Recycling is the order of the day when the environmentalists are slogging hard for the safeguard of the continuously degrading Mother Earth. As the degradation is mostly man-forced it’s the humans who have to take the initiative to stop such heinous tendencies or otherwise doomsday is ahead of us. Recycling can be defined as the process of eco-friendly disposal of products which assures an effective reuse in near future. Among the many products referred for electronics recycling in columbus today, especially the old computers are the most recommended ones.
As per the research data from UN Environmental Program, around 49 mn metric ton waste is generated from electronics, particularly computers, every year around the world. The US EPA says that in America alone, there is nearly 3 mn tons of electronic waste annually. Computers are mandatory for everybody today which amounts to such a surging amount of waste on their improper disposal. Moreover, the frequent introduction of advanced versions leads to mindless discard of the previous versions which further up the e-waste volume. Such a humungous amount of electronic waste poses a menacing blow to the environment and in turn to all the living species. This endangering situation demands an urgent need for computer recycling.
The post below discusses the myriad benefits assured from old computer recycling.
Environmental benefits
It’s to stress here that the Mother Earth receives the hardest blow with the soaring level of old computer waste which is being generated on regular basis. Now, these e-wastes are mindlessly dumped here and there which over time grow on the landfills – not only such dumps occupy huge volume of space but also tend to release harmful toxins around. According to data from US EPA, between 2000 & 2007, around 500 mn PCs became obsolete & were discarded. This bulk of refuse forayed into solid municipal waste stream posing serious threats of environmental pollution. Some of the toxic chemicals released from the dumped electronic wastes are mercury, lead etc. which are notorious environment pollutants. These chemicals get mixed with groundwater resulting in serious degradation of water quality. Moreover, some of the toxic chemicals also get mixed with air creating an endangering form of air pollution. If you can recycle your old computer wisely, you will be able to save the Mother Earth the mentioned pollution nuisance, assuring a safe life for everybody.
Health benefits
This is one of the most crucial reasons of recycling old computers. As mentioned earlier, the mindless disposal of old computers lead to the release of harmful toxins in the environment which can be really endangering for the health of all living species- when they inhale them in air or take them through water. Here is a brief on the major harmful toxins released from e-waste and how they can affect health.
Lead- It can inhibit or delay mental development & is toxic to kidneys, nervous & reproductive systems.
Mercury- It’s heinous for developing fetuses and is one of the major causes of brain & kidney damage.
Beryllium- found in connectors and motherboards, this toxic chemical is called human carcinogen.
Cadmium- your average PC houses nearly 13.8 lbs plastic in its covers, cables & connectors. Burning of plastic emits harmful cadmium which causes kidney damage & fragile bones
Thus, if you are recycling your old computers you will able to guarantee a safe disease-free life for those staying near the dumping landfills.
Reuse
Over 112 mn lbs significant materials were discovered from old computer recycling in simply a year. Yes, it’s to note here that your old PC still has got a huge amount of reusable materials such as glass, steel, plastic & precious metals. You might not know but the computer & related accessories like keyboard, CDs, speakers, floppy disks, ink cartridges cords etc. contain materials which could be reused easily. While reused, these materials could help to minimize the construction cost for the new systems. As you recycle there is lesser need to drain more resources for manufacturing new things which in turn signifies less pressure on energy which is required for manufacturing. There are companies that channelize old computers into fresh cathode-ray tube-glass through recycling endeavors.
Economic benefits
Though often ignored, yet recycling of old computers implies great economic benefits- by recycling your old PC you aren’t only creating a safe environment but are also assuring a favorable situation for your budget. Just imagine how much you would be able to save on the manufacturing & production procedure if you take to re-use of the old computers! Dealing with the electronics is pretty expensive and hence a recycling act would work to reduce a huge sum on your expenditures.
Charity
This is another noble benefit of recycling your old computer. It might be that your old computer is not useful for you anymore as you are looking for an upgraded version. But then again there may be somebody who is looking for a computer that can serve his basic computing needs. A great lot NGOs today request the computer owners to pass on the old computers for charity so that these could be utilized by the disadvantaged people. Thus, through recycling you are not only contributing towards environmental safety but also doing your bit towards the society.
Prevention of resource abuse
It’s to inform here that e-waste is usually sent to the 3rd world nations where the manufacturers get inexpensive labor. It results to the exposure of the poor workers to the harmful toxins released by the electronic waste which invariable results in endangering health situations for them. With proper recycling of old computers you will be able to protect these poor workers from the menacing e-waste born chemicals.
So when you do not need your obsolete PC any more you should not just march up to trash it down mindlessly. It must be stressed here that the companies which don’t abide by federal and state regulations on safe computer disposal are penalized heavily and they end up paying huge sum of money as fines & cleanup costs.
