By Dan Estabrook – September 22, 2008
A congressional committee has concluded that the U.S. needs to do more to monitor e-waste recycling.
People in the U.S. threw away 330 million electronic devices in 2006, and as many as 66 million were exported, according to estimates from the Environmental Protection Agency. While people in developing countries will reuse these exports, the committee is concerned that some of the e-waste is putting people in harm’s way as they pull parts out of old PCs and televisions, or burn the equipment, resulting in toxic pollutants for anyone inhaling the smoke. Poachers often burn wiring, for example, to extract the valuable copper within it.
So what can we do as consumers to minimize the harmful side effects of e-waste recycling?
- Donate old computers, monitors, TVs, fax machines, printers and copiers to a friend, relative, or Goodwill. Goodwill recycles and resells up to 90% of everything donated. It will make sure that your old Atari game console gets into the hands of someone who needs it. Another organization, Komputers 4 Kids, will also reassign your used computers to kids who live in poverty, which diminishes the digital gap just a bit more.
- Consult a site such as e-recycle.org, a partnership between government, manufacturers, retailers, and the environmental community to provide guidance and information to consumers about recycling electronic waste While e-recycle.org is based in California, there are many local e waste recyclers out there who can help. Just be sure to ask questions about where they send e-waste for recycling once you walk out the door.
Of course, donation of e waste to developing countries begs the question — are the CO2 emissions created by shipping old equipment to China (let’s say) a more harmful activity than recycling here in the U.S.?
Read more here.
Source: MSNBC.