It is estimated that the global amount of electronic waste will continue to grow by 8% each year. This can be changed, considering how nearly 100% of electronics waste is in fact recyclable. While individuals need to practice care with electronics recycling, it is really business computer recycling policies that can make a difference.
Why Is Electronic Waste Especially Terrible?
The horrors of styrofoam and soiled diapers in landfills is not a new story. These items don’t break down quickly or easily. Instead, they remain. The amount of trash builds instead of disintegrating. Electronics are even worse in terms of decomposition. Plastics can take an estimated 1000 years to decompose, on average.
What Damage Does Electronic Waste Do to the Environnment?
The Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, has found that only about 12.5% of electronics are recycled. This is bad news for the environment. Waste disposal does more than simply corral trash. Recycling centers also help keep the land healthy.
Electronic waste is believed to be a cause of air pollution from direct burning. However, the real concern is the degradation of the soil from chemicals leaching from the electronic components. These chemicals include lead, mercury, lithium, barium, and others. Chemicals like these poison the soil.
What Can a Business Do to Implement a Strong Business Computer Recycling Program?
A good business computer recycling plan doesn’t need to be complicated to be effective. All a company needs to do is hold themselves accountable. In this case, there are many companies who are happy to pickup old computers for recycling. It is only a matter of arranging the pickup date.
Most business computer recycling companies will have no problem with pickup, however you will want to ask about data protection. Ensure that the company you choose has a dedicated process for destroying hard drives. Some companies will have an actual paper that certifies their disposal of secret or sensitive information.
Electronic waste is a very real problem that is getting worse all the time. It might surprise some people to learn that nearly all e-waste is recyclable. These items can be disposed of safely, it just requires a little extra forethought. Businesses especially should dedicate themselves to disposing of their e-waste properly. Read more blogs like this.