Photo: One household’s e-waste. Assistant Director Erin Chrapaty’s personal technology graveyard.
The sudden abundance of pumpkin spice isn’t the only indication that fall is upon us. If you’re like me, you’ve grown used to a tech-related signpost: Apple’s annual release of new electronic devices, all designed for better, faster (if rarely cheaper) text messaging and cat video viewing.
With the media blitz and inevitable tech-envy, our collective electronic waste graveyard grows larger. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, almost 2.4 million tons of electronics were disposed of in 2009, up more than 120 percent from 1999. The real bummer is that a measly 25 percent were collected for recycling.
As we let old phones and tablets, computers and laptops sit tucked away in a drawer or closet, new metals using tons of fossil fuels are being mined when they could be recovered through recycling. The EPA says that for every million cell phones we recycle, 35 thousand pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered.
So where do you take your old stuff? Turns out pretty much anywhere. Just be sure to wipe your devices clean before parting ways. So go ahead, put that new tech toy on your wish list – and recycle your old one(s). Here’s how.
Give back to retailers (for a reward?)
Big box retailers like Best Buy will take them off your hands, and Staples might even give you a gift card reward. The EPA has the details.
http://www2.epa.gov/recycle/electronics-donation-and-recycling#where
Sell back to carriers
If you’re eyeing that upgrade this holiday season, see how your carrier or manufacturer might offer to buy back your current device.
http://goodworks.sprint.com/product/device-recycling/?ECID=vanity:recycle
http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=20369
http://www.verizonwireless.com/landingpages/device-trade-in/
Donate to soldiers
In 2004, a couple of really smart (and kind!) tweens started a nonprofit that donates smartphones and tablets to soldiers. Join them.
https://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/
More: Watch Terra Blight with Scholars
Scholars will host a screening of Terra Blight this spring as part of our Trash Talks series. This feature-length documentary explores America’s obsession with the latest technology and waste we create.
When watching Terra Blight, a documentary about electronic waste, I learned several facts about electronic waste than many people do not think about. Such as where does it go? It goes to many third world countries where it is just dumped in massive landfills for just this purpose. Additionally the screens of computers and other electronic devices contain large amounts of lead, which is a very harmful and dangerous chemical. When the screens shatter, the lead is released as a powder in the air. It is responsible for thousands of deaths in countries where electronic waste is discarded. Finally, another shocking cause of deaths is explosions. Sometimes discarded electronics that get dumped in these places can explode killing innocent bystanders in these locations. Electronic waste is very dangerous, and it is no longer ethical to continue such behaviours. What we need is a safer way to dispose of electronic waste.