Our modern society's hunger to adopt new technologies and discard them just as quickly is leading us to significant waste stockpiles. Of considerable concern are the heavy metals,phthalates, halogens, and other toxic materials used in the manufacturing of these products.When unprocessed in the waste stream or informally processed using crude techniques, they have the potential to create toxic long-term ground, air and water pollution, resulting in illnesses and deaths worldwide....
More DescriptionOur modern society's hunger to adopt new technologies and discard them just as quickly is leading us to significant waste stockpiles. Of considerable concern are the heavy metals,phthalates, halogens, and other toxic materials used in the manufacturing of these products.When unprocessed in the waste stream or informally processed using crude techniques, they have the potential to create toxic long-term ground, air and water pollution, resulting in illnesses and deaths worldwide. Increased development and rapid global adoption of future technologies without careful attention to these issues will further exacerbate already growing issues of electronic waste. With the vast majority of electronic waste flows being unaccounted for, can we arrest this issue before we are buried under our old technologies?