E-wasteIn Australia we've seen rapid uptake of new technology, from VCRs to personal organ

E-waste

In Australia we've seen rapid uptake of new technology, from VCRs to personal organizers to DVD players. Culturally, we're somewhat proud of our techno-savvy attitudes. We feel that it reflects our willingness to accept, rather than resist, change. Australia is currently one of the top ten countries using information and communication technology, ranking tenth in the world for spending per capita and fifth in the world for spending as a percentage of gross domestic product. In short, we love spending money on gadgets.

However, with the constant drive to have the newest and latest products comes the inevitable wastage of the "old" products they replace. Obsolete electronic goods, or "e-waste" is one of the fastest growing waste types and the problem of e-waste is global. New electronic equipment technology is constantly being developed, there is rapid adoption of this technology and there is an increasing speed with which this technology reaches obsolescence (作废；过时).

Andy, a 30-year old PR officer, bought her first computer in 1994. ＄2200 got her a 486 PC package with a color ink jet printer. The last 9 years and various employers have seen Andy's main computer change 5 times. Each computer has sat on her desk for an average of only eighteen months.

There are an estimated 9.2 million computers in use around Australia. It is expected that over this year a further 2.1 million computers will enter the market, while 3 million will reach the end of their life. This amounts to thousands of tons of "e-waste" made up of obsolete computers along with broken monitors, used toner, modems, printers and a range of other peripherals (外围产品) and consumables. The question is "Where have Andy's and the rest of Australia's unwanted computers and IT waste gone？"

Garage days

So just what do you do with a computer that you no longer need？ Give it away？ Trash it？ Recycle it？

"I paid a few hundred to get a Pentium processor and modem for my old 486 so that I could use the Internet at home," says Andy. "Eventually, I no longer needed it. Even with the upgrades I couldn't give it away. No one wanted it."

Andy's 486 sat in her garage for four years before she gave it to Computer bank, a Melbourne-based not-for-profit organization that recycles computers and donates them to disadvantaged and community groups. Andy is not alone. It is estimated that in 2006 there will be around 1.6 million computers disposed of in landfill, 1.8 million put in storage (in addition to the 5.3 million already gathering dust in garages and other storage areas) and 0.5 million recycled in Australia alone.

Why is e-waste a problem？

In Australia we're reasonably good at recycling through council collections. The materials collected through curbside collections are largely simple materials—such as glass, aluminum and mixed paper— that can be sorted and resold on the commodity market. The difficulty with electronic waste and many other products is that they are made from a huge range of component materials that are useless for further manufacture until the product is dismantled and the component materials are separated—often a very difficult and expensive process.

Computers and other electronic equipment are made from hundreds of different materials. Many of these materials are inherently valuable, such as gold and platinum, and many are non-renewable. If they can be extracted they can be reused in manufacture again as a "secondary" raw material.

There are also some nastiness in e-waste. Heavy metals including lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic are used in electronic equipment. When disposed of they can leach from landfill tips into the water table. Printer inks and toners often contain toxic materials such as carbon black and cadmium. It is these environmental health implications that have put e-waste under the spotligh

A．Y

B．N

C．NG