Dec 20, 2020 09:00:00

Criticism that 'Apple and Amazon are causing a tsunami of electronic waste'

The

Environmental Audit Committee of the British House of Commons has released a report that 'Apple and Amazon are causing a tsunami of electronic waste.' Apple has been blamed for product repair issues, and Amazon has been blamed for recycling issues.

Online giants and tech powerhouses in eye of the storm as UK battles e-waste tsunami --Committees --UK Parliament
https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/62/environmental-audit-committee/news/136508/online-giants-and-tech-powerhouses-in-eye-of-the-storm-as-uk-battles- ewaste-tsunami /

UK blames Apple and Amazon for'tsunami' of electronic waste | AppleInsider
https://appleinsider.com/articles/20/11/26/uk-blames-apple-and-amazon-for-tsunami-of-electronic-waste

Manufacture of new electronic devices from raw materials releases carbon emissions that are extremely harmful to humans and the environment, and electronic waste releases toxic chemicals if not properly treated. 'Recycling' solves these two problems at once.

Apple and Amazon have been criticized by the British House of Commons' Environmental Audit Committee by name for this recycling. Apple refused to be summoned by the Environmental Audit Committee in July 2020, and was criticized for 'not taking environmental obligations seriously.' In this report, the Environmental Audit Committee said of Apple, 'By gluing and soldering internal components, repairs are almost impossible, and the high repair costs of Apple products make it more economical to replace them. '. He criticized Apple's attitude as leading to its failure to take responsibility for recycling.

On the other hand, regarding online retailers such as Amazon, the Environmental Audit Committee pointed out that 'it does not collect and recycle electronic devices that other organizations have to do.' Despite the rapid growth of the online market platform against the backdrop of the corona wreck, it corrects the fairness of competition by not incurring the product collection and recycling costs imposed on retailers with physical stores. I asked you to do it.

'Companies like Amazon and Apple have long avoided environmental responsibility for the products they sell,' said Philip Dan, chairman of the Environmental Audit Committee. 'Repair and recycling are a matter of course for electronics. This report obliges online retailers to make repairs a better option by changing value-added taxes and to collect old products when new products are purchased. And so on, it describes how the government can achieve a recycling-oriented economy for electronic devices. '