Why Should We Recycle Electronic Equipment?

Recycling electronic equipment helps reduceprovide this free service, people will think about
pollution that would normally be emitted whilerecycling there electrical equipment more.
manufacturing a new product and the need toHow do we dispose of this technology? Computer
extract valuable and limited virgin resources.monitors, televisions, circuit boards, and other
Recycling electronics is good for the environmentelectronics contain excess heavy metals so they
and our local communities.cannot be disposed of in the trash. These also
When people just throw away large volumes ofinclude mercury, bromide, flame retardants, and
electronics it is a waste of very valuableimportantly lead, which threaten ground water if
recyclable resources. Most components in electricalleft in landfills. Lead is also a main component of
equipment, including the hazardous components,monitors and television screens.
can be safely recycled through proper recyclingManufacturers and recyclers are analyzing dozens
companies. Disposal is not the answer.of approaches to identify cost-effective,
It is always a much safer idea to ensure youenvironmental methods of managing end of life
pass computers and other electronics need to beelectronics. An important aspect of these analyses
properly handled by a responsible recyclingis the identification of the environmental
company rather than being sent to a wasteregulations-particularly those under the Federal
disposal company.Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and its
There are a number of companies these daysstate counterparts-that would apply.
that will pick up electrical equipment withoutManufacturers are leading the way on this issue.
charge. If more and more companies start to