| The holiday season is right around the corner. It | | | | water. |
| will be the time for many people to receive that | | | | So what do we do with our E-waste? We can |
| new fancy electronic product that has looked so | | | | pay a fee to a recycling company that does not |
| good on the store shelf. In many cases the | | | | ship it to developing countries. The electronic item |
| receipt of the new electronic gadget will mean | | | | that may seem useless to its original owner, could |
| discarding the old one. That electronic device that | | | | still be put to good use by reuse, recycling, or |
| we no longer have use for is called E-waste. | | | | refurbishment. |
| However, before we discard that old cell phone, | | | | Another option is to buy electronic products from |
| television, computer, fax machine, iPod, printer, | | | | companies that are concerned about the |
| VCR, camera or any other electronic product, we | | | | environmental problems and are taking action to |
| should consider that electronic trash is one of the | | | | eliminate E-waste. |
| fastest growing segments of our nation's waste | | | | For several years, Dell and Hewlett Packard have |
| stream. Less than 10% of discarded computers | | | | been leaders in computer product recycling. Apple |
| are actually recycled. Millions of computers and | | | | Computer has recently announced expanding its |
| electronics are dumped into landfills each year by | | | | own recycling program. In August 2007, |
| people who don't know what to do with them. | | | | electronics industry titan, Sony announced exciting |
| The fact is that a personal computer discarded in | | | | environmental news. Sony revealed its intention to |
| a landfill is an environmental hazard. Only 10 to 15 | | | | be an environmental pioneer in the elimination of |
| percent of electronics are currently recycled, | | | | E-waste. Sony will offer free recycling of all its |
| industry analysts say. The rest collects dust in | | | | products in the United States. Within a year, Sony |
| people's homes or get dumped into municipal | | | | and Waste Management will offer 150 recycling |
| landfills, where environmentalists worry toxic | | | | sites. Their goal is to eventually provide drop off |
| chemicals can leak out. Discarded computers, | | | | locations within 20 miles of 95 percent of the U.S. |
| televisions, radios, batteries, cell phones, cameras | | | | population. |
| and other gadgets contain a slew of toxic metals | | | | Sony will also try to persuade retailers who sell its |
| and chemicals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, | | | | products to take them back; retail giants like |
| chromium, brominated flame retardants and | | | | Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and Circuit City could |
| polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs. These metals | | | | eventually be enlisted to pick up old electronics |
| and chemicals are known to cause damage to the | | | | when they deliver new. If all goes according to |
| nervous system, the brain, the kidneys, and can | | | | plan, disassembly will be done in the United States |
| cause birth defects and cancer. A typical | | | | and not outsourced to other countries where |
| computer monitor alone usually contains up to | | | | environmental standards are lax. Sony's long term |
| eight pounds of lead. | | | | goal is to recycle one pound of old consumer |
| Indeed, electronic waste (E-waste) is one of the | | | | electronics equipment for every pound of new |
| fastest-growing categories of garbage in the | | | | product sold. Walmart, Toyota and others have |
| United States. A 2005 study by the U.S. EPA | | | | embraced this idea, which is called "zero waste." |
| found that about 1.5 to 1.9 million tons of | | | | This holiday season, consumers should reward |
| electronic waste was discarded in landfills; only | | | | companies that provide solutions to the problems |
| about 345,000 to 379,000 tons were recycled. As | | | | in the environment. Consumer electronic |
| for the E-waste that is collected for recycling in | | | | purchases should only be made from firms with a |
| the US, it is estimated that more than 80% is | | | | commitment to recycle their own end products. |
| actually being sent overseas to developing | | | | Philips, Panasonic, Sanyo and others now need to |
| countries such as China, India, and Pakistan. In | | | | act and follow Sony's lead in electronic recycling. |
| these countries safety and environmental | | | | For the sake of our environment, both the |
| standards are very lax. The E-waste may be | | | | electronics industry and all of its consumers should |
| dumped in fields or crudely dismantled for | | | | be committed to product recycling with the long |
| precious metals; poisoning the people, land, air, and | | | | term goal of eliminating E-waste. |