Digital+Rights+and+Responsibilities+-+Carbon+Footprint

__DIGITAL RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

What effects can technology have on our environment? Facts we found:__
 * the nation now dumps over three hundred million electronic items per year
 * less than 20% of ewaste is recycled
 * less than 20% of mobile phones are recycled each year if we recycled just 1 million it would reduce green house gas emissions = to taking 1368 cars off the road for a year
 * Amerians discarded 47 million computers in 1998
 * ewaste represents 2% Americas waste in landfills but equals over 70% of their toxic waste
 * Large amounts of ewaste have been sent to countries such as China, India and Kenya.

__What should a Digital Citizen do?__
 * Recycle:
 * TV's
 * phones
 * computers
 * CD players
 * refill or recycle printer cartridges
 * Promote recycling of technology
 * Sell or donate rather than disposing of goods

__E-waste readings - what we found out:__
 * e-waste is any old electrical equipment
 * the worst of the damage is currently in India
 * the more new things (technology) that come out the more e-waste we will have
 * e-waste contains toxic substances such as lead, cadmium, mercury, plastic, PVC, etc.
 * 2010 is the year many electronic companies pledge to remove toxic chemicals.
 * less than 10% of computers in Australia were recycled in the year 2007-2008.
 * Australians need to be educated in recycling electrical items responsibly
 * electronic equipment is highly disposable, it's cheaper in most cases to replace than repair
 * recycling e-waste allows for many valuable materials to be re-used

__How can we educate 'Our Community'?__


 * Newsletter (Ethan)
 * Assembly
 * Contacted e-waste about a school bin, waiting on reply (they want $ to have them pick up the goods)
 * Where to now? Letter to Mrs Wilson and Council

ETHAN's poster on EWASTE :

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