20 Bucks News

E-waste,
Not your average trash day.

- Article By Tim Del Vecchio

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction
2. The Rise of WIN
3. Jeff Brodie
4. Where does it all end up?
5. The recycling process
6. How can we stop it?

Introduction
Didyouknowthateverytimeyouthroughoutanoldelectronicyoucouldbe
killingupto20people?Wethroughoutelectronicstomuch,in2014Americaalone
produced41.8milliontonsofEwaste.Thenin2015americadisposedofaround72
milliontonsofewastealone.TheproblemwiththisisthatPeoplemainlyindeveloping
countriesrecycleelectronicsfortheprecioussubstanceslikegold,silver,copper,etc.
Unfortunatelywhentheydotheyexposethemselvestoharmfulsubstanceslikelead,
mercury,lithium
(asoftsilverwhitemetalthatgivesofftoxicfumes)
,etc.In2004A
youngboynamedAlexLinheardthisandwiththehelpofJeffBrodie,decidedto
changethat,wellcomebacktothemlateron.Whereisgoingon?Howdowestop
it?Youmayask,wellreadontofindout.

The Rise of WIN

AlexLin(Image1),borninWesterlyRhodeIslandattheage
of16decidedtocostartaelectronicrecyclingprogramwhich
collectedoldelectronics(WIN).Theydonatedtheuseableelectronics
andproperlyandsafelydisassembledthebrokenonesandrecycled
theirparts.Theregrouplaterfoundthatitwaseasiertorefurbishthe
brokenelectronicsthantoscrapthem,
sotheybeganrefurbishingelectronics
andevencreatedanelectronic
refurbishmentcourseattheWesterly
HighSchool.(Image2)Alexandhis
team(Image3)recycled/refurbished
over300,000lbsofelectronics.

Jeff Brodie
AfterreachingthisachievementoneofAlexspartnersJeffBrodie,whowasalso16
statedthat
Itwasaneyeopeningexperience,
inaninterviewafterwordspreadthatthey
donatedover300refurbishedPCstostudentsthatcouldntaffordtobuytheirown.

Where does it all end up?

MostEwastethatmakesitpastorganisation'slikeWINendsupincountrieslike
Ghana,Nigeria,Pakistan,India,andevenChina.Thesecountrieshaveforthemostparthave
ahighpovertyrate,andwoulddovirtuallyanythingtogetoutofit.InGhanawhenour
ewastearrivesitsscavengedthroughbymerchantswhosellthemtobuyersbasedonthe
amountofresourcescontainedintheelectronic.

The recycling process

Thebuyerswouldthebeginrepurposingtheelectronic,theywouldopenupany
shells,sortcontentsbymaterialthenmeltallthemetalsandcreate
ingots

(
ablockofsteel,
gold,silver,orothermetal,typicallyoblonginshaped.)W
hentheymelttheplasticandmetal
fumesareputintotheairwhichcankillanylivingthingaroundit.(Itslikeasmallnuclear
explosionwithouttheBOOM!!!!)Iftheysurvivetheingotmakingprocesstheythensellitto
companiesthatwillusefortheirproducts.

How can we stop it?

Inordertostopewastefromcausingcollateraldamagewehavetodomorethansit
athomeandwatchDonaldTrumpbeelectedpresident,weneedtogetupandchangethe
worldourselves.Wecanbethegenerationthatstopsalltheseissues,weneedtogooutand
doitourselveswecandonateallwewantbutifnooneisdothelaborittakesthose
donationsmeannothing.Ifwegooutanddothisourselvesthenweredoingsomethingto
stopit.Onewayyoucanhelpathomeistonotthroughoutelectronics,ifyoumustgetridof
them,givethemtoarefurbishingcenterorgivethemtoafriendwhocanusethem.Dont
helpelectronicsdestroyourEarth.

In the end
Intheendewasteisamajorproblemandittakesmorethanreadinganarticleanddoing
moreresearchfor5minutestostopit.Butwecanstopit,getup,signuptohelp,thendontjust
goonacharitywalkgooutandmakeadifference.Dontjustpaysomeoneelsetogoto
indonesiaandwarnthem,gobuyaplaneticket,flytoindonesiaandpersonallystopevery
singlepersontryingtogetmoneybyburningoldelectronics.JustDOIT!!!!!

MySources:
http://www.who.int/ceh/risks/ewaste/en/
http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/massdep/recycle/reduce/electronicsrecyclin
g.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JZey9GJQP0
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/detox/electronics/thee
wasteproblem/wheredoesewasteendup/
http://ewasteguide.info/node/219
http://ewastecenter.com/facts/ewastefacts/
http://www.takepart.com/article/2010/04/05/alexlinteenageactivist
http://inspiremykids.com/2011/alexlinturningewasteintoetreasure/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyIpG7UJKyI
http://loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=08P1300001&segmentID=9
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtyVw_OBNtQ
http://www.marlborough.govt.nz/Services/RecyclingResourceRecovery/EWaste
CollectionFacility.aspx
http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/lithium