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Trashing Computer Waste

So your old desktop is a dinosaur, and you’re ready for a new one. You haul it out of your office and – then what? Toss it in the trash?

Do that, and you’re adding a wealth of toxic chemicals to your local landfill, including lead, mercury, cadmium, copper, lithium and brominated flame retardants. All of them can harm human health and the environment, once they leach out into local soil and water.

That’s why a growing number of companies will recycle your old laptop or desktop, refurbishing out-of-date technology and putting it back on the market. Many charities are also happy to take your old computer off your hands, one man’s trash being another man’s treasure.

Some companies, such as Dell, will also pick up your old computer for free when you buy a new one. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates that more than 100 million pounds of materials are recycled each year from used electronics, which are the fastest growing type of waste in the country.

So before you toss that old desktop in the dump, think twice: Not only could someone else use it, but recycling saves your community from a heap of toxins as well.

To read more about this story, please read the article in the Shreveport Times.

To read more about options for recycling your used computer equipment, click here.

To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org