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E-waste, electronics gone bad like sour milk or stale crackers, they aren’t useable anymore so you have to throw them away. Everyday electronic appliances such as phones, computers, DVD players, iPods, and televisions that are past their prime and disposed of can be considered E-waste. There is approximately 400 million electronic items thrown away per year. 26.9 million Televisions, 205.5 million computers, and 140.3 million cell phones disposed of in ONE year in 2007. (The Office of Solid Waste, 2008) E-waste comes from everyday people, large corporations, and everything in between. People and small businesses throw away their electronics not because they are broken but because they have to keep up with technology in order to get what they need like new programs that won’t work on their old desktop Large corporations and the government contribute to E-waste by always leasing newer computers and getting rid of the old ones but by law they can’t send them to landfills so they export them to places like Kenya and china. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) contribute to the landfills by throwing away the products that don’t meet expectations. (Puckett, 2002) E-waste has many paths of disposal, most of which are unsustainable. E-waste is recycled, reused, sent to a landfill, or exported to foreign developing countries.
 * [INTRODUCTION]**
 * What is E-waste?**
 * How much E-waste is there?**
 * Where does E-waste come from?**
 * Where does E-waste go?**

Only 20% of electronic waste is recycled properly In developed countries, electronics recycling takes place in purpose-built recycling plants under controlled conditions. In many EU states for example, plastics from e-waste are not recycled to avoid brominated furans and dioxins being released into the atmosphere. In developing countries however, there are no such controls. Recycling is done by. Traders send it to developing countries where workers earn extremely low wages (often a few dollars per day) and where health and safety and environmental laws, enforcement, infrastructure and citizens’ rights are very weak. In the late 1980’s the world was outraged to learn of ‘toxic traders’, organisations that were shipping hazardous waste to developing countries where recycling methods were unsafe and unregulated. //E//-//waste// is any refuse created by discarded electronic devices and components as well as substances involved in their manufacture or use. Electronics contain such elements as mercury, lead, cadmium, beryllium and more. All those materials are toxic to humans and animals.
 * How much is recycled?**
 * How is it recycled?**
 * How much E-waste is exported?**
 * Where is it exported to?**
 * What is in E-waste?**
 * What does E-waste do to the environment?**
 * What does E-waste do to people?**

John Wienman

E-waste

E-waste, electronics gone bad like sour milk or stale crackers,they aren’t usable so we throw have to throw them away. Everyday electronic appliances such as phones, computers, DVD players, iPod’s, and televisions past their prime and disposed of can be considered E-waste. There is approximately 4oo million electronic items thrown away per year. 26.9 million televisions, 205.5 computers, and 140.3 million cell phones disposed of in ONE year in 2007.

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 * What can we do?**

Bibliography Puckett, J. (2002). //Exporting Harm: The High Tech Trashing of Asia.// Seattle: The Basel Action Network. The Office of Solid Waste, U. E. (2008). //Electronics Waste Management in the United States.// Washington,D.C: U.S Environmental Protection Agency.