In the course of a single day, more than 130,000 computers are discarded. Most of those computers are ending up in land fills. And those are only the computers. We also have cell phones, MP3 players, televisions, and dozens of other high tech gadgets that we keep for a short time before discarding.
While you might assume the biggest problem with these products is the overstuffing of our landfills, the real problem is they can pose a serious danger to our health and to the environment. Hazardous chemicals are used in almost every component of a computer, for example. From the LCD display to the CPU and even the circuit board itself, your computer contains some materials that would be best not exposed to the environment at large. For example, the cathode ray tube monitors used with many computers contain ten pounds of lead. Over time, that lead begins to leak out into the surrounding soil and can cause future health problems.
Another aspect of the problem is that the manufacturing of these components to meet the increasing demands of our disposable culture are increasing the amounts of other types of pollution. According to a study, the creation of a 200 millimeter silicon wafer (like those used in processors) produces about seven pounds of dangerous waste materials.
Clearly, no one wants to return to a time without computers and other high tech devices which increase our communication and make life more convenient. However, adding millions of computers to our landfills every year and exposing ourselves to an ever growing amount of waste from the production of these devices is not a wise decision.
Instead, more emphasis needs to be placed on effective recycling programs. Several of the largest computer manufacturers already have programs in place but these are not widely used. Part of the reason is concern over security and privacy. Individuals and businesses don’t want anything being retrieved from their old computers and tech devices. One recycling company solved this solution by spending $500,000 to develop a shredder for these devices that ensures nothing can be obtained from them.
Recycling high tech products keeps them from adding to our already full landfills and keeps the hazardous materials contained within them from getting into the environment. That’s why recycling these and other products in our homes and offices is so important.