Recycling E-Waste has now become a Necessity

admin | January 28, 2014

I remember when I was growing up we had a few electronics in the house. A television, a radio set, a refrigerator, and maybe a fixed phone line. A VCR, dish washer, microwave oven, and our own laundry machine was added to this rather princely list much later and were clear signs of the growing prosperity of my folks.

Things are a lot different now. The proliferation in the use of electronics over the last two decades or so has been mindboggling. According to U.S. EPA, 438 million new consumer electronics were sold in the country in 2009 alone.

Computers, printers, scanners, tablets, LCD-LED-3D-Plasma television sets, DVD players are common household items these days. People change their cell phones faster than their wardrobes. And don’t even get me started on the iPods and the MP3 players of the world.

I see nothing wrong with it. I am a technology aficionado myself and think it’s wonderful that we can do almost anything from watching the latest news to trading in stocks on our cell phones. My concern is more environmental in nature and has to do with the way we dispose our electronic or e-waste.

E-cycling: Why is it necessary?

According to the U.S. EPA, consumer electronics comprise 1 to 2 percent of the municipal waste stream. It may be a very small fraction of the total municipal solid waste generated, but when you consider certain facts you realize why it’s necessary to manage even this e-waste properly.

Simply stated, it is hazardous to dump electronic waste in landfills. Electronics have a lot of toxins and dangerous material including mercury, lead, cadmium, beryllium, chromium, chemical flame retardants, and PVC plastic.

When e-waste laden with these toxins is landfilled, they can seep into the ground contaminating our soil and water resources and endangering the animal and plant life in the surrounding areas. Landfills are just not meant to handle this type of hazardous waste, so they need to have a separate management system.

The good news is that more than half of the U.S. states have enacted some type of legislation on electronic waste management and recycling. California was the first state to pass such a law in the year 2003 and many others including Maine, Maryland, Washington, Texas, Michigan, Utah, etc. followed suit. You can find the comprehensive list of states with e-waste recycling laws and more state-specific information here.

The even better news is that several states that don’t currently have a law on e-waste management and recycling are considering doing so.

What can I do with my e-waste?

There are two ways of managing your e-waste – reusing or recycling. Reusing is better than recycling because it extends the life of a product and keeps it out of the waste stream for longer. A lot of electronic stuff can be refurbished and donated to charities that work with marginalized groups.

You can also consider donating your e-waste to local schools, community colleges, non-profit organizations, etc. Just make sure that your electronics are in working condition before you donate them as these groups may not have the financial resources for repair and refurbishing.

By donating electronics that are no longer useful for you, you will allow those who are less than fortunate to become a part of the digital revolution and enjoy the advantages technology offers.

The other option is recycling your e-waste, which again has various benefits for the environment. E-waste is a storehouse of many valuable materials such as aluminum, copper, gold, silver, iron, lead, etc. Recycling allows us to recover these non-renewable resources that can be reused for manufacturing instead of mining virgin ore or new resources.

Recycle you e-waste (Source: semcolandfill.com)

Why is that good? Well, first because it conserves precious non-renewable resources. Second, it reduces the energy required for manufacturing new products. For example, recycling one million laptops saves the energy equivalent to the yearly consumption of electricity in over 3,500 U.S. homes. Third, recycling e-waste reduces greenhouse gas emissions and pollution caused when new products are manufactured.

As to where you can recycle your consumer electronics, one option is to avail your city’s e-waste management services. You can also sell your e-waste to private recyclers like SIMS Metal Management. They have recycling facilities in Richmond, VA and a couple of other cities in the state.

Whatever you do, it’s important to understand that we are duty-bound to manage our e-waste properly. Not doing so will harm our environment in multiple ways and you definitely don’t want that on your conscience, do you?