mireille stlaurent's Profile

In simple terms, a regressive tax imposes a greater burden (relative to resources) on the poor than on the rich

Less than 10% of discarded electronics products are currently recycled. Many of them are discarded with household trash out of ignorance or disregard of the hazardous materials contained in them.

Many electronics products also contain brominated, chlorinated, and phosphorus-based flame retardants, phthalate esters, and esters of long-chain organic acids. Following recent EU moves to ban the use of some brominated flame retardants found to be persistent, bioaccumulative, and carcinogenic, a number of U.S. states have enacted legislation that bans their use in consumer goods.

The EPA estimates that over 25 billion computers, televisions, cell phones, printers, gaming systems, and other devices have been sold since 1980, generating 2 million tons of unwanted electronic devices in 2005 alone, with only 15 to 20 percent being recycled.4

Environmental concerns due to e-waste also should be considered as part of the disposal process. According to research firm Gartner, U.S. businesses and consumers throw out 133,000 personal computers each day. In addition to increasing the amount of waste, IT equipment contains harmful elements such as lead, cadmium, mercury, and chromium that can have adverse effects on the environment.

U.S. government estimates show that 133,000 electronic devices are tossed aside each day - meaning about 3 million tons of "e-junk" is thrown away each year.

Nope. The real story was that much of the waste was apparently loaded into shipping containers bound for Hong Kong and, eventually, a nightmarishly polluted town in China.