Today’s Treasure, Tomorrow’s Trash
All sorts of electrical and electronic products/are being sold today.// We keep buying them,/while dumping old ones.// The consequence of this trend is ever-increasing e-waste,/which is damaging the environment.// How do we deal with this problem?//
　　In this consumer society we live in,/new products are introduced into the market every day.// A certain high-tech company in the US/shipped so many new tablet computers in 2020/that if they were all laid flat and stacked,/they would be as tall as 862 Empire State Buildings.//
　　This is a magnificent accomplishment/on the part of the manufacturer.// But if you look at the other side of the coin,/you may have a different idea.// A UN study reports/that about 53.6 million tons of e-waste was generated worldwide/in 2019.// The amount of global e-waste/is expected to increase to 74 million tons by 2030.// The negative impact of e-waste on the environment/is quite serious.// E-waste is often highly toxic,/leaking heavy metals and dangerous chemicals/into the soil around landfills,/and emitting greenhouse gases and mercury/when burned.//