
Where does America's e-waste end up? GPS tracker tells all - walterbell
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/america-e-waste-gps-tracker-tells-all-earthfix/
======
neves
The article says that USA is the only developed country that didn't signed an
international treaty in e-waste and points to this link:

[http://www.basel.int/Countries/StatusofRatifications/Parties...](http://www.basel.int/Countries/StatusofRatifications/PartiesSignatories/tabid/4499/Default.aspx)

But USA is listed in the page. It has a lot of footnotes:
[http://www.basel.int/Countries/StatusofRatifications/Parties...](http://www.basel.int/Countries/StatusofRatifications/PartiesSignatories/tabid/4499/Default.aspx#US16)

Would anyone explain in plain English what these footnotes mean, and why the
original article says USA didn't ratified the treaty?

~~~
huxley
There's a distinction between being a signatory vs having ratified the treaty.

The US is a signatory (the treaty was signed on 22 March 1990) which is why
they are on the list, but it's not ratified since the US Congress has never
passed legislation which would make the treaty "the law of the land"

The Basel Convention joins a distinguished list of signed but unratified
treaties including the Convention on Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and the
Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty.

~~~
dragonwriter
> The Basel Convention joins a distinguished list of signed but unratified
> treaties including the Convention on Discrimination against Women (CEDAW),
> the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty,
> and the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty.

Except that the ABM Treaty was ratified in 1972; the US, under the mechanisms
in the treaty, withdrew from it (terminating its effect entirely) in 2001, but
that's a different issue than not ratifying it.

~~~
danbruc
But it is only a technical difference - you say you want to do X and sign an
agreement, then you decide you don't really want to do X and you don't ratify
the agreement or you ratify it and later withdraw. The outcome is the same.

~~~
dragonwriter
There's a considerable difference between never ratifying a treaty (in which
case, it is never in force), and ratifying it, having it in force for nearly
three decades, and then _using the mechanism that the agreement itself
provides_ to trigger its termination.

~~~
danbruc
What is the difference with regard to the end result?

~~~
khuey
That the treaty applied for thirty years?

~~~
onion2k
30 years of doing good doesn't count for very much if you then do something
bad. If a 31 year old kills someone they can't use the prior 30 years of "not
committing any murders" as evidence that they're actually a decent person.

~~~
vacri
A history of good character is frequently used as a legal defence to reduce or
eliminate punishment.

------
ChuckMcM
This is an abysmal situation and I'm really glad that folks are following up
on the issue and trying to add transparency to the shading dealings. However
...

Stuff like this (from the article) :

 _“We’re struggling for survival,” he said.

Prices for many commodities found in e-waste, a major source of revenue for
electronics recyclers, have plunged in the past year._

So there is a recycling fee/tax that is paid, on a per item basis, that is
well above the "commodity price of raw materials". Where did that money go?
Where is the agency that I can turn in serial numbers to and collect $10 for
each unique serial number that hasn't been turned in before?

And while I get that burning any long chain polymer is a recipe for creating
hazardous gases, the ball got dropped long before this crap landed in the New
Territories of Hong Kong. The article mentions how China has cracked down on
the mainland, how hard is it to ask "who's the boss?" and then to put that
person in jail? Sure you're going to destroy the "employment" of everyone at
the junkyard, own that. It isn't impossible to build closed cycle
incinerators, so let the "rich" countries build those.

------
proactivesvcs
I once contacted the UK's Environment Agency as I wanted to find a reputable
local Waste Treatment Facility to receive my WEEE (I fix computers and
occasionally sell parts/take old parts for recycling). Since I was acutely
aware of how much they had charged me to hold a Waste Transfer certificate I
figured the least I could do was make sure my money was put to good use.

They replied saying they do not conduct any checks of facilities, keep any
record of infringements or publish any data on what facilities do with the
electrical waste they received. I was surprised that this surprised me,
really.

(This was some years ago so my use of nomenclature may be incorrect)

~~~
Symbiote
It would be interesting to repeat the experiment somewhere like the UK, and
see if the laws there make any difference.

------
shrike
I'm actually really interested in the technical details of the tracking
devices. They had to have batteries that lasted months and they had to be
designed to work with the cellular networks in basically any country on Earth.
(I'm assuming they weren't satellite based, maybe they were.)

Does anybody have any details on the devices themselves?

~~~
haser_au
If you have a look at the first link in the text, it will take you to the full
"e-Trash Transparency" report ([http://www.ban.org/trash-
transparency](http://www.ban.org/trash-transparency)). When you download the
'Report', on page 105 it describes, in detail, the methodology used.

Extracts from the report: "In order to determine and procure the best
equipment for the e-Trash Transparency Project, BAN tested several different
subscription-based tracking systems. Based on the findings, it was determined
that BAN’s case scenario was better served by a customized solution, but one
that made use of “off-the-shelf” GSM/GPRS tracking hardware." Source:
[https://s3.amazonaws.com/ban-
reports/Trash+Transparency/Disc...](https://s3.amazonaws.com/ban-
reports/Trash+Transparency/Disconnect+-+Goodwill+and+Dell+Exporting+the+Publics+E-waste+to+Developing+Countries+Report+-+Web+Version.pdf)

"The combined cost of a single tracker, external battery, the SIM card, the
M2M service rates package was approximately $175 (including shipping and
taxes). The project, funded in large part by a grant from the Body Shop
Foundation, included the purchase of over 200 trackers."

"Free and open source software called OpenGTS was used to collect and display
data in a user-friendly manner...software included integration with Google
Maps"

"The trackers that were used usually had at least a 9-month battery life, with
some trackers still communicating after 12 months. The battery life varies
depending on many factors including signal strength, temperature and sleep
mode settings. Prolonged battery life is primarily attributed to the tracker
possessing a sleep mode function, which allows the device to hibernate in a
power-saving mode for a preset time. Typically, each tracker was set to “wake
up” every 24 hours, calculate its position based on the satellite signals it
received, send the data to BAN’s server via local GSM networks and then
reenter sleep mode function."

~~~
Scoundreller
> Prolonged battery life is primarily attributed to the tracker possessing a
> sleep mode function, which allows the device to hibernate in a power-saving
> mode for a preset time.

It would be cool if the time between wakeups could increase dramatically
towards the end of the life of the battery. Or only wake up when temperature
conditions are favourable toward having enough power to go through a cycle.

------
Overtonwindow
This issue is so much worse than people realize. Children in China and
Bangladesh, climbing on MOUNTAINS of burning eWaste. Melting circuit boards
for scraps of gold and silver. The US really needs to take the lead and ban
eWaste exports. Not only would that create a need for recycling in America,
but remove the potential for this stuff to pollute the world.

~~~
hyperdunc
Some electronics are refurbished and resold, but not enough. Also, recycling
materials is essential and discouraging our throwaway culture would help a lot
too. I still use a phone that's 5 years old (and it works great) because I
don't feel the desire to get a new one each year.

------
neves
OMG, so much time spent trying to be good to Mother Earth and properly
dispensing my e-waste is now in the trash can!

Is there any reputable place or organization where we can throw away our
e-waste?

~~~
blacksmith_tb
It depends quite a bit on where you are; here in Portland OR we have the fine
option of taking it to Free Geek[1] where volunteers strip old PCs and build
linux boxes which go to nonprofits (and the volunteers themselves), along with
being resold (for the very best) at their thrift store, or recycled for
materials (for the unusable stuff).

1: [http://freegeek.org/](http://freegeek.org/)

------
Scoundreller
It's a cool story. They even visit the sites identified.

Your broken LCDs end up in giant boxes around some dude's pond in Asia. It
doesn't even make sense.

~~~
akooba
In large enough amounts, everything in an LCD has value except for the bulbs,
which contain mercury. To domestically and responsibly recycle them has 3
things that make it more expensive: 1) you need to disassemble the entire
device to isolate the bulbs, with higher relative labor rates, 2) there is
significant overhead in protective equipment, insurance, and regulatory
compliance, and 3) you need to dispose of the mercury bulbs at a cost. Broken
devices end up as a negative value item. The 'ponds' in HK with inexpensive
labor, no PPE, and no concern for their environment can pull in several
dollars a unit from the value of the circuit boards, steel, and plastic. You
can fit thousands of LCDs in a 40-foot container.

------
haser_au
This is not the first time BAN have investigated one of their customers.

[http://www.resource-
recycling.com/images/e-newsletterimages/...](http://www.resource-
recycling.com/images/e-newsletterimages/IS_verified_complaint.PDF)

------
Sephr
Does this run afoul of any privacy laws?

Once you give your device to the e-waste program, it is no longer your
property so I could imagine that this could be construed as illegal tracking
somehow by the e-waste companies. There are also specific laws in many states
regarding the GPS tracking of vehicles you do not own, so I'm pretty curious
as to the legality of this.

------
Sylphine
I'm suprised that they are burning aĺl that plastic away. If they could place
the electronics in a vacuum chamber and heat it up plastics and rubbers would
decompose in lots of petrochemicals and natural gas that they could distilate
and resell. Plus it would make the collection of materials far more safe and
easy.

~~~
akooba
Plastics recycling is a VERY tough sell right now. The low price of oil makes
the recovery values minimal.

------
executesorder66
At least now whenever people question why I hoard all my old electronics for
as long as possible, and try to eke out as much value as humanly possible,
I'll have an answer non techy people can relate with. If I don't do that, it
will end up in Hong Kong giving people cancer.

------
staticelf
This is an issue that will never be solved with the current economic system.

