You are here  Electronic Waste  Environmental Source
Electronic Waste  Full Document Available in PDF  Increasingly,
news reports and environmental activists are claiming that we
are facing a new solid waste crisis. “Electronic junk [is]
piling up everywhere, creating what some experts predict will be
the largest toxic waste problem of the 21st century,” reads an
article in Environmental Health Perspectives. Similarly,
Greenpeace claims, “The world is consuming more and more
electronic products every year. This has caused a dangerous
explosion in electronic scrap (e-waste) containing toxic
chemicals and heavy metals that cannot be disposed of or
recycled safely.” As a result of such rhetoric, Europe has
passed several “e-waste” laws, U.S. states have begun looking
into their own regulations, and members of Congress have
proposed legislation. Unfortunately, misinformation about the
issue and the naive belief that government is positioned to
improve electronic waste handling is leading to misguided
policies a