According to a recent United Nations report, China has become the e-waste dumping ground of the world. It’s second only to the U.S. in the amount of electronic trash made up of refrigerators, old laptops, computers, and televisions that get dumped there every year. In a village outside of Beijing, families depend on e-waste recycling to make a living.

Dongxiaokou village is a hub for e-waste recycling. Villagers collect the trash, including old air conditioners, televisions, and refrigerators from Beijing and bring their finds back to Dongxiaokou to be broken down. Several hundred families gather e-waste, but no one knows how many for sure because much of it is done by undocumented migrant workers.

According to CNN, “Many of these gadgets were initially manufactured in China. Through a strange twist of global economics, much of this electronic junk returns to China to die.” The e-waste is taken apart and fixed before being sold to wholesale dealers for resale. If they cannot be fixed, they’re beaten apart with hammer and axe and then sold for scraps. Families can earn about $8 for an air conditioner, a tiny amount for an abundance of work.

Such wide scale e-waste recycling contaminates both the workers and the village itself. The small village stream has been polluted with toxins from breaking down old appliances and children play amongst heaps of trash. According to The Washington Post, “Those in the business in Dongxiaokou grapple with poor infrastructure and sanitation facilities, in addition to dangers associated with handling the waste. The village is now facing demolition as part of an urbanization plan, and residents are worried about losing their homes and work.”

When such recycling is done without the proper equipment and safety protocols in place, it can have damaging repercussions, but for these villagers, there is just no other way to make a living.

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Image: Mosman Council

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Our appetite for electronics is creating a worldwide problem of excessive e-waste.

A recent NPR interview with Derek Markham of Treehugger focused on a growing global problem: electronic waste, or e-waste. The EPA estimates it’s more than 2.5 million tons just in the U.S. each year.

According to Markham, while Americans buy hundreds of millions of new cell phones each year, only a tiny fraction of used ones are properly recycled—the EPA estimates fewer than 10 percent. And with an average replacement/upgrade rate of just 18 months, along with fewer and fewer land lines in homes, the number of “trashed” cell phones are only going to increase.

There are several causes for concern: first, cell phones (and other electronics) contain precious metals that, while the device may no longer be functional, could have a life elsewhere if properly recycled and reused. This practice decreases our mining impact on the land, and can help reduce the risks for mineworkers (the famous 33 Chilean miners trapped for more than 60 days underground were mining copper, which is used in a number of electronic devices).

Another cause for concern over the improper disposal of electronics is the number of hazardous toxic substances they contain. Markham says they can contain lead, dioxins, mercury, cadmium, plastics and fire retardants. And “finding appropriate end-of-life solutions for these products is an important part of the sustainability puzzle.”

Even best corporate efforts to encourage recycling are failing to properly dispose of the devices’ parts, in fact, many are just making it someone else’s problem, “an estimated 50-80% of collected electronics end up getting exported to developing nations,” says Markham. Many of these countries willing to receive our trash also have less strict regulations on some of the materials of concern found within the devices, putting their citizens at risk when exposed.

Annie Leonard’s powerful “Story of Electronics” video highlights the situation incredibly well: corporations continue to succeed in selling us more and more new stuff we don’t necessarily need, while failing to properly dispose of waste, old devices, or clean up the manufacturing processes.

Even Apple—the (perceived) antithesis of cheap and faulty devices—is contributing in a large way to the problem. (Just ask Siri…or someone who has the newer iPhone model why it’s soooo much better than your iPhone 3.) According to TechCrunch, Apple’s move away from the 30-pin iPod port could create a huge pile of useless but completely functional electronics, “That’s 45 million devices in essentially perfect working order that will be partially obsoleted by this move.”

Some local recycling centers are accommodating e-waste now to tackle the issue. The EPA has a comprehensive list. And any rudimentary Google search can help direct you towards an e-cycling facility.

But that’s only one step in proper e-cycling. Markham says that the fact that many of the e-waste locations require consumers to bring their e-waste there is a big turn-off. People simply don’t have the time to drive across town to drop off a cell phone. It’s a reasonable frustration, but not necessarily a justifiable one. Consumers can look online for e-waste collectors who will pick up. Or, you could start a neighborhood collection and take turns dropping off your e-waste monthly.

When researching e-waste facilities, ask questions. Ask for references. Find out what they do with the products—particularly ask if they ship any used devices to other parts of the world.

Of course, the simplest way to handle e-waste is to make less of it. While it’s tempting to get the newest video game console, mobile phone or computer, know that there are always going to be new devices coming out and it’s unreasonable to upgrade each and every time.

Keep in touch with Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

Image: Alex E. Proimos

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We loved this post over at Planet Green about getting the most mileage out of your gadgets. Aside from the obvious (biking to work instead of driving), they’ve got some great tips about extending the life of your fridge, computer, phone, and other electronics, saving you money and the earth a few landfills’ worth of heavy metals and conflict minerals. We think it’s a great way to opt out of disposable culture. Let us know your thoughts.

Here, in what may seem like the gazillionth post about how to celebrate Earth Day, are a few ideas for changes you can make in the technology and transport parts of your life that will make a real difference in your carbon footprint. You’ve heard some or all of them before, no doubt, but sometimes we need little reminders.

Whether it’s commuting to work, running errands, visiting friends-the more you substitute biking for driving, the more emissions (and money!) you’ll save. You can use e-meters to measure your carbon savings and Google Maps now has features to help cyclists out.

Learn more ways to reduce your carbon footprint and save cash at Planet Green.

Editor’s note: Article by Rachel Cernansky. Originally published by our friends at Planet Green. Planet Green is an offshoot of Discovery that covers every aspect of green living, from tofu to tattoos. Be sure to visit them and say hi, and follow Planet Green on Twitter, too!

Main Image: markoh!

The post Beyond Earth Day: 3 Easy Tech and Transport Ideas for Maximum Impact All Year appeared first on EcoSalon.

Back when car phones were suitcase-sized and small portable telephones seemed impossibly futuristic, cell phones were far from a necessity. Fast forward twenty years, and it’s hard to imagine life without them. But along with all the convenience has come mountains of toxic electronic waste and heavier energy consumption. Could phones with sustainable wood cases, apps that encourage renewable energy use or even chargers that convert WiFi signals to energy be the answer? Check out these seven brand-spanking-new phone innovations and decide for yourself.

AT&T ZERO Charger Slays Vampire Energy

By now most of us know that, as long as they’re kept plugged in, phone chargers are notorious for continuing to draw power even when not in use. But it’s annoying to constantly unplug chargers, especially when outlets are located in inconvenient places. AT&T has come up with an interesting solution called the ZERO Charger, which zaps that vampire draw by shutting down automatically when your phone isn’t actively charging. It’s not available quite yet, but you can sign-up to receive an email as soon as it’s available in stores from the AT&T website.

LG Goes Green with Remarq QWERTY Phone

The newest green cell phone to hit the market is the LG Remarq, a slider handset with a full QWERTY keyboard so you can get your text on a whole lot easier. The Remarq is made from 19 percent recycled plastic, contains no hazardous materials, and 87 percent of its parts can be recycled once it has lived out its (regrettably short, as with all cell phones) life. Other eco-features include a low-energy charger and an app to measure your carbon footprint. The phone also has a 1.3 megapixel camera, a MP3 player, a microSD card slot, stereo Bluetooth and a personal organizer. Get it May 9th for $19.99 with a two-year Sprint service contract and a $50 mail-in rebate.

RCA AirPower Charger Steals Energy from Wi-Fi

So maybe you zapped those energy-sucking vampires at home, but when you’re out and about, how can you power up your phone without plugging it in? Be a vampire yourself. The RCA AirPower Charger actually absorbs energy from WiFi signals – whether they’re your own or not. Some might call that stealing, but hey – you’ll never have a dead phone.

Originally developed as an emergency power supply, this technology is still being refined and RCA hasn’t explained exactly how it works other than to say that the portable device would be fully charged after about six hours of exposure as you pass through or hang out in hotspots.

iPhone App Measures Wind Speed

You’d have to be really dark green – and a bit of an eco geek – to need this app, but hey, when it comes to iPhone apps, there really is something for everyone. Just hold your iPhone into the air with the microphone pointed in the direction of the wind for at least 20 seconds, and the app will calculate the wind speed based on the decibel level. It’s potentially useful for people who use small mobile wind turbines to provide power on the go.

NTT DoCoMo Touch Phone Made of Surplus Wood

Perhaps the most annoying thing about modern gadgetry for eco-minded people is all that plastic. It’s impossible to avoid completely, but some new phones are cutting it back dramatically. The NTT DoCoMo is a touchscreen phone with a case made from sustainable surplus wood, from trees cut during thinning operations to maintain healthy forests. It also contains no artificial colors or paints, has a slim profile and a smooth and shiny surface.

Roto Charger Powers Your Phone with Your Muscles

Why plug in a charger at all when you could simply use the power of your own muscles? Okay, so the Roto Charger isn’t practical for everyone, but this manual wind-up charger – developed for use off-the-grid and in remote places – could definitely cut back your electricity consumption. For a wind-up device, it’s actually unusually efficient, providing 30 minutes of standby time or three minutes of talk time for every one minute of winding.

Recycle Your Old Phones at Target for Earth Day

Got a bunch of old cell phones, MP3 players or other small electronic devices sitting around waiting to be recycled? Take them to your local Target. The retail chain has launched a new recycling program in all of its U.S. stores in honor of the 40th Earth Day. Target is a bit late getting into the recycling game, as this is the first time they’ve offered any kind of recycling bins at all, but it’s a welcome change. They’ll also be taking used printer cartridges and the requisite paper, glass and plastic.

And starting soon, consumers will have a much bigger incentive to recycle old phones – money. A new venture called eRecyclingCorps, founded by former executives at Sprint and Radio Shack, will partner with wireless carriers to offer credit toward a new phone when old ones are turned in for recycling.

Images: Pink Sherbet Photography, ATT.com, Sprint.com, DVICE.com, EcoGeek.com, Ecofriend.com, Envirogadget.com, Patrick Hoesley

The post Eco Shiny! 7 New Green Cell Phones, Apps & Gadgets appeared first on EcoSalon.

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is a gadget geek’s dream date and the source of many tech news “leaks,” debuts and reviews. So why were green issues apparently under wraps as the world’s biggest tech executives made early keynote speeches there, on the mainstage of the trendsetting tradeshow, Wednesday?

Nobody was asking – or so it seemed – green questions, discussing environmental issues or highlighting eco-friendly features of the technologies on display. Not live, on blogs or in broadcasts. And certainly not in detail.

Microsoft executives, for example, hyped their gaming projects for 2010 including the release of a “prequel” game Halo: Reach, part of the wildly popular Halo franchise. But they didn’t say how many physical copies of the game they expected to manufacture, and if these included recyclable components.

Earlier, CNN syndicated a feature story by Ben Parr of Mashable predicting TV on computers, 3-D in your home, a range of increasingly smart mobile phones and e-book readers would be among the technology concepts out of CES 2010 to effect consumers worldwide, for years to come.

Great insights! But where are the eco-details? Like: how greenly manufactured (or not) were those 3-D TVs by Sony, or the super thin ones by LG? How enduring are those armies of new e-book readers, and are they lower impact than used books or books from recycled paper?

It’s frustrating that “green” aspects of new products don’t appear to be as important as gigabytes and screen size by now in general and tech trade media. Consumers care. As EcoSalon previously reported, consumer demand for green gadgets is strong in the U.S.

At least NBC Universal, the official broadcast partner of CES 2010, assigned morning news man Al Roker to a segment on national television where he discussed, with Fast Company’s Paul Hochman, several items from exhibitors including the Regen Renu, a 9×9, sweetly designed solar panel that when fully charged can power an iPod for six hours.

To be fair, there was a reference to nature reported by Gizmodo’s live-blog summing up the Sony keynote speech when executives promised a 3-D version of Shark Week – brought to us by Discovery and IMAX (for viewing on a Sony set).

Even with lackluster discussion early on at CES concerning the environmental impact of mainstream gadgets, the executive director of the Green Electronics Council, and the Electronic Products Environmental Asessment Tool (EPEAT, pronounced like “repeat”) Jeff Omelchuck has high hopes of CES and the people who pay attention to it.

EPEAT is a green standards and ratings organization for the computer, laptop and display industries, that could do for electronics what LEED did for buildings, or the Motion Picture Association did by rating movies, namely to make them easier to understand before buying (or selling).

Omelchuck explained Wednesday afternoon, upon arriving to Las Vegas, that he expected to see more discussion – and marketing – of green aspects of the technology on display by this year’s conference end.

“Consumers are getting smarter,” Omelchuck said, “Brands can no longer say things like “˜we’re energy efficient compared to ourselves last year,’ or “˜this is made from some recyclable materials,’ and convince a consumer their product is green. The manufacturers are recognizing they have to meet stronger criteria. Before there was really no historical market data to prove demand for greener electronics existed. Each year our understanding gets better.”

We hope it gets so much better that a separate Greener Gadgets show held by the same conference organizers, the Consumer Electronics Association, won’t even be necessary someday. Though, this year’s takes place in Manhattan, Feb. 25th.

Love gadgets but hate e-waste and greenwash, too? Read up on CES, and e-waste issues below. Then, let manufacturers and bloggers know “green” should be a priority as high or higher than any other cool factor when it comes to new tech toys.

Basic Reading:

“No matter how cynical most may be right now about eco-friendly electronics, eventually everyone attending will have green ingrained in their heads.”- A blog post via Treehugger entitled “CES 2010 A Steaming Pile of Hypocrisy? Does it really matter?”

“Computing will play a role in protecting our planet from climate change and other environmental issues”¦There are over 250 million cars in the U.S. alone and the latest ones have more computing power on them than our first manned rocket ships providing opportunities to help drivers avoid traffic jams, [and] offering real-time tips for efficient driving”¦We also need to ensure that we improve the efficiency of PCs.” -A blog post by Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer for Huffington Post, ahead of his CES 2010 keynote speech

“EPEAT, an eco-label for consumer electronics, has”¦existed behind the scenes as a business-to-business eco-rating system helping giants like the U.S. Federal government purchase low impact computers. Now, EPEAT is going business-to-consumer, making their bronze, silver and gold ratings publicly available as a reference point for shoppers”¦” – A Core77 feature story on EPEAT and eco-ratings of computers and other electronics

Further Resources:

The home page of EPEAT, which stands for Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool

An eWeekEurope.com news feature about Greenpeace’s efforts to stop the illegal shipping of ewaste to developing nations

Gizmodo’s “The Best of CES 2010” special section

Live, streaming video of CES 2010 events via Crunchgear

Engadget’s coverage of CES 2010 news, events and products

Image

This is the latest installment of EcoMeme, a column featuring eco news, tech and business highlights by columnist Lora Kolodny.

The post EcoMeme: Media Missing the Green Point at CES 2010 appeared first on EcoSalon.

A newsletter from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) this December predicted that 80% of shoppers would purchase new electronics over the holidays. Meanwhile, the gadget-loving blogosphere has fanned the flames of this worldwide appetite, with a flurry of year-end picks, pans, on sale and what’s next lists.

Hard to believe we’re not yet sated. In 2009, the worldwide sale of DVD players alone has already reached 115 million units (worth some $15 billion) according to GfK Retail and Technology. Add to that the last minute sales of the latest Wii, PS3, Xbox, iPhone, RIM Blackberry, Motorola, and hundreds of other electronics and appliances, and we’ve got a lot of potential landfill.

At least there’s hope for a shift to greener electronics manufacturing and American purchasing habits.

A new study by the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith school of business, The 2009 National Technology Readiness Survey, found that U.S. consumers given a choice between “two equally priced big-ticket consumer electronics products,” like a TV or computer, where features and functions are identical but one is “manufactured in a way that is good for the environment,” 92 percent choose to buy the one with the green advantage.

The average shopper is willing to pay 11 percent more – $55 on top of a $500 price tag – for a “big ticket electronic product that is manufactured in a green friendly manner,” the study also found. And consumers who label themselves as “leading edge” in adoption of green tech are willing to pay even more.

Among all shoppers, not just tech geeks, the survey found 40 to 50% of U.S. consumers identify as either “green oriented” or “sympathetic to the green movement.” But what will it take to get manufacturers of – well, everything – to step up?

P.K. Kannan, a marketing professor with the team that conducted this survey, explains: “If market shares in the range of 20-30% [of American consumers] are sufficient for a break-even, then product manufacturers should be able to cover the costs of going green easily.”

While he didn’t have numbers from the electronics industry, he did say that cleaning product manufacturers typically add a 5-10% manufacturing cost to go green.

Kannan offers advice to brand managers and companies on the brink of an eco evolution. To succeed with the new green-minded market, he says, they have to “Make a sincere effort – not a gimmicky one.” Some of the respondents that his team surveyed indicated that “they are willing to pay extra for green products, but were disappointed with the overall quality of those they have had experienced so far.”

That applies to everything from low-tech soaps and paper goods, to hybrid vehicles and electronics.

Read up on what’s hot, green and not, and make your demand for greener gadgets known.

Basic Reading:

“Finally, a rechargeable battery that delivers as much juice as disposables. PowerGenix took high-power-producing nickel-zinc chemistry, typically too short-lived to be useful, and increased its life span 10-fold by using a water-based electrolyte that doesn’t dissolve the vulnerable zinc…”- Popular Science, from a collection of 100 best innovations of 2009, including green electronics

“The new web site and iPhone application Goodguide empowers consumers to make informed purchasing decisions that impact people and the planet. By entering a product’s name, or scanning the barcode of an item using the app, customers can learn about the health, environmental, and social effects of their purchases.” – Mashable’s short list of “social good” tech trends of 2009, including social media and mobile apps you can use on your (hopefully green) gadgets

A guide to electronics, their toxic contents, recycling and shopping for greener gadgets from the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports, GreenerChoices.com

Further Resources:

A ComputerWorld review of desktop PCs that claim to use less energy than competitors

A 2009 green gifts for techies list by Re-Nest.com

Sustainablog’s guide to buying a used laptop that works

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of EcoMeme, a column featuring eco news, tech and business highlights by Lora Kolodny.

Image: Rev Dan Catt

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