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Articles on Electronic waste

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Packaging for consumer products represents a large share of U.S. solid waste, and barely half of it is recycled. iStock via Getty Images

Packaging generates a lot of waste – now Maine and Oregon want manufacturers to foot the bill for getting rid of it

Maine and Oregon have enacted laws that require makers of consumer product packaging to pay for recycling or disposing of it. Will other states follow?
Most of the world’s electronics are not recycled, posing health and environmental risks. catscandotcom/Getty Images

Consumer electronics have changed a lot in 20 years – systems for managing e-waste aren’t keeping up

Technical advances are reducing the volume of e-waste generated in the US as lighter, more compact products enter the market. But those goods can be harder to reuse and recycle.
On the outskirts of Accra there are huge electronic waste disposal sites, known locally as Sodoma and Gomorra. Photo by Maniglia Romano/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

Toxic waste dumping in the Gulf of Guinea amounts to environmental racism

Despite knowing how harmful it can be, companies and businesses (primarily those in Europe and the US) target countries in the Gulf of Guinea as a dump for their toxic waste.
A discarded Juul on the floor of a San Francisco streetcar March 20, 2018. Julia McQuoid

E-cigarettes and a new threat: How to dispose of them

E-cigarettes are hotly debated because of the uncertainty of whether they are a gateway to cigarette smoking for teens, or an aid to smoking cessation. One thing is clear: They are not biodegradable.
Agbogbloshie, an area in the city of Accra Ghana, is usually portrayed as an e-waste dump. A more accurate picture would include the repair and refurbishment economy. Agbogbloshie Makerspace Platform

Beyond recycling: solving e-waste problems must include designers and consumers

Design-for-recycling and take-back laws – not just more recycling – are needed to address the sprawling e-waste problem.

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