This Is the Importance of Recycling Electronics
During the first three quarters of 2021, manufacturers shipped over 84 million units, showing increased growth for the sixth year running.
That’s 84 million people who are currently sitting in front of a brand-new PC, never mind those who’ve got the latest smartphone glued to their ear.
The trouble is, what happened to the old devices? Are they rusting at the bottom of the ocean or cluttering up a landfill somewhere?
If we’re serious about protecting the environment, we simply cannot allow this mass wastage to pollute the Earth. Here’s why recycling electronics is more important than ever before.
What Is E-Waste?
The term ‘E-Waste’ refers to all electronic devices including laptops, phones, televisions, and stereos. Recyclers can easily make use of many components from these machines once they’re discarded.
The sad fact is that around 80% of these electronics end up in landfills or at the bottom of the ocean.
Is E-Waste Harmful?
All inorganic waste has an impact on our soil, air, and water resources. Plastic and metals release harmful substances as they decompose and burning them only accelerates this effect.
These toxins include mercury, cadmium, chromium, and lead. When ingested, these metals can have serious health consequences for animals, plants, and humans.
Why Recycle E-Waste?
There’s no logical reason to dump e-waste since it contains many useful components.
For instance, electronic recycling plants reclaim a maximum of 15% of the gold found in electronics. The rest lingers in dumps, comprising 50 times more gold than that mined from under the ground.
This places an unnecessary strain on the Earth’s resources.
Electronics have a relatively short lifespan and thanks to the ever-growing use of technology, they’re rapidly casing a major waste management program.
Uncontrolled movement of e-waste across international boundaries places it in the hands of the uninitiated, resulting in health risks to those exposed to hazardous materials in e-waste.
How to Go About Recycling Electronics
One of the major benefits of recycling is that people will pay you money for your used electronics. According to Cjdecycling.com, you can even trade in your broken items for cash.
Some manufacturers run recycling programs where you can return your used computers for cash, trade them for an upgrade, or drop them off at a recycling depot. Others support donation programs where they give old components to schools and other education initiatives.
Visit your recycling depot to check if they have a section dedicated to e-waste. You can drop off your used electronics at these outlets and do your bit for protecting the planet free of charge.
More of the Best Eco-Friendly Ideas
There’s one last way to go about recycling electronics. Instead of buying a new laptop to replace your old one, you could get a recycled one instead.
These machines are good to go, and they’ll cost you a lot less than a new one, too. You can always add more RAM and attachments to bring them up to speed with the latest models.
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