Solid data on e-waste that should drive you to action
E-waste means Electronic waste in its entirety. In basic terms, it refers to all types of electrical and electronic equipment that could enter or have entered the waste stream.
E-waste is a very general term, but it is considered to mainly cover computers, mobile phones, televisions and many household appliances. This field is growing rapidly because the companies that produce these electrical and electronic equipment are increasing their production to meet the demand as more and more countries go digital.
However, e-waste poses a risk to human existence to say the least and therefore something has to be done. It may not be a computer recycling company, but once you read the following data, you’ll feel compelled to take whatever little action you can:
Although this waste represents only 2% of the trash in landfills in the United States, it equates to more than 70% of toxic waste overall. Electronic devices contain large amounts of lead, which can cause significant damage to the central and peripheral nervous systems, kidneys, and blood.
· A large percentage of what you see labeled as e-waste is not really e-waste, but rather complete electronic equipment and parts, which can be recycled or reused by other people and have a ready market.
Mobile phones and other electronic equipment contain precious metals such as silver and gold. What’s even more shocking is that American mobile phones containing precious metals are worth more than $60 million each year.
· Americans dispose of nearly 85% of the electronics they no longer use in incinerators or landfills, which in turn release toxic substances into the atmosphere. When inhaled, these toxins cause damage to the body, resulting in poor health and high medical bills.
For every 1,000,000 cell phones that a recycling company recycles, it can recover 33 pounds of palladium, 75 pounds of gold, 772 pounds of silver and more than 35,000 pounds of copper. These metals can be sold and/or used for other purposes.
Recycling one million laptops can save energy equivalent to the electricity that 3,657 US homes will use each year. However, the e-waste that recyclers are currently able to recycle is around 12.5%.
· Each year, people and businesses dispose of between 20 and 50 million metric tons of e-waste, contributing to poor health and damaging the environment.
Manufacturing on a monitor and computer uses up to 1.5 tons of water, 48 pounds of chemicals, and more than 530 pounds of fossil fuel.
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