Case Study E-Waste PDF

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Father Flanagan...

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1. What issues related to the concept of stewardship apply to the information in this case study? The concept of stewardship claims that humans are called by God to be caretakers or stewards of all of creation, including each other, everything found in nature, and the goods people create”. All of the goods on Earth are meant to contribute to the wellbeing and goodness of all. However, humans tend to neglect stewardship when it comes to being consumers. As the case study discussed, e-waste is a growing problem due to the lack of reusing and recycling electronics. When we upgrade our electronics, the old ones are thrown away and cause pollution and harm to the people who burn these devices to retrieve precious metals inside the devices. We choose to ignore the harm we cause with e-waste, rather than trying to find a solution to improve the system of reusing and recycling these products. 2. Identify business practices cited in the case study that create a challenge for those committed to stewardship The number one goal of a business is to earn a profit and to do so businesses must adapt to the constantly changing consumer base. This results in a large amount of waste, in fact, the US produces a significantly larger amount of waste per year than other countries. However, we do not suffer from the health problems or deterioration of quality of life that results from the disposal of this waste because we pass it on to the countries we export our waste to, such as China. If this continues to be the common practice, those committed to stewardship will not be able to stop this practice. 3. How does the concept of stewardship challenge consumer behavior associated with cell phones? Consumers have the desire to own the latest and greatest products, resulting in the average US consumer purchasing a new cellphone every 22 months. However, cellphones are designed to last longer than 22 months so there is a tremendous amount of e-waste. If consumers committed themselves to stewardship and used products for their full lifespan, the amount of e-waste would be reduced. 4. What is the relationship between stewardship and a business solution to the problem of -waste? Business should focus on performing software updates to upgrade products, rather than changing devices entirely, to promote consumers to use products for its entire lifespan. Additionally, businesses should commit themselves to improving their product recycling program. As the case study states, it is cheaper and easier to reuse precious metals from old devices than to mine new materials....