What is 200 million tons?

ELECTRONIC WASTE

Here’s a Jeopardy question for you, What is 200 million tons? Answer - the amount of electronic waste that goes into our landfills every year. Computers, cell phones, monitors, DVD players, copy machines, TV sets; you get the picture. Most, if not all of this electronic waste, contains hazardous chemicals like mercury, lead and chromium that end up leaching into our ground water from landfills or being emitted into the air from incinerators causing a GROWING environmental and health crisis. This problem is fueled by the fast pace growth of new technology that renders things obsolete long before their normal lifecycle ends and the fact that most people do not know how to properly dispose of these types of products; in fact, most don’t know that these products can be recycled and reused.

There are ways to properly dispose of or recycle these products and it is easier than most people think. There are many companies with programs that allow you to donate usable electronics to churches and schools as well as companies that will recycle usable components, raw materials and materials like plastics, glass and aluminum. Many cities also have e-waste pick up as part of their hazardous waste pick up programs. There are even tax breaks you can take advantage of when donating your unwanted electronics. The 21^st Century Classrooms Act for Private Technology Investment allows large companies to donate used equipment to public and private schools for tax breaks and individuals can write off their donations to non-profit groups. You will need to check with each non-profit organization regarding their particular documentation for your tax returns.

The environmental benefit to donating or recycling used electronics goes far beyond just keeping harmful chemicals out of our landfills; it also helps conserves our precious natural resources. It takes approximately 530lbs of fossil fuel, 50lbs of chemicals and 416 gallons of water to produce one desktop computer. Recycling of electronic components can help preserve these resources and also uses far less energy than production of new components. As an example, mining of aluminum uses 20 times the amount of energy it takes to recycle the same amount of aluminum from electronic components. Last year alone, electronics recyclers recovered over 100 million pounds of materials like aluminum, steel, glass and plastic which was reused, saving energy and natural resources.

Now that we know the benefits of e-cycling let’s get to how to find an e-cycler in your area. You can start with the Electronic Industry Alliance . They have an easy to use map that allows you to search by state along with a several other helpful links to guide you through the process. You can also check with your city to see if they offer e-cycling as part of their hazardous waste programs and with Goodwill industries . There are several additional organizations you can check that offer training programs that teach students and individuals how to refurbish used electronics that are then donated to local schools:

StRUT - Students Recycling Used Technology

LINCT - Learning and Information Networking for Community via Technology

ReDO – Reuse Development Organization

Even Sam’s Club has an interesting program they run in cooperation with NEW, Customer Service Companies Inc. Members who want to recycle computers, LCD monitors, printers, camcorders, digital cameras and MP3 players can log onto the program website and print a FREE shipping label to have the products shipped to NEW and they will receive a Sam’s Gift Card for the value of the donated item. All donated items are either refurbished or disassembled and the parts are used to rebuild electronics or recycled into raw material and reused.

The final pieces to this recycle cycle are personal data security and rethinking your purchasing habits. You need to protect all your personal data contained on computer hard drives and cell phones. Please make sure to remove ALL stored phone numbers and call logs from your cell phone and you may even want to remove the SIM card to insure protection. Cleaning up you computer may prove a little more difficult but is equally important. If you are unsure of how to do this you can find FREE hard drive erasers through a simple search on your favorite search engine: “free hard drive eraser cleaners”.

Although there are no laws governing the use of hazardous materials in electronics equipment you can help to encourage manufacturers to move in a “greener” direction by considering the following when buying your next piece of equipment:

1. Does the manufacturer use recycled materials in their products?
2. Are they designed for easy upgrades and dis assembly?
3. Does the manufacturer offer a lease or “take back” program?
4. Does the manufacturer use minimal toxic materials in their equipment?
5. Does the manufacturer us minimal or recyclable packaging?

The age of electronics is upon us and with the constant introduction of new technology, system upgrades and fancy new gadgets coming at us daily we need to be more conscious of what we do with our e-waste. Take the time to do the right thing, remember one man’s trash is another man’s treasure and you may be surprised at who would love to have your “old” computer?

Gary Hillery is the owner of The Green Path Company. He is an advocate for simple green living and is dedicated to helping build a greener path to the future.