The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Truth:
What Happens to Your Old and Forgotten Electronics?
What happens to your old iPads, nonfunctioning iPhones, old laptops, computer screens, LCD and plasma big screen TVs, batteries, electric car batteries after they die?
Do you really know what happens when you throw away or recycle your old electronic gadgets? With many states now mandating electronic waste to be recycled and disposed of at designated recycling centers, and not thrown away as trash, what happens next may surprise you.
It’s no secret that electronics are a large source of waste in the throw-away culture that is prevalent in American society. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, more than 4 million tons of e-waste ends up in U.S. landfills every year. Globally, the picture is not much better, with 50 million tons of old electronics being dumped annually.
Worse yet, only 20% of the e-waste is recovered for recycling with most being exported out to Asia and Africa.
This is particularly troubling when you stop to consider that many old electronics have toxic metals and chemicals that are actually quite valuable, provided they are disposed of properly in the first place.
As we depend on technology more and more, e-waste continues to soar at an alarming rate. And, with technology becoming less expensive everyday, it’s oftentimes cheaper to just throw things away and replace them when they break than try to repair it. Couple that with the reality that these “savings” are actually the result of lower-quality and cut-corners, which means shorter lifespans, and we have a real conundrum.
Just think about it, have you ever noticed that your cell phone usually starts to act up and fall apart near the end of your 2-year contract?
A Dirty Secret
The truth is that when you take your e-waste to a recycler, the material finds itself on a container ship heading to places like China, Nigeria, India, Vietnam, and Pakistan.
Once there, “recyclers” sort through the waste in an attempt to recover the metals and chemicals they contain. These workers often have no training and lack basic equipment, such as gloves, masks, and other personal protective equipment.
Yet, day after day, they toil in e-waste dumps, breathing in toxic chemicals and heavy-metals such as lead, cadmium, and mercury. And there are rarely regulations in place to protect the workers (occasionally children) in these conditions.
These toxic elements leach into the land at these dumps, while raging fires release into the atmosphere. Over time, the groundwater becomes contaminated, which impacts the health of the communities and the environment.
Doing Your Part..
Major electronic companies must be more proactive in ensuring that robust recycling programs are available to consumers. One way to handle this would be redirecting a certain percentage of profits from the high-demand markets of cell phones, watches, and laptops, towards addressing the end-of-life solutions for these electronics. While many companies are making improvements towards recycling through “Take Back” programs, more can and should be done.
As a consumer, you can take your e-waste to a reputable recycler that uses mechanical shredding and high-tech separation devices to take out usable metals that then can be sent to a smelter. Many of those smelters operate safely and with an environmental conscience in mind.
Together, let’s recycle responsibly.
Recycle Responsibly
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