The previous blog was about an article that assessed the social aspect of e-waste. However, the social view on an issue can be very different from a manufacturer’s point of view. Thus, “Dealing with electronic waste: modeling the costs and environmental benefits of computer monitor disposal” by Molly Macauley et al. would help to develop a solution from a developer’s perception. The article takes a large component of electronic waste, computer monitors, and models the cost and benefits of reducing the waste caused by CRT monitors. Macauley certainly takes into account the environmental effects of E-waste like Robinson. For example, the statement “A primary concern in managing this large quantity of obsolete electronics is that the hazardous materials they contain can be released into the environment during disposal with potential adverse effects on human health”. However, ultimately the main concern of Macauley was the cost effectiveness of the disposal of these monitors. In the results, it is shown that the cost of handling the waste would be about $1 per monitor. This doesn’t seem to be very much but in the experiment with a controlled amount of monitors it added up to about $13.5 million compared to a human health cost of only $2.7 million. Thus according to a manufacturing point of view, recycling the E-waste would be less cost effective than just allowing them to be dumped where they can cause harm.
How shocking are those numbers? I mean, if i were the manufacturer i wouldn't want to bother dealing with the recycling of my products either. However, ethically it would be the correct thing to do, right? I mean is it really their responsibility, or is it the responsibility of those who purchased the product?
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