Recycling
is a concept and an activity that is crucial to the health of the planet. Most people realize the benefits of recycling
plastics and paper, but electronic recycling is also a massive concern around
the world.
In
fact, it’s been estimated that in the neighborhood of 50 million metric tons of
electronic waste piles up around the world every year. Much of this waste is supplied by computers
that have become outdated and thrown away.
With technology the way it is, the number of outdated computers will
only grow, and the recycling effort will become even more important.
Benefits
As
with all kinds of recycling, there are many benefits to recycling
computers. Environmentally, keeping old
computers out of landfills helps to reduce many different toxic chemicals from
leaching into the soil. Chemicals such
as lead oxide, nickel, mercury, cadmium and zinc are all by-products of
computers being left in landfills. Aside
from the chemicals, fewer computers in landfills also reduce the amount of
overall space that’s needed to store garbage.
Recycling
computers also benefits those who can’t afford new or full-priced computers,
because they can often buy refurbished ones at a fraction of the cost. Many recycled computers are also donated to
schools, charities, correctional facilities and other organizations in
need.
What Is Computer Recycling?
Computer
recycling refers to the process of refurbishing older computer parts into new
parts, as part of a new computer. The
parts of a standard computer that may be recycled include the glass monitor,
the CD Rom drive, keyboard, cathode ray tube, the metal from the circuit board,
printer cartridges and the copper inside the power cord.
For the
computer owner, the process is quite simple.
All you have to do is take your old computer to a recycling facility
that accepts computers, or a refurbishing business that will break it down and
build it back up again. Today, many
apartment building and other facilities have specific recycling boxes for
computers and computer parts. This makes
the process even easier.
Donations
If you have a computer that still works well and
you’d rather donate it, that’s also an option.
So many kids and adults would benefit from having regular access to a
computer, and often it’s the organizations that need them the most that don’t
have any.
