Recycle and Reuse

In today’s world we are dependent on computers and technology for our everyday lives. It’s such a big topic that people cannot live in our society without their use. However, there are numerous people, schools and businesses who negligently throw electronics away without thinking about the damage that it causes our planet. This is why we need to properly recycle our unused computers/electronics so organizations can rebuild and allow them to be reused, thus keeping them out of landfills and from becoming E-waste.
“A 2001 EPA report stated that 70% of the heavy metals and 40% of the lead in U.S. landfills comes from high tech electronic products” (V. Hughes, Recycling E-Waste) Proper recycling of unused computers and parts would keep our landfills much smaller in size. This could potentially alleviate a lot of pollution problems. On top of that, donating the parts to organizations that rebuild and donate to the needy could give people hands on training that will help them understand proper usage and maintenance of their computers. This helps society give individuals jobs, gain more computers for the schools and others in need, and even become a cleaner city. The common argument against reuse of computers and parts is that people will be exposed to toxins that go into making these electronic parts, as cadmium, mercury, and lead. (Chris
Fischer 2
Chen, Associated content) While this is true, there are protective ways to handle and rebuild recycled parts. Doing so eliminates the cons of recycling computer parts.
There are government programs that strongly endorse the recycling process of electronics. The state of Montana has a program called “e-rase your e-waste!” (mt.gov) This program helps people find recycling sites near them and informs them about the importance of keeping e-waste out of landfills. It also helps explain the issue of E-waste and the specifics about its dangers.
Basel Action Network, or “BAN” is an organization that works with the government to...