The Growing E-Waste Epidemic

2. Read the text and find the meaning of the highlighted words in the dictionary.

Rapid technology change, low initial cost, and even planned obsolescence have resulted in fast-growing surplus оf electrical and electronic equipment. It contributes to the growing amount of electronic waste around the globe.

What is considered to be electronic waste? Electronic waste, e-waste, e-scrap, or waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) describes discarded electrical or electronic devices. It includes used electronics which are going to be reused, resold, recycled, or disposed.

Environmentalists all over the world consider electronic waste a "rapidly expanding" issue. About 50 million tons of E-waste is produced each year. The USA discards 30 million computers each year and 100 million phones are disposed of in Europe each year. In Britain each year, people throw away a million tones of electronic waste - enough to fill Wembley Stadium six times over. According to the Environmental Protection Agency only 15-20% of e-waste is recycled, the rest of these electronics go directly into landfills.

While there is agreement that the number of discarded electronic devices is increasing, there is considerable disagreement about the relative risk of e-waste. Should e-waste just be left in landfills or should it be recycled? When e-waste is left in landfills many chemicals come into the groundwater system and damage the environment. It simply makes good sense to recycle e-waste and to keep the environment green.

Today the electronic waste recycling is developing in all areas of the world as a large and rapidly consolidating business. Part of it is conventional recycling where e-waste is reverted to a raw material form. Most electronic devices contain a variety of materials, including rare metals that can be recovered for future uses. But e-waste materials should be managed with caution. Even in developed countries recycling and disposal of e-waste may involve significant risk to workers and communities. Great care must be taken in recycling operations to prevent hazardous materials such as heavy metals from polluting land, air and water.

E-waste contains not only dangerous but also precious and scarce materials. Up to 60 elements such precious metals as gold, silver, platinum and such base metals as copper, iron, aluminum can be found in complex electronics. Another form of dealing with e-waste is dismantling obsolete units and providing reuse possibilities. Some computer components can be reused in assembling new computer products. In this way natural resources are conserved and air and water pollution caused by disposal is avoided. The environmental and social benefits of reuse also include smaller demand for new products, less packaging per unit, less use of landfills and availability of technology to more people.

The United States is the world leader in producing electronic waste, throwing away about 3 million tons each year. Nevertheless electronic waste represents only 2% of America's trash in landfills. About 80% of the electronic waste is not recycled there at all, but is put on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Container_ship and sent to other countries. There are growing concerns that most of the e-waste produced in developed countries is ending up in developing countries of Asia and Africa.

Nowadays more and more people of the world consider e-waste a “new threat”, a “crisis” or an “epidemic”. It is obvious that it causes adverse socio-economic, public health and environmental impact. E-waste has become an issue of universal concern.

3. True/False. Read the sentences and decide whether they are true or false.

Key: 1-T; 2-F; 3-F; 4-T; 5-T; 6-F; 7-T

Date: 2016-01-03; view: 963