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why philosophical ethics in school: implications for education in technology and in general

Gardelli

Alerby

Persson

2014

Ethics and Education

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In this article, we distinguish between three approaches to ethics in school, each giving an interpretation of the expression 'ethics in school': the descriptive facts about ethics approach, roughly consisting of teaching empirical facts about moral matters to students; the moral fostering approach, consisting of mediating a set of given values to students; and the philosophical ethics (PE) approach, consisting of critically discussing and evaluating moral issues with students. Thereafter, three influential arguments for why there ought to be ethics in school are discussed, and each argument is interpreted given each approach to ethics in school, respectively. Thereby, we evaluate which interpretation of 'ethics in school' produces the strongest arguments, and thus, which approach is best supported by these arguments. The conclusion is that there ought to be PE in school.

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“…Both the extraction of these materials, typically through mining, and the treatment of the waste represent a large environmental challenge. In table I we have presented some of the main materials which can be found in a typical PC [2]. Next to it we have displayed the average ore enrichment factors and their recyclability [3] [4].…”

Section: What Is Green Communications? a Types Of Environmetal Imentioning

confidence: 99%

Overall ICT footprint and green communication technologies

Vereecken

Heddeghem

Colle

et al. 2010

2010 4th International Symposium on Communications, Control and Signal Processing (ISCCSP)

100

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Abstract-Green communication technologies currently receive a lot of attention. In this paper we give an overview of the environmental issues related to communication technologies en present an estimation of the overall ICT footprint. Additionally we present some approaches on how to reduce this footprint and how ICT can assist in other sectors reducing their footprint. I. INTRODUCTION In its communication 'Addressing the challenge of energy efficiency through Information and Communication Technologies' the European Commission states[1]:Information and Communication Technologies have an important role to play in reducing the energy intensity and increasing the energy efficiency of the economy, in other words, in reducing emissions and contributing to sustainable growth. In order to achieve the ambitious targets set and meet the challenges ahead, Europe needs to ensure that ICTenabled solutions are available and fully deployed. With this statement the commission acknowledges the opportunities Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has to offer in reducing the energy intensity of the economy but also points out that ICT needs to lead by example in increasing its energy efficiency. This increase in energy efficiency needs to take place in a rapidly expanding sector. Currently the transmitted data volume increases by a factor of approximately 10 every 5 years.In this paper we elaborate on the environmental footprint of ICT and the possibilities ICT has in environmental footprint reduction. We will demonstrate that this environment footprint encompasses more than only energy efficiency. Then, we assess this footprint and discuss some strategies to mitigate it.

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Environmental, Social, and Economic Implications of Global Reuse and Recycling of Personal Computers

Cited by 270 publications

References 36 publications

Spatial characteristics of cadmium in topsoils in a typical e-waste recycling area in southeast China and its potential threat to shallow groundwater

Spatial characteristics of cadmium in topsoils in a typical e-waste recycling area in southeast China and its potential threat to shallow groundwater

Why philosophical ethics in school: implications for education in technology and in general

Overall ICT footprint and green communication technologies

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