Activity One - Empathy

Every one of you owns more than one electrical device, whether it may be a phone, laptop, tablet, home computer, printer, TV, camera etc, do you ever consider what happens to you device once you upgrade? Maybe you leave it in a drawer or your garage for a while before you take it to the tip (dechetterie) but where does it go to then? A lot of our electrical equipment will be sent abroad for dismantling and perhaps parts of it recycled, but who does it?

• • 1. Describe what is happening in the picture.

    2. How does the image below make you feel?

    3. Spend 5 minutes researching where this picture could have been taken and where the rubbish may have started its life. It is important to consider the global chain of waste transfer. Also consider if the area still exists today.

    4. To read and make notes on the flow of waste using the 'Geography Global Change' text book Page 105.

Useful Resource

Activity Two - Describe

Now you have some empathy for the people who are dealing with our waste we now need to look at the types of electronics or e-waste that we 'dump', why we 'dump' it and where it goes. Watch the youtube clip below and answer the questions provided on the life cycle of our electronics.

• • • • 1. What is e-waste?

        2. Why are electronics designed for the dump?

        3. What is Moore's Law?

        4. How has Moore's Law been adapted to the electronics industry?

        5. Describe the manufacturing process and the types of materials that go into our electronics.

        6. Describe are some of the health problems linked to the production of our electronics.

        7. Where does our e-waste go?

        8. Why does our e-waste go abroad?

        9. What is product take back?

        10. What impact can we have on this process?

Extension

• • • How can product take back be linked to the concept of the circular economy?

 Useful Resources

Activity Three - Describe

We could have focused on any type of waste but as we send our obsolete devices such as chrome books to school-supported charities it is important to think about the direct impact we are having . Below is a map of where the known and suspected routes of e-waste are. Answer the questions below by using the map, youtube clip, and the articles in the 'Useful Resources' box.

• • • • 1. Using the map in the 'Useful Resources' box, describe which areas of the world are the biggest senders of e-waste to other places.

        2. Using the map in the 'Useful Resources' box, describe the regions who are often receiveing the e-waste.

        3. What impact does our e-waste have on countries with weaker environmental controls?

        4. Read the article in the 'Useful Resources' box and make notes on why e-waste is such a contentious issue.

        5. Using the Youtube clip, describe the policy response to waste.

Useful Resources

Activity Four - Recycling

While we may not like to think of where our electronics go to 'die' and the impact that it has on human health, this waste is in some form recycled. Unfortunately recycling is not always a clean green process such as the one that turns our plastic bottles into fleeces. Before January 1st 2025 there was a legal loophole within the Basel Convention which allowed all declared second-hand goods or recylable material to move freely across borders. After that date the new Basel Convention concerning e-waste was amended and now transboundary movements of e-waste, hazardous and non-hazardous needs 'prior informed consent' to be shipped to other areas of the world. While this closes the loophole on paper this does not necessarily change what happens in practice. Does it change the flow of waste or just increase the amount of paperwork companies and countries do? 

1. Your task is to use the resources below to create a detailed example of how e-waste is recycled. Remember to include the following:

• • • • • • • • • Location - Find Accra and Tema port on a map. In two sentences, describe where Ghana is and why a coastal capital with a major port becomes a destination for waste.

                • Transfer of waste (from where and going to)

                • Process of recycling

                • Positives

                • Negatives

                • Don't forget the data

Useful Resources

Activity Five - The Future

So we have so far looked at perhaps the dark side of recycling and one that we would like to put out of our minds but is there another way? Read the article in the 'Useful Resources' box and make notes on what we could do to recycle our e-waste more ethically.

Useful Resource

European Commission - Europe tackles e-waste with eco-friendly innovation that helps reuse and repair