Reducing E-Waste by Recycling Electronics

Kibkabe Araya, Columnist
Posted on Wednesday 2nd September 2009

Last month, I saw a report on ABC News about electronic waste, otherwise known as e-waste. Children in Nigeria ransack landfills for old computer pieces and other electronics for the copper wire. They sell the wire in town to earn money for their families, and on a good day, they earn $2 dollars.

These electronics are made up of toxic chemicals, making them harmful to the environment and human health. One boy admitted that he sometimes felt ill as a result of his job.

Many of those electronics in Nigerian landfills came from the United States as well as other developed countries. One computer had an Environmental Protection Agency ownership label, meaning even the EPA’s waste ended up there.

These electronics are nearly always broken, so their parts release chemicals such as lead and mercury, endangering human health. Also, people build fires with the help of the electronics, so the burnt wires release even more fumes.

Our government knows e-waste is very dangerous for our health, so it sells the waste to recyclers who then ship it off to landfills in other countries. It’s the not-in-my-backyard mentality.

We can reduce electronic waste by recycling. There is a long list of items that garbage collectors cannot accept. Even though we can’t leave many electronics like computers out on the curb, they still need to be recycled responsibly.

Research

Nearly everyone uses cell phones, but not everyone recycles them. The EPA sponsors a program called eCycle, which allows people to drop off or mail in old phones. Go to the EPA website to see if a store near you participates in the program.

Call your electronics manufacturer to see if it recycles. Some manufacturers recycle for free while others will recycle if you purchase a similar product. Dell recycles their old computers for free while Apple recycles if you buy a new computer. Hewlett-Packard usually encloses a green envelope with every new ink cartridge so that consumers can send the old one back to the company.

Many charities accept different types of electronics. Research nearby charities and their donation requirements.

Collect

With technology always changing, we constantly have to upgrade. In the digital age, TV antennas are as useless as the analog television sets that many of us have tucked away in our garages.

Junking up the house is never a good thing. Donating or responsibly recycling your old electronics will give you a cleaner space and make you feel that you did something good for the environment.

Recycle

There are many different ways to recycle your old electronics, which is why the research phase is so important.

If you see the opportunity, seize it. Sending an electronic back to the company or taking it to a nearby store does not require too much energy, yet many people don’t do it. Though eventually an age may come in which eco-friendliness requires no effort on our part, for now we must commit to it as a way of life.

Our electronics can be recycled; from batteries to cars, we just have to go out of our way a little bit to make sure that we do it properly.

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