Reduce the Impact on Our Planet - Dispose of Electronic Waste Properly
Prior to buying a television, CD player, or cell phone, do you contemplate about what to do with them when they break down or need to be replaced? Three million tons of e-waste (commodity and electronic waste) are produced by consumer electronics due to the discarding of faulty, impaired, and superseded devices. Let's see how e-waste affects your health and the environment, and what happens to it when it is discarded.
Large amounts of used electronics are shipped to China, Kenya, and India because it is difficult and costly to recycle it here and our legislation regarding the exporting of e-waste is not well enforced. Processing e-waste is much more profitable in those countries as the standards for the environment and working conditions is much lower. Being aware of e-waste is a huge concern. Specialized facilities are available to handle this hazardous material properly.
E-waste can be a very valuable source of secondary raw materials if the electronics are handled and sorted correctly. But when they are not properly handled, they contribute heavily to toxins and carcinogens in our environment. The universal problem has been compounded by fast growing technological advances, cheap starting cost, and shrewdly schemed obsolescence. Serious environmental and health issues have arisen due to careless burning, ungoverned and often unsafe disassembly, and hazardous disposal activities.
The waste that is left over from consumer electronics consists of PCB's or polychlorinated biphenyls, lead, mercury, and cadmium. Not only are they very toxic, it has been shown through studies that the PCB's may cause cancer. Our soil and water may become contaminated, which would eventually enter our food chain, if these items are not properly disposed of. When they are burned, toxic fumes are given off, causing both ozone depletion and health problems through inhalation. Cells can be damaged and kidney failure can occur when the central nervous system is affected by mercury, lead or cadmium.
Remember this from now on whenever you are carelessly trashing dead batteries or an obsolete electronic device. Disposing of items the proper way through an e-waste recycler can help our environment be saved. Due to the problems caused to our environment and our health, the disposal process of consumer electronics needs to be carefully thought out.
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