Environmental Issues

The rapid population growth witnessed in the recent past has enhanced the demand for products to meet the needs of the people. This has resulted in emergence of a variety of industries meant to provide the necessary products. However, the way people use and habitually wastes the scarce resources is of great concern to the society and the environment we live in. Industries present the suitable products which are vital in the day-to-day life of the population. For instance, electric products have become so important in our lives that avoiding their use is almost inevitable. However, electronic products pose a lot of risks to the users due to their hazardous components. Besides, these products lifecycle is short leading to their production in high quantities to meet the increasing demands. Upon manufacture, these products should therefore be used and disposed in a manner that enhances environmental conservation and sustainability. This has proven to be a challenging task when handling products from electronic industry.

Electronic wastes are considered to be the most generated waste in Massachusetts. Besides, an estimated four million tons of electronic wastes are disposed of in the U.S landfills. Electronic waste is generally any refuse generated through disposal of electronic devices and apparatus. These may include superfluous electronic items such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), televisions, pagers, computers, cell phones, MP3 and DVD players among other items. Massachusetts has recorded a fast and rapid growth of electronic waste in the recent past and a lot of effort has to be made to efficiently and effectively manage the waste to improve the living condition of the people of Massachusetts as well as ensure environmental sustainability (Massachusetts department of environment 1). The stakeholders in the environment have embarked on a recycling strategy that ensures the waste produced undergo processes that will minimize health problems associated with e-waste. To begin with, Waste Management Recycle America is one of the largest company managing wastes in Orange community. It has elaborate network and has installed locations where wastes are dropped off for further collection. Electronic wastes are however charged at 50cents as at the time of their disposal.

Electronic Recyclers International (ERI) is another stakeholder in Orange community. This company recycles materials that it has received from the Orange community into metals, plastic and glass. This company ensures that no such waste is placed in the landfill as well as exported illegally. Another equally important stakeholder in electronic waste management is Allied waste services which installed points of waste in various parts of Orange community. Interstate Refrigerant recovery Inc is an additional company aiming at recycling of e-waste in the community. Finally, Environmental Protection Agency regulates the activities of all these companies to ensure that they adhere to the laid down environmental standards. These companies encourage those who want to dispose their electronics for one way or another to give them out to other people or to convey them to installed stations erected by the companies. These strategies have enhanced electronic waste reduction to a great extent.

It is noteworthy that about eighteen states have passed legislation on electronic waste except Massachusetts for reasons not well known. However, the state has made a commendable effort in banning cathode ray tubes found in monitors as well as televisions. These tubes contain dangerous elements such as lead which poses great risks to the health of the users.

Electronic wastes contain hazardous components which contaminate soil when left lying on the surface of a landfill. Moreover, these wastes contaminate water stream in case contact with such medium is eminent. Their disposal should therefore be carried out in a proper manner so as to prevent the surface water and underground water as well as soil contamination (Waste Management America 1). Conversely, during transportation of these waste to their disposal sites electronic waste emit harmful substance that pose risks to the lives of people in the society. Electronic waste may contain heavy metals such as lead as well as cadmium and beryllium which are considered to be serious contaminants of water, air and land. Additionally electronic wastes contain substances such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). This element was rampant in products such as capacitors, transformers among other items which were manufactured before seventies. Finally and more important is that these wastes contain dangerous elements such as mercury and other toxics which not affect the human life but also cause environmental concerns. Mercury is poisonous and can cause death.

Apart from health and environmental effects, electronic wastes have adverse effects on the economy. It is estimated that surplus electronic wastes have proven more expensive to repair and even to recycle. Electronics such as CRT as well as laptop costs a lot of dollars to repair when broken down and are therefore exported to countries with proper repairing system.

Conclusion
Rapid population growth has instigated technological advancement which has in turn made the consumption of electronic products almost inevitable. The disposal of such waste is of great concern to the society given the health and environmental implications of the wastes. These wastes should be recycled in effective and efficient manner as protect the water streams as well as soil from contamination. It is therefore important to instill a culture of proper electronic waste management not only to safeguard the environment but also protect the pubic from dangerous and poisonous emissions arising from the waste.