E-Waste Problem and Cell Phones

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Sources of raw materials
Democratic Republic of Congo
Cell phone manufacturers
United States of America
E- Waste dump grounds
Ghana
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

A cell phone has become an almost basic necessity among most individuals in the society today. The current demand for this commodity has forced manufacturers to continue their advancement in order to produce various types of cell phones. This includes those that have minimal features and low prices for those with low incomes and those that are multifunctional and often expensive.

Cell phones are mostly manufactured in developed nations where they get the raw material for these products in developing world. The nations that manufacture these products in large amounts often find themselves with a backlog since each time a new technology is launched; most individuals tend to dispose their former cell phones in order to acquire the new ones. As a result, these nations are forced to seek places to dispose the old products.

Since these products are mostly manufactured in the developed nations, the dumping ground for the old products is often the developing world. This is because though most developing nations produce the raw materials to manufacture these cell phones, they are not able to manufacture the products. Instead, they depend on the products manufactured by the developed nations.

Sources of raw materials

The consistent and fast changes in cell phone technology which means that more and better products are manufactured every day and the obvious fall in prices of this commodity have led to massive electronic waste in the whole world. It is estimated that every year the products that are counted as E-waste could amount up to 50 million.

This could increase since Europe alone is currently disposing as many as 100 million cell phones every year ( Rockwood para 5-7). With increased attempts to diversify global trade, developed countries are taking this chance to dump their electronic waste to developing countries with a claim that they are trading with them. Some of the products are sold while still new while others are used items. Some of the developing regions that become a dump site for these products include Africa, India and even China among others.

Some of these nations like China are at an advantage since they have learnt the art of recycling these products which often reduce the increase in the amount of E- waste. In addition, these nations have benefited from creation of jobs and affordable technology whish id brought by repair and reuse of these products.

However, most of the developed nations especially those that have not found the benefits of repair and recycling are facing a large amounts of electronic waste as more products continue to be imported in their territories without anywhere to dump the old ones ( Rockwood para 9).

Incidentally, though the developing nations are the dumping grounds for the cell phone waste, they happen to be the highest contributors of the product’s raw materials. Some of these commodities include; tin, cobalt, platinum and fluorspar among others (Rockwood para 3).

Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the countries that produce the world’s most precious raw materials which are used in the manufacture of different types of cell phones. This country contains rich supply of tin, gold and cobalt. In addition, the nation is known to produce one-fifth of the world’s tantalum which is an important coltan extract that is used during the manufacture of iPod as an energy storage device.

Democratic Republic of Congo

The history of Democratic Republic of Congo can be summarized through French colonization, independence, Marxist-Leninism and the current outstanding economy that is market-oriented. This nation has been characterized by conflict and violence where the country’s most renowned leaders who are Laurent Kabila and Colonel Joseph Desire Mobutu led the country into a political situation that was characterized by repression and unrest (Wallechinsky, para 7).

DRC attainted its independence from France on August 15, 1960 where Fulbert Youlou assumed power becoming the first president of this nation. After a revolt that occurred in 1963, the president was forced to resign and Alphonse Massamba-Débat became the new president.

He founded the Marxist-Leninist party in 1964 which was based on developing the economy on the basis of non capitalist path. This president was overthrown in 1968 by Marien Ngouabi who was then assassinated in 1977. In 1988, the nation was faced by a situation of severe unemployment due to the reduction in the prices of petroleum.

There have been consistent coups in this nation some of which have led to tribal fighting. Abuse of human rights has been a common feature in this nation due to years of fighting. The country has begun to move towards democracy after the assassination of Kabila and the coming into power of his son. The country’s rich mineral deposits have been one reason that has led to consistent political crises in this nation. Today, the nation is classified as an emerging market after almost being under the list of failed nations due to conflict.

Cell phone manufacturers

In the process of cell phone manufacture, almost forty raw materials are required to come up with a complete product. These include; lithium, tantalum, cobalt and antimony among others. Since DRC is a rich producer of some of these important products, it has become a very significant region for most developed nations that manufacture different types of cell phones. The United States is one of the nations that get its raw materials for the manufacture of cell phones from Democratic Republic of Congo.

This being a region that lacks political and economic stability, the supply of these products is not a guarantee. For instance, there were protests against the opaque supply chains belonging to Intel and Apple that forced President Barrack Obama to come in. He signed a law that demanded all companies to report whether their products contained products from D.R.C. This saw most companies affected.

United States of America

The United States being one of the biggest producers of cell phones put its citizens at a better chance to enjoy the most sophisticated gadgets which offer both communicative and entertainment services. The increasing need to produce better models of cell phones by different manufacturers continue to favor the users as each product that is provided in the market provides more superior features than the former.

The citizens of these nations, therefore, enjoy a wide range of models to choose from. Due to the high rate of cell phone production, the prices of these products are friendly for most users. In addition, the consumers also enjoy other benefits like offers and getting products according to their preferred specifications.

In an attempt to persuade more customers to appreciate their products, the manufacturers of various types of cell phones seek the needs of these customers before coming up with a new product. This makes the customers get involved in the production process, thus they determine what they need. The residents of the countries that manufacture cell phones enjoy other benefits besides products that suit their needs.

This is because every time a new product is provided in the market, they can always dispose the old one easily and acquire the new model. With increase in new models, an individual does not have to stick with an old model until it is fully worn out as the market for the old product is easy to get. This is because the models that become outdated in the developed countries are still a new feature in most developing nations.

With international trade, the old cell phones can always be sold to these nations either as new or used products. Individuals from developed countries therefore enjoy the most updated features of cell phone technology. These are phones which are equipped with features like powerful cameras, Wi-Fi, MP4 players, 3G technology and many other features.

E- Waste dump grounds

Once the United States produces surplus products or when its population is tired with their old cell phones, these products are routed to the developing countries which become the dumping grounds for the county’s E-waste. This is particularly because the country lacks a domestic law which restricts export of toxic waste. The country therefore finds it easier to export these products instead of recycling them.

The current estimates show that 80 percent of the country’s E- waste is not recycled in the country but is exported to developing nations. Some of the nations which the United States dumps its surplus and old cell phones include Malaysia, India, China, and some Africa countries like Ghana and Kenya among others.

Ghana

Ghana received its independence from Britain in 1957, becoming the first nation in Africa to attain its independence. After independence, the country’s politics was characterized by democratic elections, coups, and even counter coups (Odotei para 4). This has made the nation to experience a total of five civilian administrations and four military regimes. The governments that have been in reign since independence have utilized various policies to progress the country’s economic growth.

For instance, Nkrumah who assumed power immediately after independence adopted a socialist oriented policy while those who followed him preferred a capitalist economy. The period before independence had seen the country ignore its commitment to industrialization. This made the country become dependent on imports from the western countries for most of their import. After independence, this trend did not change much as the country’s industrialization process progressed at a very slow rate.

This is because of the country’s political instability. Though the country is endowed with enough resources, it imports most of its cell phones from nations like the United States.

These products include new and used cell phones. For instance, in a report that was released by Ghana E-Waste Country Assessment in 2011, there was about 215000 tons of electronics which were imported in this nation (para 6). These included 30 percent of new products while 70 percent were used products. Some of these products are a total waste as they cannot be recycled.

Conclusion

In conclusion, cell phones are mostly manufactured in developed nations as illustrated in this write up. These nations enjoy the best features of these products from manufacturers (Tignor et al, 23). Once new models of cell phones are produced by their manufacturers, the consumers of these products are faced with the need to dispose their old phones in order to acquire the ones that have updated features.

Since the technology in the outdated cell phones often may not have been launched in the developing nations, they sell their old phones to these nations thus getting areas to dump their unwanted commodities. The political and economic instability in most developing nations prevent effective manufacture of these commodities. This makes them remain dependent on developed nations for these products.

Works Cited

Ghana e-Waste Country Assessment. Ghana e-waste country assessment. SBC e-Waste Africa Project. Web.

Odotei, K. Irene. “History of Ghana.” Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana, Legon. 2008.Web.

Rockwood, Kate. How a handful of countries control the earth’s most precious materials. 2010. Web.

Tignor, Robert et al. Worlds together, worlds apart: a history of the world (Volume Two, 3^rd Edition). New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company. 2011. Print.

Wallechinsky, David. The Democratic Republic of Congo. 2009. Web.

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