Are you looking to recycle your old electronics?
What you do with your unwanted or outdated electronics impacts not only the future of our planet, but also the wellbeing of your society. Fast-moving technological advances have produced an incredible amount of products that are all ready obsolete. I’m sure many of us remember the BlackBerry (nicknamed the “crack berry” for its addictive qualities). Upon its release, many of us became glued to the device for emails, texts etc. However, with the release of the iPhone and other smart devices, the BlackBerry fell to the way side. There were 11 models of the BlackBerry and Apple has since created 20 models of the iPhone! That’s a lot of retired devices…
To put it in perspective I personally had 7 BlackBerrys, and my family of four went through 20 iPhones in just the last 10 years. Not to mention all the flip phones that came before. The number of computers, laptops, and tablets an average family has owned in the past 10 years is equally staggering.
How many of the items below have you discarded in your lifetime and how many do you still have?
- Cell phones
- Smartphones
- PDAs
- Pagers
- Computer monitors
- Computers/CPUs
- Laptop computers
- Photocopiers
- Printers
- Scanners
- Fax machines
- Stereos
- Radios
- MP3 players (or iPods)
- Landline telephones
- DVDs
- Televisions (Tube, plasma, and LCD, LED)
- VCRs
- Cameras
- CD players
- Video game consoles
We all benefit from technological advances, but we must dispose of old electronics properly in order to protect the environment and the health of our children.
Many of us are aware of the recent push to eliminate plastic use such as straws, or shopping bags. But little emphasis is put on electronic waste. E-waste can be some of the most dangerous discarded items, but they are rarely seen as such. Why is that? The reason often comes down to packaging. There is definitely a false sense of security that our electronics waste is non-hazardous. The sleek and appealing product exteriors make it hard to see them as waste. For instance, hen you look at a landfill image of stacks of old TVs and laptops, you only see the benign exterior. It’s what you can’t see that makes electronic waste so dangerous.
According to facts presented by the Electronics Takeback Coalition, “Electronic scrap components, such as CPUs, contain potentially harmful components such as lead, cadmium,& beryllium, or brominated flame retardants.” Additional components such as mercury and arsenic can also be present. All elements listed can have severe human impact through exposure.
If these items aren’t handled correctly they can cause organ damage, neurological damage, and severe illness not only in the workers that handle them directly but also within the communities of the developing countries where they are shipped. The threat comes from exposure during recycling and disposal efforts. The harmful components listed above can leak into the ground as they are packed into landfills. They can also be released when the items are incinerated, a common method for disposal.
Here’s what you can do!
E Waste companies are popping up to help break down these components, and recycle them to their basic form. Many charge for this, yet the preferred ones are free. Companies sell the components for penny’s on the dollars, a fair trade for disassembling these products
Windsor E Recycling performs this free service, and can also destroy any confidential information stored on your devices. Contact us today for more information on how to get rid of unwanted electronics, spring clean your house, and help the environment!