Environmental Issues: E-waste, Energy Consumption, and Conflict Minerals

This lesson covers the environmental impact of technology, as required by OCR J277 Section 1.6. While technology provides enormous benefits, its production, use, and disposal have significant environmental consequences.

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E-waste (Electronic Waste)

E-waste (electronic waste) refers to discarded electronic devices and equipment, including computers, smartphones, tablets, monitors, printers, and other electronic items.

The Scale of the Problem

Fact	Detail
Global e-waste	Over 60 million tonnes of e-waste is generated worldwide each year
UK e-waste	The UK produces approximately 1.6 million tonnes of e-waste per year
Growth rate	E-waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the world
Recycling rate	Only about 20% of global e-waste is formally recycled

Why Is E-waste a Problem?

Issue	Explanation
Toxic materials	Electronics contain lead, mercury, cadmium, and other hazardous substances that contaminate soil and water
Landfill	E-waste in landfill sites leaches toxic chemicals into the environment
Informal recycling	In developing countries, e-waste is often processed by burning or acid baths, releasing toxic fumes
Resource waste	Valuable materials (gold, silver, copper, rare earth metals) are lost when electronics are not recycled
Short product lifecycles	Rapid technology upgrades mean devices are replaced frequently

What Causes E-waste?

Cause	Explanation
Planned obsolescence	Manufacturers design products to become outdated or break after a certain period
Software updates	Older devices may not support new software, forcing upgrades
Consumer culture	Marketing encourages buying the latest models even when existing devices work
Difficulty of repair	Many devices are designed to be difficult or impossible to repair
Falling prices	Cheap electronics are treated as disposable

Solutions to E-waste

Solution	Detail
Recycling	Proper recycling recovers valuable materials and prevents toxic contamination
Refurbishment	Extending the life of devices by repairing and reselling them
Right to repair	Legislation requiring manufacturers to make devices repairable
Responsible disposal	Using certified e-waste recyclers rather than landfill
Sustainable design	Designing devices that are modular, repairable, and use recycled materials
Take-back schemes	Manufacturers accepting old devices for recycling when new ones are purchased

OCR Exam Tip: E-waste questions often ask about the environmental impact and solutions. Always mention specific toxic materials (lead, mercury) and specific solutions (recycling, refurbishment, right to repair). Saying "recycle electronics" alone is too vague for full marks.

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Energy Consumption

The technology industry is a significant consumer of energy, contributing to carbon emissions and climate change.

Major Sources of Energy Consumption

Source	Detail
Data centres	Huge facilities housing servers that power cloud computing, streaming, social media, and the internet. They consume approximately 1-2% of global electricity
Cryptocurrency mining	The process of validating cryptocurrency transactions uses enormous amounts of electricity
Manufacturing	Producing electronic devices requires significant energy and raw materials
Device usage	Billions of devices worldwide consume electricity during daily use
Network infrastructure	Routers, switches, mobile phone masts, and undersea cables all require power
Cooling	Data centres generate heat and require extensive cooling systems, which use additional energy

Environmental Impact

Impact	Detail
Carbon emissions	If the internet were a country, it would be the 6th largest emitter of CO2
Resource depletion	Manufacturing uses finite resources including water, metals, and fossil fuels
Heat generation	Data centres release significant heat into local environments

Solutions for Reducing Energy Consumption

Solution	Detail
Renewable energy	Powering data centres with solar, wind, or hydroelectric energy
Energy-efficient hardware	Developing processors and devices that use less power
Virtualisation	Running multiple virtual servers on one physical machine to reduce hardware needs
Smart cooling	Using AI to optimise cooling systems in data centres (Google reduced cooling energy by 40%)
Cloud efficiency	Moving to cloud computing can be more efficient than many organisations running their own servers
Power management	Using sleep modes, automatic shutdowns, and energy-saving settings on devices

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Conflict Minerals

Conflict minerals are natural resources extracted in conflict zones (particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo and surrounding countries) where the mining industry is controlled by armed groups who use the profits to fund violence and human rights abuses.

Key Conflict Minerals Used in Electronics

Mineral	Symbol	Use in Electronics
Tin	Sn	Solder on circuit boards
Tantalum	Ta	Capacitors in smartphones and laptops
Tungsten	W	Vibration motors in phones
Gold	Au	Connectors, circuit boards, and wiring

These four minerals are sometimes called the 3TG minerals (tin, tantalum, tungsten, gold).

Why Are Conflict Minerals a Problem?

Issue	Detail
Funding armed conflict	Profits from mining are used to buy weapons and fund military groups
Human rights abuses	Miners (including children) work in dangerous conditions for very low pay
Environmental destruction	Mining causes deforestation, water pollution, and habitat destruction
Lack of regulation	Informal mining operations are difficult to regulate or trace

What Is Being Done?

Action	Detail
Legislation	The US Dodd-Frank Act (2010) requires companies to report whether their products contain conflict minerals
EU regulation	The EU Conflict Minerals Regulation (2021) requires importers to source responsibly
Industry initiatives	The Responsible Minerals Initiative helps companies audit their supply chains
Alternative sources	Companies seek minerals from conflict-free sources or use recycled materials
Consumer awareness	Informed consumers can choose products from companies with ethical supply chains

OCR Exam Tip: Conflict minerals questions may be combined with ethical issues. Be prepared to explain what conflict minerals are, name at least two (tantalum and gold are the easiest to remember), explain why they are problematic, and suggest at least one solution.

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Environmental Impact of Technology: Lifecycle Tree