In response to the suggestion that the argument "RoHS makes electronics
safer to recycle" might be new, that argument is made in Articles 5 and
6 of the Preamble to the RoHS directive. Here is an excerpt: 

"...In spite of [the WEEE directive], however, significant parts of WEEE
will continue to be found in the current disposal routes. [Further,
e]ven if WEEE were collected separately and submitted to recycling
processes, its content of mercury, cadmium, lead, chromium VI, PBB and
PBDE would be likely to pose risks to health or the environment.

...Restricting the use of these hazardous substances is likely to
enhance the possibilities and economic profitability of recycling of
WEEE and decrease the negative health impact on workers in recycling
plants."

These assertions aren't true, of course, but they aren't new, either.

As for Greenpeace improving the presently unregulated electronics
recycling practices in China and India (and let's not overlook most of
the rest of the third world), let's be realistic. That organization has
proved its ability to cause a lot of mischief, but it couldn't make even
a dent. Those two countries alone have a population of well over two
billion people. 

The reality is that, no matter how deplorable, and no matter what anyone
proposes as a solution, unregulated electronics recycling will continue
in much of the third world for the foreseeable future. It helps to keep
some impoverished people alive (certainly a point in its favor for those
who care about human health), and the governments of those countries
(and the UN) are unable to impose effective controls because they are
overwhelmed dealing with problems much bigger than the resulting
environmental damage.

 

Gordon Davy 


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