An Environmentally Aware Method of Disposing of Used Computer Technology

You’re probably here because you’re looking for ways to equip you business with affordable technology in a downturn, or you’d like to dispose of technology that your organization can no longer use. Both of these reasons are commendable and display superb business sense.
But did you know that there’s another very important reason why it’s a good idea to buy or sell used technology or at the very least seek responsible eWaste disposal?
Unease is increasing about the impact all this technology is having on our environment when it becomes obsolete and has to be discarded. When you consider that in our age of high- disposability, many irresponsible companies are ditching equipment that is still usable, adding to the already overpowering burden that technical waste is having on our environment.
Two critical issues are:
• How can technical waste impact the environment?
• What can we do to ensure responsible ewaste disposal?

Technical Waste (eWaste) and the Environment

Simply put, if you bring in a professional computer liquidator like AndoverCG when you’re done with your equipment, you’re doing the planet a favor. This kind of environmentally-preferred purchasing (sorry, government-speak there) is kind to our environment as well as to the economy and cash-strapped business startups.
Fist let’s take a look at the consequences for all of us when eWaste is disposed of irresponsibly: EWaste is the fastest growing component of the colossal stream of garbage produced by today’s society. While electronic components might seem innocuous enough, many are amazed to find just how dangerous they can be.
So what kind of toxic waste is produced by discarded computers?

Toxins that Come From Technology

Cathode ray tubes (CRTs), which are a component of computers, contain heavy metals such as lead, mercury, barium and cadmium.
These pose a serious threat to human health if they if they should enter the water system or the food chain. Once they enter the human body they can cause serious damage to the human nervous system causing such serious disorders as paralysis and mental retardation.
Lead poisoning can cause severe nerve damage, heart damage, kidney damage and reproductive failure. Like most heavy metals lead cannot be excreted by normal body functions and it can also cross the blood-brain barrier where it lodges permanently in the brain. When young children are exposed to lead they suffer from acute sickness with a wide range of symptoms, and eventually mental retardation. To give you an idea just how toxic lead is, it can continue to be released from bones long after treatment to remove it from the body is finished, requiring periodic spot checks for the presence of lead for some time afterwards.
The constituents of flame retardant plastic, another component of many different items of technology, can also dramatically disrupt the human endocrine system if allowed to contaminate water (and thus food when the water is used for irrigation for example).
Cadmium is even more dangerous: there is no known medical process for chelating cadmium from the body. Initial signs of cadmium poisoning include flu-like symptoms, but extreme cadmium poisoning causes lung and kidney failure, and eventually osteomalacia which may be so bad that even body weight will cause fractures.
Mercury poisoning causes damage to the central nervous system, liver failure. Eventually there will be heart irregularities and peeling of skin.

Why should we be very worried about heavy metal contamination?

Heavy metals by their very nature are difficult, if not impossible, for the human body to process. Regular medicine cannot offer any help with heavy metal poisoning: it’s considered irreversible.
The only decontamination regimes available are offered by naturopathic clinics, usually using a process called ‘chelation,’ which is ingestion of a substance known to bind with the poison, so that it is carried out of the body through the normal channels. Many types of chelation pose risks to human health, though when compared to the serious consequences of damage by heavy metals, lots of patients are prepared to take the risk.
Increasing incidence of diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, autism, cancer and more are attributed by experts to be the result of environmental pollution by heavy metals and other elements.

In California over 6000 computers become ‘obsolete’ every day of the week.

Multiply this by the days of the year and all the other cities of the US and you begin to get a very worrying picture indeed.
At the moment most eWaste goes to a landfill somewhere. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that about 220 million tons of old computers and other tech hardware are trashed in the U.S. every year. This constitutes between 2 and 5 percent of municipal solid waste. According to studies conducted in Europe, eWaste is growing worldwide at a rate of around 3 to 5 percent a year—at least four times faster than the municipal waste stream here in the US.

The question that needs to be asked is ‘is this technology really obsolete, or can some other use be found for it?’

Unlike other countries such as Japan and the European Union, the US as yet doesn’t have any eWaste laws to restrict the conditions for disposal of technology. This means that responsible disposal is largely up to the conscience of users.
If you’re selling because you’re upgrading, think green: make sure a startup company is given the opportunity of profiting from your no-longer-need technology. Your bottom line will benefit too.
The list of computer and communications technology and hardware that can be recycled or reused is staggering.
• PCs
• Laptops
• Servers
• Business phones
For more on US-Government guidelines for the disposal of eWaste, please see their PDF on the subject.

A Look to the Future of Computer Manufacture and Green Technology

Hopefully, future generations of communications technology and computers will make use of more environmentally-friendly components, and perhaps even components that can more easily be reused.
It’s anyone’s guess how long this might take. Here’s a document on the subject of green technology that was written as far back as 2004, with little concrete progress to be seen.

cisco

Just the Article
HTML Version

PDF Version

Visit

Andover Liquidation

used Sun
Go Green with computer recycled electronics and computer recyclers help the environment by recycling ewaste at www.computerrecycled.com



computer recycle computer recycle
computer recycled computer recycled
computer recyclers computer recyclers
computer recycling computer recycling
electronic recycling electronic recycling


HTML Version

PDF Version

Consumer recycling

Most major computer manufacturers offer some form of recycling, often as a free replacement service when purchasing a new PC. At the user's request they may mail in their old computer, or arrange for pickup from the manufacturer. There are also a variety of donation options, including charities which may offer tax benefits. The United States Environmental Protection Agency maintains a list of electronic recycling and donation options for consumers in the US. Wiki computer recycling computer donation computer donation nationwide used computer nationwide used computer nationwide used computer nationwide used computer used Cisco forum used Cisco forum used Cisco router used Cisco router used foundry networks used foundry networks used juniper equipment used juniper equipment used network equipment used network equipment used network hardware used network hardware used network hardware used network hardware used phones used phones used sun systems used sun systems used surplus computers used surplus computers used test equipment used test equipment used computer equipment used computer equipment used computer games used computer games used computer hardware used computer hardware used computer sale used computer sale used computers used computers used desktops used desktops Disposing of Used Computer Technology Recycled Computers Disposing of Used Computer Technology Go Green 		 

Recycling

Recycling is the reprocessing of materials into new products. Recycling generally prevents the waste of potentially useful materials, reduces the consumption of raw materials and reduces energy usage, and hence greenhouse gas emissions, compared to virgin production. Recycling is a key concept of modern waste management and is the third component of the waste hierarchy. Recyclable materials, also called "recyclables", may originate from a wide range of sources including the home and industry. They include glass, paper, aluminum, asphalt, iron, textiles and plastics. Biodegradable waste, such as food waste or garden waste, is also recyclable with the assistance of micro-organisms through composting or anaerobic digestion. Recyclables are sorted and separated into material types. Contamination of the recyclables with other materials must be prevented to increase the recyclables value and facilitate easier reprocessing for the ultimate recycling facility. This sorting can be performed either by the producer of the waste or within semi- or fully-automated materials recovery facilities. There are two common household methods of recycling. In curbside collection , consumers leave presorted recyclable materials in front of their property to be collected by a recycling vehicle. With a "bring" or carry-in system, the householder takes the materials to collection points, such as transfer stations or civic amenity sites. Recycling is beneficial in two ways: it reduces the inputs (energy and raw materials) to a production system and reduces the amount of waste produced for disposal. A study conducted by the Technical University of Denmark found that in 80% of cases, recycling is the most efficient method to dispose of household waste. Some materials like aluminum can be recycled indefinitely as there is no change to the materials. Other recycled materials like paper require a percentage of raw materials (wood fibers) to be added to compensate for the degradation of existing fibers. Recycling aluminum saves 95% of the energy cost of processing new aluminium[2] because the melting temperature is reduced from 900 °C to 600 °C. It is by far the most efficient material to recycle. Recycling plastic saves 70% of the energy used in creating new plastic, and paper recycling saves 40% of the energy required to make a new product. The resources being processed are purer, thus less energy is needed to process them. Additionally less energy is needed to transport them from the place of extraction (e.g. bauxite/aluminum ore mines in Brazil or coniferous forests in Scandinavia as compared to domestic areas). This reduces the environmental, social, and usually the economic costs of manufacturing. For example, bauxite mines in Brazil displace indigenous people, create noise pollution from blasting, machinery and transport, and create air pollution in the form of particulates (dust). The habitat loss and visual destruction is also negative both to the aesthetic qualities of the areas and the local environment. The most commonly used methods for waste disposal (landfill, pyrolysis, incineration) may be environmentally damaging and unsustainable. Therefore any way to reduce the volume of waste being disposed in this fashion may be beneficial. The maximum environmental benefit is gained by waste minimization (reducing the amount of waste produced), and reusing items in their current form such as refilling bottles. In the past recycling has been a fragmented industry with recycling companies only accepting specific materials for recycling, or only common materials such as plastic or metals. More recent approaches have resulted in recycling companies that accept a wide variety of materials or emerging market materials such as ceiling tiles, carpet, stained wood etc.. An example of a company that accepts a wide variety of materials, including emerging recycling markets is the Green Recycling Wiki Recycling