I want to add to the conversation that Alicia started in her post about e-waste.
After reading about e-waste in our readings, I looked it up, and was extremely frustrated! But at the same time, I am guilty of contributing this hidden issue. Everytime I throw away a battery incorrectly, I don’t think about what impacts it will have in its later life. I’m sure we’ve all encountered this at least once; every battery has a label that says something along the lines of “Dispose Properly,” like the Dell battery.
As a member of the Eco-House, I am always thinking about what makes practicing environmentalism inconvenient for normal people (however you want to define that term). Living at the Eco-House has allowed me to be more conscious and aware about every resource I use, from the shampooed water that is drained, to the plastic that I recycle. E-waste is a great example of a problem which continuous to remain hidden. Media has become numb to the effects that e-waste has on other places, because as long as our need for technology remains high, the flow of old, used technology will continue to add to the piles.
As Alicia mentioned, the problems are a boomerang that come back with a silent, invisible, but deadly pang. But with the daily overload of information, our attention is channeled intentionally to where we want it to be most. Sometimes, that attention is selective, and will only allow us to look at what seems to have an immediate and direct impact. As long as computers, tablets, and phones are not overflowing in our American land, there will be no need to
We are too busy consuming, with little acknowledgement to the waste that is produced. Like someone I once knew always said, with eating comes shitting.
For more information on how you can prevent e-waste in your community, visit the EPA.