Below I have enclosed my report on the current effects of electronics recycling as well as possible policy recommendations to increase electronic recycling in Minnesota.

To determine both the effects of electronics waste and recommend an effective solution to this issue, I research the different environmental, economic, and health effects of electronics waste. I also research current recycling policies in Minnesota. Lastly, I conducted a survey on the current electronics recycling habits of Minnesota residents.

Overall, I determined that electronics recycling can be increased by increasing both consumer knowledge of and access to recycling opportunities. I recommended that manufactures of electronic devices provide information on recycling on the packaging and that Minnesota get rid of the recycling drop-off fee.

Thank you for taking the time to read this report and consider my recommendations. If you have any questions about the material in this report please contact me at [email protected]

Sincerely,

Alicia Carlson

 

Table of Contents

Abstract …………………………………………………..………………………………………3

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..……..4

Methods ………………………………………………………………………………………..…4

Results…………………………………………………………………………………………….5

Discussion…………………………………………………………………………………………6

Recommendation and Conclusion………………………………………………………………7

Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………..….9

Interview Questions…………………………………………………………………………….11

 

Abstract

The purpose of this report is to recommend possible solutions to increase electronic recycling in Minnesota. After analyzing the effects of electronic waste and current Minnesota policies, I determined that the best way to decrease electronic waste is to require manufactures to provide recycling information on packaging and have Minnesota provide free drop off for electronic device recycling.

To determine what would be the most effective way to reduce electronic waste, I first researched the effects of electronic waste on the environment economy and human health as well as current Minnesota policies. I then conducted a survey of Minneapolis residents on their electronic recycling practices. From the results of my research and survey I determined that in order for more electronics to be recycled, consumer education and access must be increased.

Introduction

The purpose of this report is to determine a more efficient way to increase electronics recycling in the United States in order to both reduce waste and reuse the rare earth metals that are used in electronics manufacturing. Although there are many potential ways to do this, increasing citizen’s knowledge and access to recycling will be the most effective.

As the world continues to grow and globalize, countries consumptions’ will only continue to increase, leading to more electronic waste worldwide. Currently, the United States produces over 6.9 million tons of electronic waste annually, making up approximately 14% of all e-waste worldwide, making the United States the world’s largest producer of electronic waste (Larmer).

The majority of this waste ends up in landfills or shipped overseas. Common countries where US electronics waste is shipped include China, Pakistan, Thailand, and Hong Kong, (Campbell and Christensen). Because of lax labor rights in many of these countries, the workers handling this waste are often exposed to many different dangerous chemicals such as mercury, (E-Waste Recycling in China).

Increasing electronics recycling will also allow manufactures to reuse many different rare-earth metals. The mining of rare-earth metals can cause extensive water and soil pollution, which can very expensive and difficult to clean up, (Standaert). These metals are also expensive and are become increasingly lower grade and costly to mine, and the metals that are cheapest to reach are mined first. By increasing electronics recycling, the United States will be able to reduce the waste that results from mining and become more self-sustainable.

As the consumer electronics market continues to grow, the most effective way to increase electronics recycling will be by targeting consumers. By increasing consumer knowledge of available opportunities for electronics recycling, recycling in Minnesota will increase, (Consumer Electronics Market revenue).

The methods section of this report will cover a survey of Minnesota residents and their electronic recycling habits, as well as an overview of how the research for this report was conducted. It will also go over different sources used in this report. The findings of the survey and research will be covered in the results section. In the discussion section, possible solutions to increase consumer electronics recycling will be discussed and evaluated. Potential drawbacks of the proposed solutions will also be covered. The conclusion section will cover state my final recommendation.

Methods

In order to determine a possible solution to increase electronics recycling in Minnesota, I conducted an empirical survey of Minnesota residents. I also looked at government sources and news articles as well as peer-reviewed journals. These sources provided information on background, current regulations and possible effects of increasing electronic recycling.

In order to determine if Minnesota residents are aware of recycling programs available to them and if they currently recycle their electronic devices, I conducted a survey. The survey was conducted online and was anonymous. Twenty-five people took the survey, and ages ranged from 17-22. All respondents lived in Minneapolis. Respondents were asked information about their current recycling habits as well as information about electronic recycling.

To gain more background knowledge on electronics waste and recycling both in the United States and the world, as well as potential solutions and their results, I consulted a wide variety of sources. These sources included government sources such as the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the Environmental Protection Agency and Hennepin Counties recycling information webpage.

I also referred to many different news articles from a wide range of reputable sources such as The New York Times, Time Magazine, and PBS. Lastly, I also consulted research articles about the environmental effects of electronics waste.

By using a wide variety of sources to conduct research for this report, I was able to gain a fuller understanding of the dangers of electronic waste as well as the benefits of electronics recycling to both the environment and the economy. Through my research I was also able to identify ways that other areas used to increase recycling, which helped me to develop potential solutions for Minnesota. Furthermore, by conducting a survey of local Minnesota residents, this allows me to accurately develop a potential solution to this issue in Minnesota.

Results

Through conducting a survey on local recycling habits of Minnesotans, I discovered that while many Minnesotans recycle very few recycle their electronics. All people surveyed were from Minneapolis, between the ages of 17-22 and they all attended the University of Minnesota. All participants in the survey indicated that they own multiple electronic devices. Of the Minneapolis residents that I surveyed, all reported that they either recycled all the time or some of the time, with no survey takers reporting that they never recycled, (see figure 1).

Figure 1

However, only four reported that they had ever recycled an electronic device before, even though all respondents reported that they owned electronic devices. The locations that these items were recycled varied very widely. The locations included Target, Best Buy, and the Minneapolis and Duluth recycling centers.

Currently, Minnesota has a recycling program for electronics. For Hennepin country, two electronic items can be placed curbside on the resident’s recycling day, (Electronics Recycling). They can also be dropped off at recycling facilities in Bloomington and Brooklyn Park. However, there is a 10-dollar fee for televisions, laptops or computer monitors, (Green Disposal Guide).

There is also legislation in place to regulate electronics disposal and recycling. The Minnesota Electronics Recycling Act targets only ‘video display devices’, which includes televisions, monitors and laptops. This law requires that manufactures of these devices must collect and recycle devices covered under this law. Manufacturers are also required to pay a fee to the state of Minnesota. Many retailers, such as Best Buy and Target have in-store recycling programs for electronics, (Minnesota Electronics Recycling Act).

I have also done research into the current state of electronic waste in the United States and worldwide in order to determine what the results of increasing electronics recycling would be. Currently, of the 6.9 million tons of e-waste that American citizens generate, only 30% of that waste was recycled and the rest was either landfilled over shipped overseas, (Imo). This has big environmental, health, and economic effects.

According to the EPA, electronics waste is often shipped to countries that are not able to safely handle the hazardous materials that many of these electronics contain. Many workers are then exposed to chemicals such as lead, mercury and arsenic which can lead to neurological damage and cancer, (Cleaning Up Electronic Waste). Electronic devices also contain many valuable rare–earth metals.

Over 55 billion dollars in rare earth metals are thrown away when electronics are not recycled. These metals include gold, silver, platinum and palladium, among others, (Imo). It is also important to note that these resources are not renewable and once they are used up, future production of these devices are at risk.

Lastly, electronic waste poses a large environmental threat. Toxic chemicals can enter the soil, water and air through improper disposal of electronics. These chemicals and heavy metals are dangerous to animal, aquatic and human life. Furthermore, once these chemicals enter the environment, they can be very difficult to clean up, (Robinson).

Discussion

From the survey that I conducted, I discovered that while most Minnesotans recycle, very few of them recycle their electronics. Figure 2 clearly shows that while everyone surveyed does participate in recycling at least part of the time, very few recycle their electronics.

 

Figure 2

A large reason for this is because many of them are not aware of electronic recycling opportunities available to them. Increasing education of Minneapolis residents will increase electronics recycling as many residents are replacing old electronics but are not aware that they can be recycled. One way that Minnesota can increase education of residents is by required manufactures to indicate that the device that they are selling is recyclable on the packaging.

The manufactures could then list a website where the consumer can get more information. This would be the easiest solution for Minnesota as it would cost Minnesota very little. However, a law like this would have likely have to be passed on the federal level as manufactures could not want to create special packaging for Minnesota.

Another possible reason why Minnesotans are not recycling their electronics could be a lack of access. From my survey, all respondents were college students. College students tend to have very little disposable income, in fact, over 67% of students are not even able to comfortable afford housing, (College Student). College students are less likely to recycle since a fee is charged for drop off of electronic devices, this discourages residents from recycling their electronics. Lowering or not having a fee for electronic recycling could also possibly increase recycling.

Implementing one or both of these solutions would have many positive effects. Since these policies would increase electronics recycling, less electronics would end up in the landfill or shipped overseas. This would the amount of hazardous chemicals and heavy metals that the environment and humans are exposed to. It would also increase the amount of rare-earth metals that can be reused.

While my survey provided a lot of insight into the recycling practices of Minnesota residents, it does not necessarily mean that these results can be applied to the entire state of Minnesota. Since the survey was only taken by college students, it is possible that the recycling practices of other Minnesotan residents could be completely different, and increasing education would not increase electronics recycling.

For example, Minnesotans living in the suburbs could have very high rates of electronics recycling and increasing education would have little effect. All respondents to the survey were also all Minneapolis residents. Currently, there are over 300,000 renters and 450,000 owners in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, (Comprehensive Housing Market Analysis).

As all the respondents to my survey were college students it is highly unlikely that any of them are homeowners. It is possible that homeowners could have a different rate of recycling than renters. As many renters live in apartments, recycling is organized by the apartment management. Many buildings do not have an option for curbside electronic recycling. It is possible that the results of the survey could be different if household owners were surveyed as well.

Conclusion and Recommendation

As consumption of electronics continues to rise, it becomes increasingly important to properly recycle these devices. Not recycling these devices can have many different negative effects on the environment, human health and economy. Through a survey that I conducted on the current electronic recycling practices of Minnesota residents I determined that in order for electronics recycling in Minnesota to be increased, policy makers should focus on increasing consumer awareness of electronics recycling. This can be done through requiring manufactures to include information on recycling on electronic devices. Minnesota can also reduce the cost for residents to recycle by not having a drop of fee.

Response: your writing is rather well-organized with a clear structure. There is a complete research process in the choice of topic and research content. It would be better if the introduction can be simplified as some of the content belongs to methods and conclusion part. Also, the thesis of the report is quite well supported by your use of citations and analysis of data. However, there is little discussion of how to increase consumer awareness of electronics recycling with specific measures, which can be added. The report is a formal writing from my perspective and thus “I” can be omitted in the article.

 

Bibliography

By 2024, Consumer Electronics Market revenue to reach $1.5 trillion. (2018, September 9). Retrieved from https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/by-2024-consumer-electronics-market-revenue-to-reach-15-trillion-2018-09-09.

Campbell, K., & Christensen, K. (2016, May 10). Where does America’s e-waste end up? GPS tracker tells all. Retrieved October 14, 2019, from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/america-e-waste-gps-tracker-tells-all-earthfix.

Cleaning Up Electronic Waste (E-Waste). (2018, December 3). Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/international-cooperation/cleaning-electronic-waste-e-waste.

College Student Spending Habits for 2019. (2019, September 6). Retrieved from https://www.lexingtonlaw.com/blog/credit-cards/college-student-spending-habits.html.

Comprehensive Housing Market Analysis of Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota-Wisconsin, (2017, March 1). Retrieved from https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/pdf/MinneapolisMN-comp-17.pdf

Electronics Recycling. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/solid-waste/whattodo/electronics-recycling.

E-Waste Recycling in China: A Health Disaster in the Making? (n.d.). Retrieved October 14, 2019, from https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/programs/geh/geh_newsletter/2013/7/articles/ewaste_recycling_in_china_a_health_disaster_in_the_making.cfm.

Green Disposal Guide. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.hennepin.us/green-disposal-guide/items/electronics.

Imo, T. (2017, December 13). Each U.S. Family Trashes 400 iPhones’ Worth of E-Waste a Year. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/12/e-waste-monitor-report-glut/#close.

Larmer, B. (2018, July 5). E-Waste Offers an Economic Opportunity as Well as Toxicity. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/05/magazine/e-waste-offers-an-economic-opportunity-as-well-as-toxicity.html.

Minnesota Electronics Recycling Act. (2018, July 18). Retrieved from https://www.pca.state.mn.us/quick-links/minnesota-electronics-recycling-act.

Robinson, B. H. (2009). E-Waste: An assessment of global production and environmental impacts. Science of The Total Environment, 408(2), 183–191. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.09.044

Standaert, M. (2019, July 2). China Wrestles with the Toxic Aftermath of Rare Earth Mining. Retrieved from https://e360.yale.edu/features/china-wrestles-with-the-toxic-aftermath-of-rare-earth-mining.

 

 Survey Questions

1. What city do you currently live in?

2. Do you Recycle

  • Yes
  • No
  • Sometimes

3. Have you bought an electronic device in the last year?

  • Yes
  • No

4. Have you recycled an electronic device before? (Electronic devices can include TVs, computers, cell phones, printers, radios, speakers, rechargeable devices)

  • Yes
  • No

5. If you answered yes to the previous question, where did you recycle your device(s)?