Gordon

I don't think any consideration of alternative outcomes can extenuate unregulated
recycling, by scavenging, of our toxic wastes by
Chinese or anyone.  The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition used these examples graphically to
support RoHS and agitated Senator Sher to imitate RoHS in the California legislature.

Unregulated export of our waste is not only wrong on principle, but it plays into the
anti-environmental agenda of unthinking supporters of lead-free solder.  By focusing on
this small part of the picture, they completely miss the greater ecological damage wrought
by increased mining, the higher energy use due to higher melting temperature of
alternative alloys, the reduced product life due to unreliability of alternative alloys
leading to increased load of waste.  They miss all these and more downsides of banning
lead in solder, 0.5% of lead usage, when lead in solder might be recycled with no hazard
to humans or to the environment, just as it is in lead acid batteries, 85% of lead usage.

We face the unintended consequences of emotionally based actions. The answers -- we must
not feed the emotions, even as we appeal to reason to mitigate RoHS by exempting lead in
solder.  Actually that would probably save the measure by making it enforceable.

Harvey Miller



----- Original Message -----
From: "Davy, Gordon" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, July 18, 2005 1:44 PM
Subject: Re: [LF] Reuse, Repair and Recycling in China


Harvey,
Interesting comments. Economic pressures and greed are of course present
everywhere - in nations, and in people. Those can't be eliminated by
laws, although their effects sometimes can be limited.
As I indicated, there was a time in the developed nations when there was
not an adequate concern for the environment. What brought about the
change, i.e., made the concern adequate to result in appropriate
environmental regulation and enforcement, was, as I see it, actually
three related things:
1) a raising of the consciousness of enough people to overcome
prevailing economic pressures, greed, and let us not neglect political
corruption.
2) an increase in the standard of living to the point where what had
been even more pressing issues (hunger, disease, etc.) no longer
dominated the attention of people and the government, and
3) absence of war.
I have no doubt that there are individuals in every developing nation
who are quite concerned about pollution of their local environment. But
given the other local problems, there aren't enough of them yet to be
adequate for change.
What I'm after is a big-picture perspective on how unregulated e-waste
recycling in a region where it is practiced relates to all the other
problems there. For example, in a nation where millions are dying of
malaria, getting the attention of enough indigenous people regarding the
possibility of poisoning by unregulated recycling of e-waste (domestic
or imported) to make a difference may be difficult.
I repeat that I suspect that for the unfortunates who must salvage waste
to survive, unregulated recycling of electronic products is a lot safer
(and profitable) than other kinds of activity they engage in. If that is
true, then contrary to the claims of the activists (and perhaps to
intuition), as long as such a deplorable situation persists wouldn't it
be better to send them e-waste with no restrictions than to withhold it?
Perhaps some forum subscriber has a better proposal of how to deal with
the problem. The goal should be to minimize suffering using available
resources.

Gordon Davy
Baltimore, MD
[log in to unmask]
410-993-7399

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