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Silicon mountain: Our obsession with electronics is drowning the world in e-waste

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Friday, March 22, 2024

Whether it's for work, school or keeping up with friends and family, we all rely on electronic devices for our daily lives. It's likely you are reading this article from a device that uses a battery or plug. Unfortunately, our phones and laptops contain some toxic elements and when they break or become obsolete, where they end up next can have big impacts on the environment. This isn't a failure on the individual level so much as an overarching problem with our society's disposable culture. This trash differs from plastic and other types of pollution however because of the uniquely dangerous toxic metals and other materials, plus the fact that this category of electronic waste, or e-waste, is growing faster than any other. "Most countries in the world do not yet have e-waste regulation in place." According to a recent report by the United Nations (UN), humanity's e-waste production is a major environmental problem. Indeed, the UN's fourth Global E-waste Monitor (GEM) announced on Wednesday that human beings are creating five times more electronic waste than we are recycling. In 2022 alone, human beings created 137 billion pounds of e-waste and recycled less than a quarter of it. According to the report, this is enough e-waste that it equals the weight of 107,000 of the world's largest, heaviest 575 tonne passenger aircraft, enough to be connected head-to-tail from New York City to Athens, Greece. Even worse, the number is only increasing, with the 62 million tonnes produced in 2022 expected to rise by 32% to 82 million tonnes by 2030. "E-waste presents very visible and obvious challenges to the environment and human health, while many of the solutions can be extremely effective but less visible," said report co-author Vanessa Gray, who heads the Environment and Emergency Telecommunication Division at the Telecommunication Development Bureau at the UN's International Telecommunication Union. "This includes the need for more and better e-waste regulation. Although this is an important first step to address the e-waste challenge, and helps drive recycling rates, most countries in the world do not yet have e-waste regulation in place." Without proper regulations, people are likely to be exposed to the hazardous substances that allow our electronic inventions to work. Think of mercury, which can cause brain and nervous system damage and is present in some batteries. Lead poisoning is also common among those exposed to these materials, which can similarly cause brain and neurological damage. These devices may also contain dioxins that can harm a person's lungs, or cobalt that irritates the skin, eyes, nose and throat. E-waste also usually contains plastic, which never degrades and therefore creates pollution associated with myriad diseases that effectively remains in the environment indefinitely. Research indicates that children and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to the negative health effects of being exposed to these materials, especially in poorer regions of the world, where much of this trash is exported. Even though economically disadvantaged regions like Africa generate less e-waste, it can be lucrative scavenging electronic products for a living. But this is often done without proper personal or environmental protections. When this is combined with an inferior e-waste management infrastructure, one is left with a recipe for a widespread health crisis. "African countries generate the lowest rates of e-waste but struggle to recycle it; their recycling rates are below 1 per cent," the authors of the report write. By partial contrast, Asia generates nearly half of the world's e-waste (at a staggering 30 billion kg) and yet has likewise made only "limited advances" in controlling its e-waste problem. In contrast, the report notes that in 2022, the regions that generated the highest amount of e-waste per capita were Europe, Oceania and the Americas. Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter Lab Notes. "Buy less electronics you don’t need." There are glimmers of hope in the report. For one thing, the researchers found that although only a small amount of e-waste is recycled, that was enough to spare the planet from being mined for 2 trillion pounds of ore for virgin metal. This is because recycling e-waste allows humanity to create new gadgets from old ones, an act which in turn lowers the high carbon footprint associated with mining and manufacturing. Currently the Americas, for example, release 30.9 billion kg CO2 equivalents through their poor management of electronic products; Europe releases 16.6 billion kg of CO2 equivalents; Asia releases 82.4 billion kg of CO2 equivalents; and Africa releases 12.4 billion kg of CO2 equivalents. Safely repurposing electronic products automatically eliminates the greenhouse gas production associated with creating new devices. As the United Nations observed, people avoided emitting 93 million tonnes of CO2 emissions through their formal waste management efforts. This means that the problem of e-waste pollution, though very serious, is not unsolvable. When people safely recycle their electronic products, it does indeed reduce the environmental harms from further exploitation and pollution. Each individual can take important steps to solve the problem of e-waste pollution. To elaborate on this, Salon spoke by email with Kees Baldé, the report's lead author and a senior scientific specialist of Sustainable Cycles at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). "You have an old refrigerator and want to discard it," Baldé said, highlighting a common source of e-waste. "You decide to place it on the [curbside] for the municipality or a company to be collected." Usually someone will remove the copper compressor in the back to sell the valuable metal before the waste collector takes away the refrigerator. But if someone wants to reduce e-waste, this is not helpful. "This compressor contains refrigerants and are immediately released," Baldé explained. "This may deplete ozone layer, if it’s an old fridge [but] newer refrigerants also contribute significantly to global warming. The emissions of gasses in one compressor equals one flight for one person of around 5,000 kilometers [3,106 miles]." For other sources of e-waste, Baldé had a pointed observation for people who need to dispose of small devices that run on batteries. If "you throw it in the residual waste bin" instead of recycling it, the result is that "it will be incinerated or landfilled, instead of being recycled." As for people who live in low and middle income countries, Baldé said that "waste pickers" who see e-waste "as a valuable resource and selectively scavenge and ‘recycle’ valuable components" need to be careful. Currently thousands of people do this "without the necessary protection and getting heavy metals persistent chemicals in their bodies, and releasing toxic fumes and other emissions to the environment." Baldé said that people need to "separate their e-waste, repair more and buy less electronics you don’t need." Gray also closed on a hopeful note, describing how we may be able to fix the problem. "Regulation can help ensure that producers and distributors of electrical and electronic equipment take on a responsibility for the products they put on the market. It can further help make it easier for products to be re-used, repaired, as well as recycled," Gray said. Read more about environmental issues:

A new UN report finds that our problematic relationship with electronic trash is worsening, but solvable

Whether it's for work, school or keeping up with friends and family, we all rely on electronic devices for our daily lives. It's likely you are reading this article from a device that uses a battery or plug. Unfortunately, our phones and laptops contain some toxic elements and when they break or become obsolete, where they end up next can have big impacts on the environment.

This isn't a failure on the individual level so much as an overarching problem with our society's disposable culture. This trash differs from plastic and other types of pollution however because of the uniquely dangerous toxic metals and other materials, plus the fact that this category of electronic waste, or e-waste, is growing faster than any other.

"Most countries in the world do not yet have e-waste regulation in place."

According to a recent report by the United Nations (UN), humanity's e-waste production is a major environmental problem. Indeed, the UN's fourth Global E-waste Monitor (GEM) announced on Wednesday that human beings are creating five times more electronic waste than we are recycling. In 2022 alone, human beings created 137 billion pounds of e-waste and recycled less than a quarter of it. According to the report, this is enough e-waste that it equals the weight of 107,000 of the world's largest, heaviest 575 tonne passenger aircraft, enough to be connected head-to-tail from New York City to Athens, Greece. Even worse, the number is only increasing, with the 62 million tonnes produced in 2022 expected to rise by 32% to 82 million tonnes by 2030.

"E-waste presents very visible and obvious challenges to the environment and human health, while many of the solutions can be extremely effective but less visible," said report co-author Vanessa Gray, who heads the Environment and Emergency Telecommunication Division at the Telecommunication Development Bureau at the UN's International Telecommunication Union. "This includes the need for more and better e-waste regulation. Although this is an important first step to address the e-waste challenge, and helps drive recycling rates, most countries in the world do not yet have e-waste regulation in place."

Without proper regulations, people are likely to be exposed to the hazardous substances that allow our electronic inventions to work. Think of mercury, which can cause brain and nervous system damage and is present in some batteries. Lead poisoning is also common among those exposed to these materials, which can similarly cause brain and neurological damage. These devices may also contain dioxins that can harm a person's lungs, or cobalt that irritates the skin, eyes, nose and throat. E-waste also usually contains plastic, which never degrades and therefore creates pollution associated with myriad diseases that effectively remains in the environment indefinitely.

Research indicates that children and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to the negative health effects of being exposed to these materials, especially in poorer regions of the world, where much of this trash is exported. Even though economically disadvantaged regions like Africa generate less e-waste, it can be lucrative scavenging electronic products for a living. But this is often done without proper personal or environmental protections. When this is combined with an inferior e-waste management infrastructure, one is left with a recipe for a widespread health crisis.

"African countries generate the lowest rates of e-waste but struggle to recycle it; their recycling rates are below 1 per cent," the authors of the report write. By partial contrast, Asia generates nearly half of the world's e-waste (at a staggering 30 billion kg) and yet has likewise made only "limited advances" in controlling its e-waste problem. In contrast, the report notes that in 2022, the regions that generated the highest amount of e-waste per capita were Europe, Oceania and the Americas.

Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter Lab Notes.

"Buy less electronics you don’t need."

There are glimmers of hope in the report. For one thing, the researchers found that although only a small amount of e-waste is recycled, that was enough to spare the planet from being mined for 2 trillion pounds of ore for virgin metal. This is because recycling e-waste allows humanity to create new gadgets from old ones, an act which in turn lowers the high carbon footprint associated with mining and manufacturing.

Currently the Americas, for example, release 30.9 billion kg CO2 equivalents through their poor management of electronic products; Europe releases 16.6 billion kg of CO2 equivalents; Asia releases 82.4 billion kg of CO2 equivalents; and Africa releases 12.4 billion kg of CO2 equivalents. Safely repurposing electronic products automatically eliminates the greenhouse gas production associated with creating new devices. As the United Nations observed, people avoided emitting 93 million tonnes of CO2 emissions through their formal waste management efforts.

This means that the problem of e-waste pollution, though very serious, is not unsolvable. When people safely recycle their electronic products, it does indeed reduce the environmental harms from further exploitation and pollution.

Each individual can take important steps to solve the problem of e-waste pollution. To elaborate on this, Salon spoke by email with Kees Baldé, the report's lead author and a senior scientific specialist of Sustainable Cycles at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).

"You have an old refrigerator and want to discard it," Baldé said, highlighting a common source of e-waste. "You decide to place it on the [curbside] for the municipality or a company to be collected." Usually someone will remove the copper compressor in the back to sell the valuable metal before the waste collector takes away the refrigerator. But if someone wants to reduce e-waste, this is not helpful.

"This compressor contains refrigerants and are immediately released," Baldé explained. "This may deplete ozone layer, if it’s an old fridge [but] newer refrigerants also contribute significantly to global warming. The emissions of gasses in one compressor equals one flight for one person of around 5,000 kilometers [3,106 miles]."

For other sources of e-waste, Baldé had a pointed observation for people who need to dispose of small devices that run on batteries. If "you throw it in the residual waste bin" instead of recycling it, the result is that "it will be incinerated or landfilled, instead of being recycled."

As for people who live in low and middle income countries, Baldé said that "waste pickers" who see e-waste "as a valuable resource and selectively scavenge and ‘recycle’ valuable components" need to be careful. Currently thousands of people do this "without the necessary protection and getting heavy metals persistent chemicals in their bodies, and releasing toxic fumes and other emissions to the environment."

Baldé said that people need to "separate their e-waste, repair more and buy less electronics you don’t need."

Gray also closed on a hopeful note, describing how we may be able to fix the problem. "Regulation can help ensure that producers and distributors of electrical and electronic equipment take on a responsibility for the products they put on the market. It can further help make it easier for products to be re-used, repaired, as well as recycled," Gray said.

Read more

about environmental issues:

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As Fast Fashion's Waste Pollutes Africa's Environment, Designers in Ghana Are Finding a Solution

In a sprawling secondhand clothing market in Ghana’s capital, early morning shoppers jostle as they search through piles of garments, eager to pluck a bargain or a designer find from the stalls selling used apparel from the West

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — In a sprawling secondhand clothing market in Ghana’s capital, early morning shoppers jostle as they search through piles of garments, eager to pluck a bargain or a designer find from the stalls selling used and low-quality apparel imported from the West. At the other end of the street, an upcycled fashion and thrifting festival unfolds with glamour and glitz. Models parade along a makeshift runway in outfits that designers created out of discarded materials from the Kantamanto market, ranging from floral blouses and denim jeans to leather bags, caps and socks.The festival is called Obroni Wawu October, using a phrase that in the local Akan language means “dead white man’s clothes.” Organizers see the event as a small way to disrupt a destructive cycle that has made Western overconsumption into an environmental problem in Africa, where some of the worn-out clothes end up in waterways and garbage dumps. “Instead of allowing (textile waste) to choke our gutters or beaches or landfills, I decided to use it to create something ... for us to use again,” said Richard Asante Palmer, one of the designers at the annual festival organized by the Or Foundation, a nonprofit that works at the intersection of environmental justice and fashion development.Ghana is one of Africa's leading importers of used clothing. It also ships some of what it gets from the United Kingdom, Canada, China and elsewhere to other West African nations, the United States and the U.K., according to the Ghana Used Clothing Dealers Association. Some of the imported clothes arrive in such poor shape, however, that vendors dispose of them to make room for the next shipments. On average, 40% of the millions of garments exported weekly to Ghana end up as waste, according to Neesha-Ann Longdon, the business manager for the Or Foundation’s executive director. The clothing dealers association, in a report published earlier this year on the socioeconomic and environmental impact of the nation’s secondhand clothing trade, cited a much lower estimate, saying only 5% of the items that reach Ghana in bulk are thrown out because they cannot be sold or reused. In many African countries, citizens typically buy preowned clothes — as well as used cars, phones and other necessities — because they cost less than new ones. Secondhand shopping also gives them a chance to score designer goods that most people in the region can only dream of.But neither Ghana's fast-growing population of 34 million people nor its overtaxed infrastructure is equipped to absorb the amount of cast-off attire entering the country. Mounds of textile waste litter beaches across the capital, Accra, and the lagoon which serves as the main outlet through which the city’s major drainage channels empty into the Gulf of Guinea.“Fast fashion has taken over as the dominant mode of production, which is characterized here as higher volumes of lower-quality goods,” Longdon said.Jonathan Abbey, a fisherman in the area, said his nets often capture textile waste from the sea. Unsold used clothes “aren’t even burned but are thrown into the Korle Lagoon, which then goes into the sea,” Abbey said.The ease of online shopping has sped up this waste cycle, according to Andrew Brooks, a King’s College London researcher and the author of “Clothing Poverty: The Hidden World of Fast Fashion and Second-hand Clothes.” In countries like the U.K., unwanted purchases often end up as charity donations, but clothes are sometimes stolen from street donation bins and exported to places where the consumer demand is perceived to be higher, Brooks said. Authorities rarely investigate such theft because the clothes are "seen as low-value items,” he said.Donors, meanwhile, think their castoffs are “going to be recycled rather than reused, or given away rather than sold, or sold in the U.K. rather than exported overseas,” Brooks said.The volume of secondhand clothing sent to Africa has led to complaints of the continent being used as a dumping ground. In 2018, Rwanda raised tariffs on such imports in defiance of U.S. pressure, citing concerns the West's refuse undermined efforts to strengthen the domestic textile industry. Last year, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said he would ban imports of clothing “from dead people.”Trade restrictions might not go far in either reducing textile pollution or encouraging clothing production in Africa, where profits are low and incentives for designers are few, experts say.In the absence of adequate measures to stop the pollution, organizations like the Or Foundation are trying to make a difference by rallying young people and fashion creators to find a good use for scrapped materials.Ghana's beaches had hardly any discarded clothes on them before the country's waste management problems worsened in recent years, foundation co-founder Allison Bartella said. “Fast forward to today, 2024, there are mountains of textile waste on the beaches,” she said.Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Sept. 2024

Waste
Business
Pollution

What Bird Flu in Wastewater Means for California and Beyond

Wastewater in several Californian cities, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, recently tested positive for bird flu. But understanding disease risk and exposure to humans isn’t so straightforward

Since the first avian influenza outbreaks hit the U.S. early this year, health and agriculture experts have struggled to track the virus’s spotty path as it spreads in dairy cow herds and an unknown number of humans. Infection risk still seems low for most people, but dairy workers and others directly exposed to cows have been getting sick. Canada’s first human case was just reported, in a teenager who is in critical condition. To get a better handle on the unsettling situation, scientists are picking up a pathogen-hunting tool that’s been powerful in the past: wastewater surveillance.In the past couple of weeks, wastewater samples in several locations mostly scattered around California—including the cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento and San Jose—tested positive for genetic material from the bird flu virus, H5N1. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Wastewater Surveillance System reported detections at 14 sites in California during a collection period that ended on November 2. As of November 13, across the U.S., 15 sites monitored by WastewaterSCAN, a project run by Stanford University and Emory University researchers, reported positive samples this month. But finding H5N1 material in wastewater doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a risk to human health, says WastewaterSCAN’s co-director Alexandria Boehm, a civil and environmental engineer at Stanford University.Analyzing trace amounts of viral genetic material, often shed by fecal matter in sewers, can alert scientists and public health experts to a possible increase in community infections. Wastewater sampling became instrumental in forecasting COVID cases across the U.S., for instance. But the way H5N1 affects both animal and human populations complicates identifying sources and understanding disease risk. H5N1 can be deadly in poultry. Cattle usually recover from symptoms—such as fever, dehydration and reduced milk production—but veterinarians and farmers are reporting that cows have been dying at higher rates in California than in other affected states. Cats that drink raw milk from infected cows can develop deadly neurological symptoms. The current cases in humans haven’t caused any known deaths (most people have flulike symptoms, although some develop eye infections), but past major outbreaks outside of the U.S. have resulted in fatalities.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Scientific American spoke with Boehm about the latest bird flu detections in wastewater and the ways that scientists are using these data to better track and understand disease prevalence and exposure—among animals and humans both.[An edited transcript of the interview follows.]When did WastewaterSCAN start tracking H5N1?We noticed something very unusual in Amarillo, Tex. [In the spring of 2024,] after flu season, we saw really high levels of influenza A [one of the four flu virus types that infect humans] RNA nucleic acids in their wastewater. This was surprising because we know influenza A in wastewater tracks with cases in the community—but there were not very many cases in the community, and it was after flu season. We also then heard on the news that they had discovered cattle infected with avian influenza in the same area in Texas. So we worked in collaboration with the local wastewater treatment plants and public health officers to test the wastewater. And we found that, indeed, it was H5 [a subtype of avian influenza A virus] in their waste stream. We determined that most of that H5 was coming from legal discharges into the sanitary sewer from milk processing plants.Then when we scaled the H5 assay across the country, we were finding it in locations where, shortly thereafter, cattle were being identified as being infected [with the virus]. In June the CDC actually sent memos to the states asking them to try to measure H5 in wastewater, recognizing that the measurements can help to understand the extent and duration of the outbreak in the U.S.Has wastewater analysis been able to trace cases to any sources?We can’t always rule out that it’s wild birds or poultry or humans, but overall the preponderance of evidence suggests most of the inputs are likely from cow milk. That cow milk is getting into consumer homes, where people are disposing of it down the drain. I’m sure you have poured out milk down your sink—I know I have. It’s also coming from permitted operations where people are making cheese or yogurt or ice cream, and they might be starting with a milk product that has the avian influenza nucleic acids in it.I want to stress that the milk in people’s homes that might have the avian influenza RNA is not infectious or a threat to human health. It’s just a marker that some milk got into the food chain that originally had the virus in it. It’s killed because milk products are pasteurized—and that’s, by the way, why drinking raw milk or eating raw cheeses right now is not really recommended. The RNA that makes up the genome of these viruses is extremely stable in wastewater. It’s even stable after pasteurization. So you pasteurize the raw milk, and the RNA is still present at about the same concentrations.Detecting it in the wastewater does not mean there’s a risk to human health. What it does mean is that there are still infected cattle that are around the vicinity, and work still needs to be done to identify those cattle and remove their products from the food chain, which is the goal of the officials that are in charge of that aspect of the outbreak.How might we be able to better determine where the viral genetic material is coming from and assess human infection rates?It is very difficult because genetically the virus is not different [between sources]. It’s not like we can say, “Oh, the one in humans is going to be like this, and so let’s look for that.” We’re working really closely with public health departments that are really proactive in sequencing positive influenza cases. If we do start seeing it in [more] people, we will likely know it because we’ll see differences in the wastewater.I don’t want to be alarmist because right now the risk of getting H5N1 is very minimal, and the symptoms are really mild. But I think one of the concerns is that the virus could mutate during this influenza season coming up. Somebody who’s infected with [seasonal influenza] could also get infected with H5N1, and then it could maybe create a new strain that could be more severe. We’re hoping that the wastewater data, along with all the other data that people and agencies are collecting, will together help figure out what’s going on and protect public health better.What are trends are you seeing in your surveillance right now?Most recently, California is just lighting up. A lot of the wastewater samples in California are coming back as positive, even in locations that are very urban—such as the Bay Area and in Los Angeles. The question is: Why? In some of these locations, there actually are small operations where people are making dairy products with milk. But another explanation, like I mentioned earlier, is just the wasting of milk products.How do H5N1 levels in wastewater correlate to infections in animals?We’re sort of seeing it as an early indicator, or concurrent indicator, of cattle in the vicinity being infected with avian influenza. The first detections were in Texas, and we saw a lot of detections in Michigan for a while, and now the hot spot is California. As scientists, we’re going to analyze all this in the future. But anecdotally, the H5 detections in wastewater are following along with when herds are identified, and then once it’s sort of under control, we stop seeing it.Public health officials are using the data to say, “Okay, we got a positive in this location. What are the different sources that could account for it? Have we tested all the cattle that are contributing milk products to industries in this sewer shed? Have we gotten rid of all the infected herds in our state, because now we’re not getting any positives in the wastewater?”How else are scientists and officials staying on top of cases and spread?The [U.S. Department of Agriculture] and different entities around the country are pursuing it from an animal health perspective and a food safety perspective. So there is testing of cattle herds and milk products. There’s also testing of poultry, and then there’s testing of workers that are in contact with infected herds and infected poultry. On the clinical side, there is a push to get influenza-positive samples sequenced to understand what kind of influenza it is, as sort of a safety net to see if there might be some avian influenza circulating in people. So far, cases have been in people who are actually exposed to infected animals, who are working on farms, and perhaps in some of their family members.How has tracking H5N1 been different from or similar to COVID or other pathogens?All the other pathogens that we track have been conceptually similar to COVID, where humans are the source [of pathogenic material in wastewater]. We know that the occurrence of the viral or fungal material in wastewater match the cases. Bird flu is the first example where we’re using wastewater to track something that is primarily not, at least right now, from a human source but has potential human health implications for different reasons. It’s been a really great case study of how wastewater can be used not only for tracking human illness but also zoonotic pathogens—pathogens that affect animals. So now we’re thinking about what else wastewater could be used for. What other kinds of animal byproducts end up in the waste stream that might contain biomarkers of infectious disease? H5 is our first example, and I’m sure there will be more.

Waste
Water
Animals

Generative AI Could Generate Millions More Tons of E-Waste by 2030

Generative AI could saddle the planet with heaps more hazardous waste

November 14, 20243 min readGenerative AI Is Poised to Worsen the E-Waste CrisisGenerative AI could saddle the planet with heaps more hazardous waste By Saima S. IqbalA server room in a data center. Every time generative artificial intelligence drafts an e-mail or conjures up an image, the planet pays for it. Making two images can consume as much energy as charging a smartphone; a single exchange with ChatGPT can heat up a server so much that it requires a bottle’s worth of water to cool. At scale, these costs soar. By 2027, the global AI sector could annually consume as much electricity as the Netherlands, according to one recent estimate. And a new study in Nature Computational Science identifies another concern: AI’s outsize contribution to the world’s mounting heap of electronic waste. The study found that generative AI applications alone could add 1.2 million to five million metric tons of this hazardous trash to the planet by 2030, depending on how quickly the industry grows.Such a contribution would add to the tens of millions of tons of electronic products the globe discards annually. Cell phones, microwave ovens, computers and other ubiquitous digital products often contain mercury, lead or other toxins. When improperly discarded, they can contaminate air, water and soil. The United Nations found that in 2022 about 78 percent of the world’s e-waste wound up in landfills or at unofficial recycling sites, where laborers risk their health to scavenge rare metals.The worldwide AI boom rapidly churns through physical data storage devices, plus the graphics processing units and other high-performance components needed to process thousands of simultaneous calculations. This hardware lasts anywhere from two to five years—but it’s often replaced as soon as newer versions become available. Asaf Tzachor, a sustainability researcher at Israel’s Reichman University, who co-authored the new study, says its findings emphasize the need to monitor and reduce this technology’s environmental impacts.On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.To calculate just how much generative AI contributes to this problem, Tzachor and his colleagues examined the type and volume of hardware used to run large language models, the length of time that these components last and the growth rate of the generative AI sector. The researchers caution that their prediction is a gross estimate that could change based on a few additional factors. More people might adopt generative AI than the authors’ models anticipate, for example. Hardware design innovations, meanwhile, could reduce e-waste in a given AI system—but other technological advances can make systems cheaper and more accessible to the public, increasing the number in use.This study’s biggest value comes from its attention to AI’s broad environmental impacts, says Shaolei Ren, a researcher at the University of California, Riverside, who studies responsible AI and was not involved in the new research. “We might want these [generative AI] companies to slow down a bit,” he says.Few countries mandate the proper disposal of e-waste, and those that do often fail to enforce their existing laws on it. Twenty-five U.S. states have e-waste management policies, but there is no federal law that requires electronics recycling. In February Democratic Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts introduced a bill that would require federal agencies to study and develop standards for AI’s environmental impacts, including e-waste. But that bill, the Artificial Intelligence Environmental Impacts Act of 2024 (which has not passed the Senate), would not force AI developers to cooperate with its voluntary reporting system. Some companies, however, claim to be taking independent action. Microsoft and Google have pledged to reach net zero waste and net zero emissions respectively by 2030; this would likely involve reducing or recycling AI-related e-waste.Companies that use AI have numerous options to limit e-waste. It’s possible to squeeze more life out of servers, for instance, through regular maintenance and updates or by shifting worn-out devices to less-intensive applications. Refurbishing and reusing obsolete hardware components can also cut waste by 42 percent, Tzachor and his co-authors note in the new study. And more efficient chip and algorithm design could reduce generative AI’s demand for hardware and electricity. Combining all these strategies would reduce e-waste by 86 percent, the study authors estimate.There’s another wrinkle as well: AI products tend to be trickier to recycle than standard electronics because the former often contain a lot of sensitive customer data, says Kees Baldé, an e-waste researcher at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, who wasn’t involved with the new study. But big tech companies can afford to both erase that data and properly dispose of their electronics, he points out. “Yes, it costs something,” he says of broader e-waste recycling, “but the gains for society are much larger.”

Waste
Crisis
Health

Demolition of Homes Built on a New Orleans Toxic Waste Site Begins

Demolition of abandoned homes constructed on a toxic waste site has begun in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Demolition of abandoned homes constructed on a toxic waste site began Wednesday in New Orleans, where Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan joined local officials touting plans to replace the homes with a solar energy farm.Homes in the area known as Gordon Plaza were built in the 1970s and 1980s and marketed to Black people and low- and middle-income residents who weren’t told that the site was a one-time landfill. As awareness grew and environmentalists raised concerns, the area was named a federal Superfund cleanup site in 1994. Amid reports that the soil was contaminated with lead and carcinogens, including arsenic, residents began a decades-long effort to be relocated at government expense. The city set aside $35 million in 2022 to pay for buyouts of residents’ homes.Shortly before excavators began tearing into the first house, Regan commended Mayor LaToya Cantrell, U.S. Rep. Troy Carter, City Council members and activists who worked to bring about the buyouts.Regan said the moment was “bittersweet” during a pre-demolition news conference livestreamed by WWL-TV. “After all, this is the demolition of a neighborhood that, despite all of the issues that they face, it holds sentimental value to so many people,” Regan said. “This is where so many people bought their first home after years of work and countless sacrifices.”City Council members Oliver Thomas and Eugene Green said they had family members who had moved into the subdivision with high hopes, only to learn of the environmental dangers. “I’m pleased to be here today in recognition of the families that went through so much for so long," Green said.New Orleans officials say they hope to use power from a solar farm planned for the site to supplement energy sources for the city's street drainage pump system. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - Sept. 2024

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Activism
Government

A hazardous waste site becomes ‘San Francisco’s Next Great Park’

After almost 150 years, a piece of San Francisco’s last remaining natural shoreline in Bayview-Hunters Point is now accessible to the public. First, it had to be cleaned up. The post A hazardous waste site becomes ‘San Francisco’s Next Great Park’ appeared first on Bay Nature.

Since he moved to Bayview at five years old, Darryl Watkins wondered why a neglected lot, called 900 Innes, was closed off. He often played basketball at India Basin Shoreline Park next to the yard sloping into the Bay, and peeked through the fence to find dirt, trash, neglected buildings, and a dilapidated cottage that housed shipbuilders over a century ago. It was in such disrepair that Watkins never imagined it could be a park. The parks he liked had clean bathrooms, trees, and nature—things found outside of his community. Over $200 million and four years of remediation and construction later, the fences enclosing the yard finally opened on October 19. It’s the first time residents will be able to step foot on the completely transformed property, with two new piers, a floating dock, a food pavilion, and access to some of San Francisco’s last remaining natural shoreline. The 900 Innes opening marks the completion of the second phase of a three-part plan that combines the existing India Basin Shoreline Park and 900 Innes property into one 10-acre waterfront park, while closing a major gap on the 13-mile San Francisco Blue Greenway-Bay Trail.  The 900 Innes Waterfront Park unveiling on October 19; section of the San Francisco Blue Greenway-Bay Trail; Mayor London Breed cutting the ribbon on opening day (Photos by Jillian Magtoto) The San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department (RPD)  is calling it “San Francisco’s Next Great Park” that will bring the city’s southern waterfront up to par with iconic public spaces such as Crissy Field, Washington Square Park, and Golden Gate Park. Beyond the flashy claims, the RPD wants the park to benefit local residents long burdened by a history of industrial pollution. “It’s southeast communities where the city has put all of its crap. We put our water treatment plants, we put our power plants, we put everything that no one else wanted in the city,” says David Froehlich, the RPD project manager of remediation for all three India Basin Park projects. “Whether we built a park here or not, we always promise the community that we would leave this site cleaner than it was when we purchased it.” Some Bayview-Hunters Point locals aren’t convinced RPD has done enough, while others are hopeful the park was indeed adequately remediated. “It’s been a long time coming,” says Jill Fox, who has lived across the street from 900 Innes Ave for over 30 years. “Our fingers are crossed that it will be a good thing for our community.” The old shipyard at 900 Innes Ave along San Francisco’s India Basin has long worn the past of industrial boating. The blacksmith shop, boatyard office, and tool shed had partially or almost completely collapsed. Old overhead power lines sparked and caught on fire, according to residents. The ground was blanketed with concrete, brick, glass, and wood fragments that thickened up to forty feet down into the water. It was sold to private businesses in 1991 and passed between different owners for decades, serving various roles as a homeless encampment, illegal drug lab, and construction storage yard. It remained undeveloped and inaccessible to the public until community members advocated for the property to be acquired by the RPD in 2014. “I always thought 900 Innes would be much better as a respite, a place to be with nature,” says Fox, who participated in the effort towards the lot’s public acquisition. “RPD had the funds and owned properties on either side of it.” A rendition of the India Basin Waterfront Park Project, the combination of the renovated India Basin Shoreline Park and the neighboring 900 Innes property. The result will be a 10-acre waterfront park, planned to be completed in 2026 (left); map of India Basin (right) (Photos courtesy of India Basin Waterfront Park) But the site was far from being a natural respite. Soil samples in 2017 revealed elevated levels of PCBs, petroleum hydrocarbons, and heavy metals from painting, waterproofing, and other boating activities, especially concentrated near boat launch sites. Before it could ever become a place for people, a significant cleanup was in order. “There were a lot of regulatory agencies that were involved,” says Froehlich. “And permits that I wasn’t typically used to.” Local, state, and federal agencies oversaw the remediation, including the Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, California State Water Board, and the San Francisco Water Quality Control Board. They monitored the site as the RPD installed a temporary water barrier to push back the Bay water, like the rim of a massive inflatable pool, to remove layers of concrete and up to two feet of contaminated soil. In 2022, the last year of remediation, they discovered the contaminants spread deeper. They found lead, mercury, and PCBs up to seven feet below ground, according to the Remedial Action Plan. “We excavated down to a completely clean site and put clean cover on top of that, using soil from a virgin quarry in the East Bay,” says Froehlich. “So, in theory, it’s a completely clean site.” Water barrier installed during remediation (Photo by San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department)Still, some community advocates remain unsure. “We support a new and improved park in theory, but as long as it can be clean and safe,” says Bradley Angel, the director of Greenaction, a San Francisco-based health and environmental justice nonprofit. The city’s only Superfund site is just a third of a mile southeast from 900 Innes, a former naval laboratory that leaked petroleum, pesticides, and radioactive waste into the ground for 40 years. This contamination remained unknown until 2012, when the Navy discovered that the federally-contracted consulting firm Tetra Tech EC falsified their data. While the Navy allowed Tetra Tech to clear itself in an internal investigation, whistleblowers in 2017 alleged that the Navy mishandled cleanup efforts and covered up the extent of the pollution, in a lawsuit led by Greenaction against the EPA and Navy. Still, the RPD is confident that the former naval site has no effect on 900 Innes. No radioactive chemicals were found, according to RPD communications manager, Daniel Montes. But advocates like Angel haven’t forgotten.  “Greenaction and the community for many years regarding the Hunters Point shipyard Superfund site have called for independent community oversight of all testing and cleanup activities, and that’s fallen on deaf ears,” says Bradley. “Greenaction believes that there needs to be independent retesting of India Basin and the whole shoreline in Bayview, because we do not trust for good reason.” Angel is not just concerned by what might be in the ground at 900 Innes, but also what might be in the air. South of the new park, at 700 Innes, is a planned residential and commercial complex by BUILD LLC, a private developer that agreed to give about six acres of land to the RPD. Originally planned alongside the 900 Innes property, the RPD issued a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) in 2017 that combined the projected effects of both sites. Still the latest available EIR, it concluded that the joint project “would generate emissions that could expose sensitive receptors to substantial pollutant concentrations significant and unavoidable with mitigation.” Bayview-Hunters Point sees about 97 more annual cases of asthma-related emergency room visits and three more heart attack-related visits per ten thousand people than greater San Francisco. The community is among four neighborhoods in the city with the highest rate of preventable hospitalizations related to air pollution, according to a San Francisco Public Utility Commission 2017 study.  While 700 Innes has been delayed, Angel says once construction begins, the area “won’t be a safe place for some people.” “I can’t comment on the 700 Innes impacts for air quality and what that development would do,” says Froehlich. But noted that with construction complete, now and going forward, 900 Innes park will have a very small impact on air quality. The neighboring 700 Innes site (Photo by Jillian Magtoto) As the RPD moves India Basin past its history of shipping pollution into one of public recreation, a new era of boating emerges. The park opening commenced the arrival of Rocking the Boat—a nonprofit that provides nature and boat education for youth from Hunts Point, New York, with origins similar not just in name. Based in an underserved community in the Bronx, home to aging treatment plants and heavy transportation emissions, the nonprofit was offered an opportunity from the RPD to continue their work at the shop building near the floating docks at 900 Innes, fixing boats and offering rides on the water every Sunday. In March 2025, they will recruit 16 eighth graders from the community to build a 14-foot whitehall from scratch, a type of rowboat that hauled people and small goods in both New York City and San Francisco into the 19th century. Their work will  just involve wood and a little bit of glue,” says Adam Green, who founded Rocking the Boat in 2001. “My hope is that the RPD uses shavings and sawdust we collect for mulch.” The park is newly landscaped with upland sage and native vegetation that run along concrete paths. Mulch and wood chips cover the areas in between. Rocking the Boat employees working at the shop building; Whitehall boats docked at the new floating piers (Photos by Jillian Magtoto) Watkins will work at the park he once thought would never be possible. He will be working at the same Shipwright’s Cottage he saw through the fence not long ago, now a museum, to welcome visitors when they first walk in.  “I think they brought me on to be a connector between the community and the project,” says Watkins. “Having people that really care about this park will help maintain it for years to come.” Darryl Watkins at 900 Innes Ave, just next to Shipwright’s Cottage (Photo by Jillian Magtoto)

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