ELECTRO WASTE-O

When evaluating the topic of e-waste in today' society, it seems to stand as one of the many hypocritical byproducts of globalization and the new techno-industrial revolution. The shocker comes when you see just what is being done with all our electronic waste while we find ourselves in the midst of a second wave of global ecological consciousness akin to the 1960's eco-awakening. All you have to do is look at a few photos or videos of this travesty and it will become clear that this certainly a pervasive issue.
So where do we start when evaluating the roots of the problem at hand with e-waste? I feel that it is essential to look at the way technological marketing and manufacturing has evolved over the past 30 years, and in doing so it will become clear as to what the catalyst of this issue has been. Henry Ford first introduced the notion planned obsolescense with his mass marketing of the Model-T. Planned obsolescense is basically the idea of a product being designed to deteriorate after a few years, forcing the consumer to constantly purchase a newer version of the product from the company, thus increasing the business's profits significantly. This idea of strategical marketing and production has carried over heavily into today's technology consumption, and in my opinion is the main reason for all our e-waste problems. Just look at all the ad's on TV for "newer, improved, longer-lasting products", which constantly make the consumer feel as if they are in need of a "better" version of something they already own. Companies like Apple add a built-in shelf life of a few years for their computers and electronics, and make repairing theur products such an annoying procedure that it appears to be worth it just to buy a new version of the product.
In order to make any sort of progress with all this e-waste piled around us, we must take matters into our own hands. Make yourself conscious of these marketing ploys and resist the temptation to buy the latest version of the iPod when your old one 's battery seems to be dead. When your product is done, try to find a good home for it where it can be propperly reused. Effective recycling methods do exist for electronic products, it is just highly priced and mostly utilized by businesses rather than individual consumers. On the larger side of things, companies need to understand that in order to function on our planet, we must be sustainable. Business's must account for their massive output of wasteful materials by possibly redesigning their products so that they might be more easily taken apart, separated, sorted, and recyced in a cheaper, more effective methods that would allow homeowners and small scale consumers to afford the recycling costs.