Recycling electronic waste is the responsibility of the user.

Hi, thanks for posting this debate. Good luck, and may the best debater win. I will provide citations of evidence to make this debate as professional and smooth as possible. No heckling or ad hominem attacks, please. Thanks! Definitions: electronic waste- will refer to as e-waste EPA-Environmental Protection Agency US-United States government User-person that directly uses the device I firmly believe that recycling electronic waste is NOT the responsibility of the user, but rather by society as a whole. Framework: Since nearly everyone on this planet will be affected by the resolution, we must view the resolution with a utilitarian net-benefit strategy. That way, everyone can mitigate everyone's problems, resulting in the overall happiness of all people. But since this resolution also deals with environmental issues, I provide a value of conservation. If I can prove that recycling of e-waste is not the burden of the user, but rather as a problem society should solve together, then I win this debate. The negation has no burden of providing an alternative plan. If the affirmation fails to prove that individual users outweigh society as a whole, then the negation clearly wins. Under the current status quo, when you buy a product, you also pay to have it recycled under EPR. Funding and research are provided by the state. Therefore, most of the burden is on the government, not the user. https://www.governor.ny.gov... 1. Current Status does not work. Americans and people the world pay taxes. And those tax dollars can be used for many programs, including recycling. Sure, we do pay bills for getting our trash taken out, but there is a lot of government funding in recycling and e-waste, as current technologies are inefficient and outdated. and need to be updated. According to the EPA, only 12.5% of e-waste is recycled. http://www.theworldcounts.com... And where does the funding come from? Our taxes, our bills we pay, and the individual users themselves! We are paying for a redundant system that fails in all aspects! 2. If sole responsibility of recycling e-waste is the user's, you cannot guarantee success. Collaborative strategies are more successful. One person alone cannot achieve anything big, even with connections. That is why I believe that we should move responsibility to society as a whole to solve the problem. With collaboration comes solutions. For example, Finland yields the 2nd most successful education system in the world. That is because instead of focusing on an individual's ability to achieve a standard another student can't, Finland focuses on sharing of ideas and collaboration between students. I know this may not be exactly too relevant in your perspective, keep in mind that the resolution states "user". Therefore, it is focusing on an individual's capabilities, rather than the greater society. 3. Current studies find that if e-waste was regulated not by funding of users, but by collaboration between all people would be more successful. A PBS documentary is an example. World renowned scientists came together and traveled to different parts of the world and found solutions to the e-waste problem. The EPA is now funding policies from evidence they found to solve the problem. Don't focus on the monetary value each person has to give to recycle the product, but rather let people pitch in and help. 4. E-waste is a problem of society, not the individual In your opening argument, you state that "People LOVE new gadgets.". I will agree on that, but that is not the problem of the user. Large corporations, wanting money and power, have manipulated the needs of society. They have made society dependent on it. For example, how would the average middle-class American survive without a smart device? They need to pay bills, check their schedules, and even work with those devices. And who made them buy the device? Society, not the user. If society did not create the need for the device, then device would then be useless and not be a problem. Therefore, society needs to solve the problem, as the individual user has no burden to take the recycling responsibility. Voters: take into account how YOU will be impacted. Think about how society implemented these devices to yourself. Think about why you want devices. Is it because it has cool functions, or it looks nice? You want the devices because it has functions that you NEED, not want. Sure, there are superficial benefits, but let's looks at the 2 points why society takes the burden: 1. Society tells you that you need it. Before the 4th Industrial Revolution, people were fine without social media. Now, not having it risks being left behind. 2. Without smart devices, people will not survive. That is because society made us dependent on smart devices. Individual users have no choice. Because I believe that it is unjust to put a burden of society on the shoulders of an individual, I negate the resolution--Resolved:Recycling electronic waste is the responsibility of the user.