Recycling electronic equipments

Electronics need to be recycled

Go to any garbage dump and you're likely to see computer monitors, printers, stereos, tvs etc. popping up everywhere. Not only do these products take up landfill space, electronic circuitboard componentry and casings contain all sorts of environmentally hazardous materials.

Before purchasing electronic gizmos and gadgets, consider the following environmental hazards that go into their production and ask yourself - do you really need it?:

- Fumes from ammonia and acids
- CFCs, or chloroflouro carbons
- acid and alkaline solutions
- copper baths
- catalysts
- etchants
- aqueous metals
- plating baths
- metals, including nickel, silver, copper, lead

.. that's not to mention the electricity consumed in their production, nor the oil used to make the plastics and transport the goods.

The electronics industry also uses tetrabromobisophenol-A (TBBA). It's a compound to help make circuitboards fire resistant. A harmful byproduct of TTBA is Methyl bromide - a pesticide, acute toxin and ozone depleting substance.

Once electronic equipment has outlived it purpose, contact your local council for options for responsible disposal. Many councils can point you to a recycling program. If the equipment is still serviceable, rather than dumping it, also consider Freecycling the items.

Yet another option is to inquire with the manufacturer if they have a recycling program - a word of warning though; some companies' recycling programs simply mean that they dump the items in developing countries in massive landfills where impoverished people are then paid a pittance to strip out useful components - without adequate training or protection. Selengkapnya...

recycle electronic equipment : environmentally responsible

HP expands its product return and recycling program in order to reach more customers and create convenient ways for people to discard used or unwanted electronic equipment in an environmentally responsible manner. ...

... "The company will host a series of product collection events in the United States throughout the summer to raise awareness and increase the rate of electronics recycling among consumers. The collection events, which will accept a range of products from any manufacturer, will be held from June through September in Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico and Oregon.

During the local product collection events, customers can drop off a broad range of products from any manufacturer at no charge. All products collected will be recycled at one of HP's approved recycling facilities across the United States. These facilities operate under HP's global recycling standards, which ensure responsible product recycling.

HP is on target to meet its global goal to recycle 1 billion pounds of hardware and HP print cartridges by the end of 2007. In 2005, HP recycled approximately 140 million pounds of hardware and HP print cartridges globally – an increase of 17 percent over the previous year. Since the company began recycling, it has recycled 750 million pounds in total. HP's recycling program operates globally in more than 40 countries, regions and territories and seeks to reduce the environmental impact of IT products, minimize waste going to landfills and help customers conveniently discard products in an environmentally sound fashion. Plastics and metals recovered from products recycled by HP have been used in new HP products, as well as a range of other uses, including auto body parts, clothes hangers, plastic toys, fence posts, serving trays and roof tiles. " ...

Selengkapnya...