Congress Addresses E-waste

Finally Congress is stepping in and talking about E-waste.

Representatives of manufacturers, consumers, and recyclers are advising Congress on legislation that would create a national standard for disposal of e-waste. Earlier this year, a group of congressional representatives formed the E-Waste Working Group to target the growing problem.

And this problem will get worse and worse as the years pass. I mean most gagets that we are seeing are only in their 2nd or 3rd generation so far. As the years pass this will be one of the things that a digital society will really have to deal with.

I mean cell phones have only been around for a few decades. I have replaced mine 3 times so far in my lifetime. Imagine how many I would have gone through when I am at retirement age? And I am not really a high turnover gageteer. I can see some people generating 100s of times more e-waste a year then me. And multiply this by all the Indians and Chinese that will soon be entering their own e-item replacement cycles.

And finally Congress is doing something about it. Well, I guess forming a working group is the first step. I think government will eventually need to step in and create some sort of nationwide e-waste recycling program. Haling your old PC down to CompUSA will not cut it anymore.