Colleen Graffy, O. (2020, July 13). Customers shouldn’t be responsible for e-waste – producers should be. Retrieved November 16, 2020, from https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/507018-customers-shouldnt-be-Responsible-for-e-waste-producers-should-be

 

With increasing electronic waste, much of it ends up in foreign countries. While it may lead Americans to believe that the problems end there, it goes much further. Toxic metals infest the produce consumed by us. Much of confidential data stored in thrown away hard drives poses security risks. In addition, several counterfeit products are created utilizing materials from this waste that can end up back in the hands of the Americans. Only half of the states have any sort of e-waste recycling legislation, and many are simply uninformed about where to dispose of their electronic goods. Unless the producer is responsible for the end to end consumption of these goods, waste will continue to grow. In addition, it incentivizes producers to make poorer quality products to benefit off obsolescence. 

 

I agree with much of what this article states. It was surprising to hear about the different use cases of electronic waste and of all the different ways it impacts my own life. With all the ways it can affect us, it is important for these larger corporations to take ownership of their own doing and allow for easier disposal mechanisms. This would allow them to not concede their brand to as many counterfeits and also do good for the environment.