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Electronic Garbage Poses Increasing Dangers |
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By Daniela Estrada*
Chile
is struggling with how to handle tons of old mobile phones, computers
and other obsolete electronic items. It was not until this year
that a law was passed to regulate management of this latest type
of toxic waste.
SANTIAGO - Computers and mobile telephones
that have fallen into disuse are forming a mountain of electronic
waste in Chile. But few people seem to realize the magnitude of
the environmental and health problems they pose.
Heavy metals -- like cadmium, lead and mercury -- are found in electronic
components, and they are a danger to the environment and human health.
The quantity of obsolete equipment accumulating in Chile is cause
for concern: more than five million used cellular phones, more than
1.5 million computers and thousands of other items, such as TVs,
video recorders, calculators, printers and photocopiers.
''The situation is serious, given that this country has not even
resolved the problem of managing normal household waste. Instead
of sanitary landfills, there continue to be unregulated dumps and
there is almost no recycling,'' Sara Larraín, director of the non-governmental
group Sustainable Chile, told Tierramérica.
It wasn't until June of this year that Congress approved the Hazardous
Waste Management Act, which is a step forward in waste treatment,
but does not go far enough because it lacks the necessary oversight
mechanisms, she said.
Back in 1990, just 10,000 Chileans had mobile phones, but by March
2004 there were 7.9 million such phones in this country of 15.8
million people. According to calculations by the government telecommunications
office, Subtel, by the end of this year there will be nine million
cell phones in Chilean hands.
A similar phenomenon surrounds personal computers. In 1994, just
over 100,000 computers were sold in Chile, but the record was set
in 2000 when nearly 420,000 computers were sold. In 2003, Chileans
purchased 407,742 computers.
These new items become ''old'' in no time. A mobile phone has an
average life of 18 months. A computer manufactured in 2004 will
likely be considered obsolete in three years.
A big portion of this new type of garbage -- also known as ''e-waste''
-- is supposed to end up in a collection center in the western Santiago
district of Carrascal. There, equipment is dismantled and useful
parts are resold, but the rest of the waste continues to accumulate.
The problem of e-waste is not, of course, a problem exclusive to
Chile. At the first E-Waste Seminar, held last month in Santiago,
it was stressed that just 11 percent of the electronic waste produced
worldwide is recycled.
Recycling includes dismantling to recover useful parts and re-using
metals and other materials. The recyclable materials are often melted
down to manufacture new electronic items.
The only Chilean company dedicated to the recovery of electronic
waste is Recycla, which says only clean technologies are used in
the process.
The two-year-old firm has a plant in the Pudahuel district of the
capital. It is set up to handle computers and mobile phones in an
effort to recover aluminum, copper, bronze, stainless steel and
lead -- metals that are then sold to industry.
Recycla holds contracts with many big Chilean companies and has
also established a strategic alliance with Hidronor, the only local
firm dedicated to managing dangerous waste. Recycla sends cell phone
batteries and computer monitors to Hidronor.
Recycla is conducting an awareness campaign among the companies
and health authorities. The company's environment manager, Mauricio
Núñez, told Tierramérica it has been difficult to raise awareness
in the business world about the seriousness of the problem.
''We know it's a slow process, but we are sure that as long as more
companies are certified under the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) 14.000 Standard, which obligates businesses
to manage the waste they produce, things are going to change.''
Both Recycla and Sustainable Chile work under the assumption that
the citizenry has little knowledge of the importance of recycling
electronic products.
In Larraín's opinion, as long as there is no national policy to
guide product certification and other manufacturer obligations,
Chilean consumers will fail to grasp the issue's importance.
''If the products bear a label indicating that the product was made
under strict environmental standards, as is done in Europe, people
would have a new element for making their purchasing choice, not
just price and quality,'' stressed the environmental activist.
* Daniela Estrada is an IPS contributor.
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