Chris Carroll’s “High-tech Trash”-Abstract

The millions of ‘dead’ electronics in the United States and other Western countries are unfortunately, sent to rot in developing nations. As revealed in Chris Carroll’s “High-tech Trash” many who live in poverty stricken areas salvage the remains of these devices for money. However, by burning the scrap in hopes of obtaining the process metals within, they expose themselves to “a bouquet of carcinogens and other toxics” (Carroll 30). This “e-waste” is mostly the result of an “out-of-sight, out-of-mind solution” (Carroll 32). Essentially, many recyclers in the Western world find it easier and more profitable to sell the trash to developing nations where environmental laws and regulations that are hardly enforced. This results in hazardous trash heaps piling up around the local people. In Guiyu China, for example, the presence of the electronics created a chemical called dioxin, which seemed into the soil and air. Dioxin is known to disrupt the endocrine and immune systems and is only one of many dangerous that exists in villages with e-waste. (Carroll 35).
There is a growing movement to help end the cycle. In the United States the EPA encourages “responsible recycling” by utilizing a “rating system that rewards environmentally sound products” (Carroll 33). Also in the U.S. recycling machines are used to breakdown the e-waste in a safe and environmentally friendly matter. However, only a few of these machines exist in the United States. Even with this technology, it is still more profitable to send the trash to developing nations.
Carroll is clearly writing to those living in the nations that produce the e-waste. For many Americans, the turnover rate for cell phones and laptops are only a few years. With these technologies growing in both volume and popularity only more e-waste will be created. Therefore, it is necessary for the nations that create the e-waste to take responsibility and not place the burden onto an innocent rural village.