When we were talking about RFID chips one day replacing the bar code i got to thinking about how much waste that'd add up too. I once saw an E-waste commercial on the tv channel g4, a particularly tech and gadget oriented station. i tried to youtube it and searched for it onth eweb, couldnt find it anywhere. However the entire commercial featured the station's biggest names talking about e waste. They tell how much battery acid has been dumped into landfills, how many cd's have been discarded, etc. I got inspired to find litte more info after seeing that commerial.
In an online article by "Greener Choices," a division of Consumer Reports Magazine, it is stated that electronic equipment is the fastest growing category of solid waste. "In 2005, discarded electronics totaled about 2 million tons. Its estimated that only about 15-20% of this was recycled." In the March 2006 Consumer Reports, an online survey yielded these results: 1)about 3 in 10 consumers replaced their computers last year, 2 in 10 consumers who discarded the old computer threw it away in the trash. 2) about 2 in 10 consumers replaced their tv's last year, and 3 in 10 who discarded the old tv threw it away in the trash. 3) about 4 in 10 consumers replaced their cell phones last year, and 2 in 10 threw the old ones away in the trash. This problem is particularly important because toxins in such devices can leak into landfills and possibly contaminate drinking water, etc.Get more stats at: http://www.greenerchoices.org/electronicsrecycling/el_ewaste.cfm
I really like this site,it gives good info and i know it can be trusted because Consumer Reports is such an established name. I particularly like the section where you can click on a given product: TV, cell phone, computer, other electronics, and it gives you step by step help on how to decide if you should "fix it or nix it." Also, they go into detail about how and where e-recycling can be done. Personally, i feel that more people replace their mobile phones the more often than other electronic goods, causing a big part of the e waste problem, so i concentrated on cell phones.
Apparently one big problem is that e-recyclers are sometimes behaving unethically and are dumping the e waste in other countries/places and not really recycling it as they say they are. Consumer Reports recommends recycling at a place where they've signed the "Electronics Recyclers Pledge of True Stewardship" an agreement not to ship hazardous waste/components to other places/developing countries.
In an online article by "Greener Choices," a division of Consumer Reports Magazine, it is stated that electronic equipment is the fastest growing category of solid waste. "In 2005, discarded electronics totaled about 2 million tons. Its estimated that only about 15-20% of this was recycled." In the March 2006 Consumer Reports, an online survey yielded these results: 1)about 3 in 10 consumers replaced their computers last year, 2 in 10 consumers who discarded the old computer threw it away in the trash. 2) about 2 in 10 consumers replaced their tv's last year, and 3 in 10 who discarded the old tv threw it away in the trash. 3) about 4 in 10 consumers replaced their cell phones last year, and 2 in 10 threw the old ones away in the trash. This problem is particularly important because toxins in such devices can leak into landfills and possibly contaminate drinking water, etc.Get more stats at: http://www.greenerchoices.org/electronicsrecycling/el_ewaste.cfm
I really like this site,it gives good info and i know it can be trusted because Consumer Reports is such an established name. I particularly like the section where you can click on a given product: TV, cell phone, computer, other electronics, and it gives you step by step help on how to decide if you should "fix it or nix it." Also, they go into detail about how and where e-recycling can be done. Personally, i feel that more people replace their mobile phones the more often than other electronic goods, causing a big part of the e waste problem, so i concentrated on cell phones.
Apparently one big problem is that e-recyclers are sometimes behaving unethically and are dumping the e waste in other countries/places and not really recycling it as they say they are. Consumer Reports recommends recycling at a place where they've signed the "Electronics Recyclers Pledge of True Stewardship" an agreement not to ship hazardous waste/components to other places/developing countries.
I am a big supporter of recycling and also feel that the discarding of electronics in this manner is a horrible idea. I personally attempt to recycle everything that I can, including electronics. I believe that raising awareness is the best thing that can be done to counteract this phenomenon, and hopefully with the proper knowledge people will be able to do the right thing and dispose of their waste properly.
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