Global problem, local solution

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Tech Waste:Terra Blight highlights the effects of e-waste in Ghana. PSU’s Enviromental Club helped organize a recent screening of the film.

Last week, Portland State’s Campus Sustainability Office and the Environmental Club presented a screening of the new documentary Terra Blight, a film that explores the negative health and environmental effects of discarded electronics.

Filmmakers Isaac Brown and Ana Habib, joined by Liane Kocka, a representative from local nonprofit Free Geek, were at the screening to answer questions from moviegoers after the film.

The problem of electronic waste—often called e-waste—is out of sight and mind for many Americans. Bombarded with a constant flow of new devices, it’s easy to toss an old monitor or laptop in the trash without considering where that material will go.

The volume of waste is increasing at an alarming rate.

“These things are becoming antiquated faster,” Brown said.

Kocka echoed those sentiments, warning that the total amount of e-waste will double by the year 2015.

Peter Daeges, an economics major and coordinator of the Environmental Club, helped organize the film screening. He hoped to raise awareness among students about ways that they can get involved.

With previous experience recycling electronics at work and through Free Geek, Daeges said, “I wanted to make it apparent to people that this needs to become normal.”

Even if the effort is made to recycle an old device, there is no guarantee that it won’t eventually land at a dump site in a developing nation overseas.

Areas most plagued by e-waste are those with a large second-hand market for electronics. The film’s main area of focus is Ghana, but the filmmakers also mentioned China, Vietnam and India as problem areas.

Terra Blight depicts a common scenario: Overseas companies buy up computers from recyclers in the United States with the intent of selling them locally. The computers aren’t always tested by the recyclers beforehand to see if they work, and some models are obsolete and unsalvageable.

Once the unusable devices are shipped abroad it’s entirely up to the new owners to dispose of them. That’s when American electronics begin to pile up in foreign landfills.

It’s not just an issue of space and material waste; a number of chemicals from electronics seep into local groundwater.

Government institutions are one of the biggest sources of e-waste in the U.S. Ordinary consumers also contribute, with smaller electronics being an underappreciated factor.

Efforts to combat the problem at a global level have involved domestic recycling projects and legislation such as the Basel Convention, making it illegal to ship used electronics overseas.

Other ideas have been proposed, such as take-back laws, which would hold manufacturers responsible for disposing of products once their working life is up. The hope is that this would lead to more environmentally friendly designs to begin with.

Some have even suggested compostable parts for devices like cell phones.

Awareness is increasing, companies are getting more involved,” Habib said. She places her hope in the consciousness of consumers to make responsible choices about electronics.

Daeges pointed out that the EC’s Green Space, next to Food For Thought Cafe in the Smith Memorial Student Union basement, has bins for recycling batteries and small electronics.

Students can also propose ideas and projects for the EC at any time, or just stop by the Green Space and strike up a conversation.

Similarly, the Institute for Sustainable Solutions provides funding for student-led sustainability projects.

Called the Solutions Generator, their program “is specifically hoping to fund a project that improves battery and e-waste recycling at Portland State,” Laura Gleim, communications coordinator for the ISS, said in an email.

The ISS is holding an information session Oct. 18 from 6–7:30 p.m. Ideas for this or any sustainability-related campus project are being accepted until Oct. 22.

In regard to the issue of electronics, Daeges is not a fan of using the term e-waste.

“It’s seen as waste when it’s not,” he said.

Daeges thinks the problem is a lack of understanding and effort being made to recycle and reuse electronics.

Locally, Oregon has a program called Oregon E-Cycles, run through the Department of Environmental Quality. It accepts computers and monitors, but currently not peripherals such as keyboards and mice.

Free Geek is an official Oregon E-Cycles collection site. The nonprofit stresses reusing computers before recycling them.

They have donated over 10,000 refurbished computers within the local community and have kept over 3,500 tons of electronic waste out of landfills by responsible recycling.

Free Geek is always accepting donations and volunteers.