E-Waste: Challenges, Recycling, and Ethical Implications

Upcoming Class Logistics

• Guest Speakers and Assignments:

  • Two guest speakers are scheduled: one on Tuesday, and another on Thursday, focusing on nuclear materials from an MSC professor.
  • There is a short assignment associated with each guest speaker, primarily designed to encourage attendance and participation. Students are encouraged to complete these during class.

• Project Submission:

  • Next Thursday (following the guest speakers), a significant project submission is due, covering both structure and properties of materials.
  • This submission should be at least a page long and include two figures.
  • No other major homework is due next week, allowing extra time for the project.

The Pervasive Nature of Electronic Materials

• Impact on Daily Life (Pre-Internet vs. Now):

  • Many common items, such as water bottles and desks containing electronics, rely on integrated circuits.
  • Without electronic materials, life would be dramatically different.
  • Examples: Wi-Fi, computer design, movies (couldn't watch at home), and access to information.
  • Before the internet, researching for a paper involved physically going to a library, finding printed scientific journals, and using their annual indexes, a stark contrast to modern search engines like Google Scholar.

• The Question of "Need" for More Computing Power:

  • The discussion revisits Moore's Law and the continuous drive for smaller transistors and increased computing power.
  • The question is posed: Do we need more computing power?
  • Arguments for more computing power:
    • Healthcare Research: The rapid sequencing and sharing of the COVID-19 virus in $2020$ demonstrated how quickly problems could be identified and addressed compared to historical pandemics like HIV.
    • Innovation and New Jobs: Just as the IBM executive famously predicted a market for only five computers, countless jobs and capabilities exist today that were unimaginable a decade ago, enabled by increased computing power.
    • Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI is a massive consumer of power and water. Projections for electricity needs have significantly increased due to AI's rapid development, enabling new capabilities previously impossible.
  • Ethical Considerations: While technology brings good, it also has downsides. The goal is to maximize the good and minimize the bad, with the current generation of students entrusted with making the world better.

The E-Waste Crisis

• Personal E-Waste Footprint:

  • The instructor estimates having six or seven computers at home (laptops/desktops, excluding other electronic devices) and a phone kept for two years, with old phones often stored in drawers.
  • Students are asked about their own electronic device ownership, revealing high numbers (e.g., one student's household has over $15$ computers).
  • Many students have phones less than two years old, highlighting the rapid refresh cycle of personal electronics.

• E-Waste: A Global Problem (Video 1 - $2016$ Investigation):

  • Electronic waste is the fastest-growing waste stream globally.
  • It contains toxic materials that can harm people and the environment.
  • The video focuses on three key questions: What happens to e-waste in the US? What laws regulate it? How does the Dell program function?
  • Basel Action Network (BAN) Investigation:
    • Jim Puckett, founder of BAN (a Seattle-based watchdog group), conducted an undercover investigation.
    • They embedded GPS tracking devices into $200$ old computers, printers, and TVs and dropped them at various US recycling facilities, donation centers, and take-back programs.
    • Findings: Devices traveled an average of $2,500$ miles. Around a third ($1/3$) of tracked computers were exported, mostly to Hong Kong.
  • Destinations of E-Waste: Hong Kong's New Territories:
    • Hong Kong, a busy port, is known as a transit point for illegal trade.
    • Puckett followed a tracked printer to a