The e-waste situation in the Federated States of Micronesia : country report

Abstract

Among the general population of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), perhaps relatively few people are aware of the potentially adverse effects that are associated with various environmental issues. While some people understand that litter is unsightly, and that there are polluting substances that can poison fresh water sources, make soil unsuitable for agriculture, and cause damage to coastal areas and reefs, most people are quite unaware of the wide variety of items that can contribute to these pollution problems. Since there has yet to be a large scale environmental disaster in this island nation, and the international news of such incidents happening in far-away places (India, US, Europe) seldom filters down sufficiently so as to be included in the local community level dialogue, the level of awareness of the average FSM citizen, the "man in the street", is low. There may be some understanding of the hazardous nature of items such as waste oil, petroleum products, and other chemicals if they arc not handled properly, but few people would realize that their cell phones or a washing machine are also included in the list of items with polluting potential.