Well, let me ask you this: where does your old TV go when you throw it out? Your computer? That iPhone 4 you just got last year but don't need now because you've got the iPhone 5? Do you think to use your old electronics in another room of the house, or give them to someone who would use it?
And then let me ask you this: do you recycle any of your electronics?
To be completely honest with you, I've never recycled an electronic because I never knew where I needed to go and, under my parents' roof, the only thing that ever gets recycled are aluminum cans because we can get some money off of them. Tell me that isn't greedy or selfish--"I'm only recycling this because I'm getting paid for it."
It's true that a lot of us need the money, and that's fine, but just because we don't have someone coming to pick up our recyclables doesn't mean we shouldn't recycle.
So then, let's get back to the point: what is e-waste?
E-waste is a term used to describe all of those old electronics that you get rid of when you get the newest version, or an upgrade of any sort. The castaways, if you will. And that's not all; electronic waste is the fastest growing type of waste, with 20 to 50 million tons produced worldwide a year, according to an article entitled "Environmental and Human Exposure to Persistent Halogenated Compounds Derived from E-Waste in China".
According to Trey Granger in "E-Waste: What's in this Stuff?" on earth911.com (article found here), as of 2009, 70% of the toxic materials found in landfills were e-waste related.
As Granger's article title asks, "what's in this stuff?"
Well...let's list a few things, shall we?
- Lead
- lead can cause damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, seizures, retardation, hypertension (high blood pressure), the kidneys, liver, and can hinder child development
- Mercury
- can be found in some batteries; mercury damages the central nervous system and the endocrine system as well as being harmful to the mouth, teeth, and gums. Exposure to mercury can hinder the neurological development of unborn children.
- Cadmium
- found in batteries; cadmium has the potential to be carcinogenic. Repeated exposure will cause damage to the lungs, kidney, and liver
- Beryllium
- exposure to beryllium can be carcinogenic for the lungs and lead to Acute or Chronic Beryllium Disease
- disease caused by inhalation of beryllium dust; potentially causes scarring in the lungs and a few symptoms include fatigue and loss of appetite
- Arsenic and antimony
- arsenic damages the digestive tract; antimony is similar and is fatal in large doses
(This information was found here).
When your electronics go into landfills, these toxic chemicals find their way into the soil and sometimes into the water. And from there...where does it go?
If you're one of the people that always think "that would never happen to me", just think about all the other people that it could happen to, the people who could somehow come into contact with these toxic chemicals because of soil or water contamination in landfills, and then think of how you could help them by properly disposing of your old electronics.
If you want to know more, or want a relevant story, check out this CBS article about a town in China called Guiyu, which receives illegally imported electronics to recycle them. Guiyu has the highest levels of carcinogenic dioxins in the world because of the methods used, and seven out of ten children have too much lead in their bloodstreams.
Like I said earlier, I've never recycled an electronic device before, but after researching e-waste, I think it's time to start.
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