Responsible Electronic Waste Recycling
One of the biggest waste and recycling issues today concerns the proper disposable of electronic waste or e-waste. It is presently a very significant issue in relation to topics such as the environment, pollution and recycling and is a rather complex issue as well, so I will only touch on it briefly here. With new technological gadgets such as TVs, phones and computers coming out all the time, older electronics become unwanted and obsolete. So, what happens to all of these unwanted electronics? Well the sad thing is that a very small percentage of this actually gets recycled and even less gets recycled properly.
Unfortunately even when some of this e-waste is supposedly being responsibly recycled, it is actually just shipped off to developing countries where workers disassemble the electronics in unsafe conditions. Even if a company offers to pick up your electronics and recycle them for you, they may just end up being dumped with the regular solid waste. This is bad for several reasons. Almost all electronics have components that can be reused or recycled, reducing the need for new materials and preventing the old electronics from taking up space in landfills. Electronic waste also poses a health threat due to the fact that some electronics contain heavy metals and toxic materials. As a result, if this electronic waste does not end up at a landfill but instead goes to an incineration facility, some of these toxic substances can create additional toxic and carcinogenic substances when they are burned.
So what should you do with old electronics? Definitely do not throw electronics in with your regular trash. If you only have a small amount of electronics or if they are not overly large items, there may be locations in your town where you can bring them yourself to be recycled, but see if you can find out who the recycler is that will ultimately be dealing with your items. Look for recyclers with the proper certifications such as the E-Stewards Certification. If you have a lot of items, larger items that are difficult for you to deal with, or if you simply would rather have someone else get rid of your e-waste, you can always call The Junk Recycler. We never dump any electronics with metal or regular solid waste regardless of size and we always take them to the proper recycling facilities. Every bit counts. Thanks for reading.
Until next time,
The Junk Recycler
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