Electronic Waste

ECBC's Carbon Footprint

In a world with strong opinions of climate change and environmental issues, especially from those within the Christian community, there is definitely a relationship between various Christian virtues and mass consumption. As Christians, we are always stuck in a debate of want versus need. Jehovah Jireh definitely provides what we need to survive in the day and age of the culture you live in, but where do we draw the line between items of luxury and simply showing off a status symbol? The goal of this column is to let us think about these issues, and see if we need to be concerned about God’s creation and how our actions affect everything else. What can we focus on to be a light in the world, and not a hindrace for people who need Christ.

Moreover, it’s not always just a theological debate or a controversy. We as individual agents are responsible in our actions and how they are interrelated with different aspects of not just the natural world, but the socioeconomic world as well.

In this edition, we simply look at one very big issue affecting our environment and health… electronic junk. Those upgrades and replacements on your cell phones, computers, etc add up to a lot of harmful contaminents to the water supply and landfills. Most people simply throw away their used cell phones or batteries that could otherwise be recycled to other materials, or reused in Southern countries.

We’ve all heard of the ‘health’ effects of cell phones from driving a car to brain tumours, but the devices we place in our pockets and sleep beside our pillows have very deadly and harmful effects when taken apart. But what about the other potential health effects by not disposing your electronic junk properly? A single mobile device has the potential to pollute up to… 132,000 litres of water! Cadmium in batteries when exposed to the elements, can be transferred onto our food to damage our kidneys. Lead damages our central nervous system, and mercury enters the water supply, goes up the food chain to accumulate in our brains. Landfills for these end up in rural communities that produce our food. That’s just the health and ecological impact. But how does it affect the social world?

Because compact electronics in cell phones and laptops heat up, few metals are able too safely withstand the temperatures. Coltan is one of those metals, and is found primarily in the Congo. As of 2004, the worldwide shortage of coltan skyrocketed the price of the metal to US$200 per pound. Due to this, various militia groups want to take over operations in the area and has led to civil battles in the area. People have even died in some instances as a result of the purchases we make here at home.

So as Christians, is there a way to tie everything together with sharing Christ to the world? As I’ve found out, there are actually many Christian organizations doing just that by collecting used cell phones. Some Christian bodies have started collecting phones to sell to recyclers in order to fund outreach projects. Other organizations take the useful phones and transport them overseas to provide communication for some developing countries. Yet there are a handful of Christian groups doing this as a main part of their organization as a way of being stewards of God’s creation in a 21st century context.

The next time you walk into an electronics store and look at that iPhone or VAIO, ask yourself if what you have is adequate to your needs. If you do need to make a purchase, see what you could do with the device you no longer need. There’s actually quite a few options: throw it out, destroy it for fun, donate it, sell it, give it to a friend who needs it, use it for storage or backup, or do nothing and collect dust.

I’m not debating about materialism here, but the truth is we live in a society dependent on material goods. However, in our action to replace what we have, we still have a choice to affect the lives of others – beyond the going-green movement.