Group items tagged

People are using more and more household batteries. The average person owns about two button batteries, ten normal (A, AA, AAA, C, D, 9V, etc.) batteries, and throws out about eight household batteries per year. About three billion batteries are sold annually in the U.S. averaging about 32 per family or ten per person. A battery is an electrochemical device with the ability to convert chemical energy to electrical energy to provide power to electronic devices. Batteries contain heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and nickel, which can contaminate the environment when batteries are improperly disposed of. When incinerated, certain metals might be released into the air or can concentrate in the ash produced by the combustion processPeople are using more and more household batteries. The average person owns about two button batteries, ten normal (A, AA, AAA, C, D, 9V, etc.) batteries, and throws out about eight household batteries per year. About three billion batteries are sold annually in the U.S. averaging about 32 per family or ten per person. A battery is an electrochemical device with the ability to convert chemical energy to electrical energy to provide power to electronic devices. Batteries contain heavy metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, and nickel, which can contaminate the environment when batteries are improperly disposed of. When incinerated, certain metals might be released into the air or can concentrate in the ash produced by the combustion process.

eCycling Highlights Digital Television Transition | en Español Where Can I Donate or Recycle My Old Computer and Other Electronics? Recycle Your Cell Phone. It's an Easy Call. Responsible Recycling Practices Resource Conservation Challenge partnerships and initiatives on electronics The use of electronic products has grown substantially over the past two decades, changing the way and the speed in which we communicate and how we get information and entertainment. Our growing reliance on electronics is illustrated by some remarkable figures. According to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), Americans own approximately 24 electronic products per household eCycling Highlights Digital Television Transition | en Español Where Can I Donate or Recycle My Old Computer and Other Electronics? Recycle Your Cell Phone. It's an Easy Call. Responsible Recycling Practices Resource Conservation Challenge partnerships and initiatives on electronics The use of electronic products has grown substantially over the past two decades, changing the way and the speed in which we communicate and how we get information and entertainment. Our growing reliance on electronics is illustrated by some remarkable figures. According to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), Americans own approximately 24 electronic products per household

A project by NCER that calculates the collection of certain e-waste in states per capita

Article from The Times of India, 6/30/09. Features comments from state environment secretary and chairperson of Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) Valsa R Nair Singh on draft environmental policy. Some quotes related to e-waste (see annotations).

Westford - The Westford Recycling Commission (WRC) facilitates three electronics recycling (E-cycling) events per year. These events provide an avenue for Westford residents to discard electronic items in an environmentally responsible manner for a minimal cost. This ensures these items stay out of the waste stream and are disposed of properly.

New Jersey, Parrsippany. Under the new state law, electronics manufacturers who don't recycle their products would be subject to fines between $500 and $1,000 per offense.

Let's talk about electronic waste, better known as e-waste. STORY TOOLS Years ago, if a toy or appliance broke, your mom or dad would try to fix it, often with mixed results. But few people understand how e-products work, much less how to fix them. When televisions and computers first came out, old ones were often passed down to relatives, charities or to schools. But now, lower prices and rapid development in technology are sending more and more televisions and computers to the e-waste trash heap. Just how many? In 1970, the average household in Washington averaged one television set per household, and personal computers were unheard of. The Department of Ecology estimates that by the end of 2008 there will be one television for every person in the state and even more computers than people.

Rep. Zack Hudgins, D-Seattle, says a state law that just went into effect to encourage recycling of electronics needs some tinkering to make sure it doesn't inadvertently bankrupt businesses that fix old computers. Hudgins' South Seattle district includes several computer-refurbishing shops. The law went into effect yesterday. It allows consumers to recycle computers, computer monitors, laptops and TVs for free. It is being hailed as groundbreaking nationally because it marks the first time a state has forced electronics manufacturers to pay the entire cost of the recycling. But there's a big problem with the law, according to environmentalists as well as the computer refurbishers. They say it puts a big hurdle in the way of the computer rebuilders. So Hudgins says he is drafting legislation in an attempt to fix the problem. The legislation would allow nonprofit groups to fix perhaps 500 to 1,000 computers per year for resale to the public.

7/18/09 article from The Times [of London] on the problem of illegal e-waste trade and unsafe e-waste processing in Ghana. Article contains the following statistics: "Even in the European Union, which has some of the most stringent controls, an estimated 75 per cent of e-waste is unaccounted for. Most of this, an estimated 8.5 million tonnes a year, is believed to be finding its way to unofficial dumps in West Africa."