Enviroment and Computers
Environmental Consideration for Disposal of Computers
How it is recycled?
It is estimated that over a million tonnes of ICT equipment is thrown away each year, and this is growing by about 80,000 tonnes per year.
The best way to recycle a perfectly working mobile phone or computer is for someone else to use it instead of you.
There are a number of schemes that will re-distribute the items you donate for other people to use. Some are commercial companies and others are charities.
Although donating is the best idea, most of the recycling is done by breaking it up to extract as much valuable materials and metal from it as possible, for instance lead, gold and copper. The plastic may be re-used to make other things.
Technotrash
Technotrash, also called electronic waste or
e-waste, is any broken or unwanted electrical or electronic device, and is currently the most rapidly-growing type of waste.
If you just throw away technotrash with the regular trash, it usually ends up in a landfill.Most electronics contain non-biodegradable materials, and heavy metals and toxic materials like cadmium lead and mercury. Over time, these toxic materials can leak into the ground, where they can contaminate the water we drink, the plants we eat and the animals that live around the area. Many European countries have even banned technotrash from landfills.
These toxic materials can cause all kinds of bad effects including nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and even cancer. If you keep eating and drinking contaminated food and water, these toxins can build up in your body. If you eat animals that have been contaminated, you're getting a double dose of toxins. What's even worse, your body can't properly process some of these metals and so they might take years to get out of your system.
To help protect the environment, don't put technotrash in with the rest of your household's garbage. Check with your local recycling centers to see if they take technotrash, or enter the type of trash and your zip code at Earth911.org to look for other recycling places nearby. You can also ship it to a company that specializes in disposing of technotrash, like Greendisk
The first option should be to upgrade a machine - not throw it away!
How do I save energy?
- Use computers and devices that comply with the Energy Star program
- Do not leave the computer running overnight
- Turn off the monitor, printer, and other devices when not in use
- Use LCD monitors instead of CRT monitors
- Use paperless methods to communicate
- Recycle paper
- Buy recycled paper
- Recycle toner cartridges
- Recycle old computers, printers and other devices
- Telecommute to save to save gas
- Use video conferencing and VoIP for meeting