How the Growing Amount of Obsolete Electronics Is Increasing the Amount of Electronic Waste - Book Report/Review Example

The article was written by Widmer, Oswald-Krapf, Sinha-Khetriwal, Schnellmann, and Boni discusses how the growing amount of obsolete electronics is increasing the amount of electronic waste (e-waste) building up in various countries. This buildup has to do with the large quantity of end-of-life electronic equipment, which becomes greater as the lifespan of these items becomes smaller. The main method to decrease the amount of e-waste that is brought forth in the article is the distribution of this waste to countries that have a use for the material or can stand the amount of pollution they would cause, such as countries within Africa. However, these materials have proven to be hazardous and dangerous to the environment, which puts a strain on the exportation of the materials. The authors then mention the use of EPR, or Extended Producer Responsibility, which would force manufacturers to properly dispose of the unneeded materials.

The authors suggesting that one of the best methods to dispose of the e-waste would be to send the materials to countries that can risk pollution would only work for so long. If companies rely too much on sending these materials to Africa, the pollution will build up there just as it has in the United States or other pollution-filled countries. After that, these companies are back to the starting point of trying to figure out what to do with the hazardous materials. As such, other ideas need to be constructed to get rid of the e-waste. These ideas not only need to be affordable and effective, but they also need to be able to last.

The concept of EPR seems to be the best idea in decreasing the amount of e-waste throughout the world