Classic tube televisions hold between 4 and 8 pounds of lead per television. If not recycled, this lead ends up in landfills, potentially leaking into water and surrounding soil. Older computer monitors also contain lead and the fluorescent lamp in the screen contains mercury. The circuit board contains both lead and cadmium, which is a human carcinogen. Even though recycling electronics is preferable to simply throwing them in the garbage, you can prevent the disposal process altogether by reusing items. By keeping an outdated computer monitor or donating a TV to a local charity, you can help prevent environmental damage while contributing to your community at the same time. Buying things we simply do not need might be the biggest cause for an e-waste problem. It is really important for us to just stop and ask ourselves if we need a gadget or electronic item before we buy it. We really need to activate that voice in our heads that talks to us and prevents us from buying electronic items we do not need. E-waste is the term used to describe discarded electronics and electrical products. In the past few decades, the world’s demand for gadgetry has gone through the roof and, inevitably, more waste has started to accumulate. As the bustling economies of China and India modernize and follow more Western trends, the worldwide generation of e-waste has hit astronomical proportions.
| March 1st, 2013 | Posted in products, recycled, recycling, Uncategorized |