Fact Sheet
Your resource for recycling how-to’s and crucial information
Stockpiling computers is not recycling computers. Photo by Curtis Palmer. ©Creative Commons
Electronic waste is a huge, and rapidly growing, problem. In 2005 alone the United States generated 2.63 million tons of electronic waste which works out to be about 400 million units. Only 330,000 tons, or 12.5%, were recycled. 10 states have already passed laws regulating electronic waste while another twelve will be voting on similar legislation in 2008 (updates at www.computertakeback.com). Computers and electronics often contain a cocktail of “heavy” metals like lead, mercury, and cadium which are highly toxic. For example, a fraction of a teaspoon of mercury can contaminate twenty acres of a lake enough that the fish are not fit to eat. These materials are carefully sealed inside various electronic components but when these items are left to sit in landfills the toxic compounds leach out contaminating the environment. This possibility is particularly grim for corporations which legally retain responsibility for discarded equipment. In a landmark case in 2000 AT&T agreed to pay a $195,000 penalty to the EPA for failing to properly respond “to an agency request for information about its computer-disposal practices.” The need to recycle responsibly extends beyond the moral concerns of being a good citizen but can dramatically affect the bottom line.
Boy hired to haul electronic scrap in Lagos, Nigeria. © Basel Action Network
While the need to recycle electronics is obvious, the proper method of doing so is sometime more dubious. Of that 12.5% of electronic waste that was recycled in 2005 some sources estimate that up to 50% to 80% of it was actually sent to “recyclers” that do little more than skim off re-sellable components and ship the rest over seas to be processed. This over seas “processing” is little more than pure exploitation, often not just at the risk of the natural resources of these developing countries, but the workers themselves. In March 25, 1994, 65 parties that made up the Basel Convention (representing most of the developing countries in the world) signed an international ban on the export of hazardous waste from developed nations to undeveloped ones. Many developed nations, including the United States, do not officially support the ban and do little to stem the toxic tide. Many of the so called electronic or computer “recyclers” continue to exploit the less developed nations in order to raise their bottom-line. As such, a non-profit organization, the Basel Action Network (BAN for short) has arisen to combat this misdirection and public apathy that have allowed such a problem to fester for so long.
Dumpster Full of Disposed Computers for Landfill
Fact Sheet about Computer Recycling and the rising tide of Electronic Waste:
- in 2005 the US recycled 12.5% of the 2.63 million tons of electronic waste
- 10 states have laws regarding electronics recycling, 12 more will vote on similar legislation in 2008
- 13% more computers were sold in 2007 than the previous year
- a single CRT monitor contains 2-8 pounds of lead
- most LCD displays contain mercury; 1/70th of a teaspoon of mercury will contaminate 20 acres of lake water
- manufacturing a desktop computer and 17-inch CRT monitor uses approximately 1.8 tons of materials, roughly the same as an SUV or a full-sized rhino
- California’s model electronics recycling laws fine up to $25,000 per day for illegal landfill disposals
- the FTC estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identity stolen each year
- dumpster diving and skimming–both of which can involve a disposed computer–top the list of usual methods.
What usually happens to disposed computers and electronics:
- 88% are thrown in landfills
- between 50-80% of “recycled” electronics are shipped overseas to developing nations
- 80% of the children in those countries have high levels of lead poisoning
- harmful lead traces in imported jewelry and charm trinkets has been traced to e-waste from developed nations “recycled” in undeveloped ones
- the Basel Convention–an international treaty ratified by a union of developing nations to stop the trade of toxic waste–is still largely ignored by the EPA
Additional resources:
Want to know more? Check out our blog for up-to-date coverage of recycling issues. The links below will also provide information on responsible electronics and computer recycling.
- BAN or Basel Action Network www.ban.org
- The Computer Take Back Coalition www.computertakeback.com
- Several guides to consumer and corporate electronic waste put out by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality www.tceq.state.tx.us
- An excellent article published by the New York State Society of CPAs on the need for Corporations to Recycle their Computers
- EcoBusinessLinks - Green Directory
