Why Is Electronics Recycling So Important?

Many people underestimate the importance of recycling computers and other electronics-- according to a series of surveys, more than 80 to 85 percent of electronic products that were discarded in recent years were sent to landfills or incinerators.

But why is this bad? What a number of consumers don't realize is that electronics contain a tremendous amount of metals. Devices contain gold, silver, and extreme amounts of lead: the gold and silver that are dumped each year contain over $60 million dollars worth of materials, while the lead that is incinerated can cause damage to the central and peripheral nervous systems, kidneys, and blood. This is why though E-waste represents only 2% of trash in America's landfills, it equals 70% of overall toxic waste.

In fact, 20 to 50 million tons of e-waste are disposed of worldwide each year, though only 12.5% of that waste is recycled. However, much of that e-waste isn't even waste at all-- rather, it is whole electronic equipment or parts that can easily be reused or recycled for materials recovery. For example, recycling 1 million cell phones will recover 35,274 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold, and 33 pounds of palladium.

If you've got electronic items that you need to dispose of, please recycle them rather than filling the landfills with hazardous waste. Such electronics include, but aren't limited to: