It's Christmas morning, and there beneath the tree was your new television, sleek and digital. Or maybe it was a new computer. Or the newest electronic gee-whiz gadget. All well and good, but what are you going to do with the old
equipment it replaces?
Most people - about 88 percent according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - simply toss so-called e-waste into the trash.
Given the heavy metals and other toxic substances such equipment contains, that's obviously a bad idea, says the Electronics TakeBack Coalition, a national consortium of environmental and consumer groups. But, in some cases, doing the seemingly responsible thing - hauling outmoded equipment to a recycler - is as bad as junking it, warned Barbara Kyle, the group's national coordinator.
Often, she said, "recycled" electronics are shipped to processors in developing countries, who use primitive techniques to extract valuable
metals.
It's Christmas morning, and there beneath the tree was your new television, sleek and digital. Or maybe it was a new computer. Or the newest electronic gee-whiz gadget. All well and good, but what are you going to do with the old
equipment it replaces?
Most people - about 88 percent according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - simply toss so-called e-waste into the trash.
Given the heavy metals and other toxic substances such equipment contains, that's obviously a bad idea, says the Electronics TakeBack Coalition, a national consortium of environmental and consumer groups. But, in some cases, doing the seemingly responsible thing - hauling outmoded equipment to a recycler - is as bad as junking it, warned Barbara Kyle, the group's national coordinator.
Often, she said, "recycled" electronics are shipped to processors in developing countries, who use primitive techniques to extract valuable metals.
ECS Refining was founded in 1980 as an electronic scrap and solder dross recycling facility servicing primarily the Silicon Valley. From a lone facility in Santa Clara, California, ECS has established a reputation of environmental leadership in the refining of secondary metals by offering unique capabilities to develop environmentally responsible recycling options for businesses.
ECS Refining was founded in 1980 as an electronic scrap and solder dross recycling facility servicing primarily the Silicon Valley. From a lone facility in Santa Clara, California, ECS has established a reputation of environmental leadership in the refining of secondary metals by offering unique capabilities to develop environmentally responsible recycling options for businesses.
The WMMFA is the manufacturer board-directed authority created by state law to handle the recycling of certain electronics in the state of Washington. Our job is to follow state law and guidelines as set forth by the department of
Ecology to create a standard plan that manufacturers will participate in and finance. We coordinate collectors, transporters and processors to recycle covered electronics, then bill participating member manufacturers for the costs.
Starting January 1st, 2009 covered electronics: TVs, Computer Monitors, Laptops and Computer towers will be recycled. The plan does not cover printers, scanners, keyboards, mice or other accessories.
Mumbai, the electronic waste capital of the country, is likely to get an e-waste
processing unit run on a public-private partnership model.
The unit will be first of its kind in the country and the second in South
East Asia, to where India now supplies its e-waste for recovery of precious
metals.
The core committee under the chairmanship of the state Environment Secretary
along with members of Solid Waste Management (SWM) cell of the Mumbai
Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), Maharashtra Pollution Control
Board (MPCB), decided that a techno-economic feasibility study should be carried
out for full-fledged processing of e-waste generated in the region. "The
committee decided that a techno-economic feasibility study should be initiated.
The concept is to have a comprehensive process to recover precious as well as
non-precious metals safely," said Ashwini Bhide, Joint Metropolitan
Commissioner, MMRDA. The processing unit will be located in the Mumbai
Metropolitan Region.
United Datatech Distributors (UDT) is a full service reclamation company and independent distributor of new and refurbished electronics, peripherals and components. UDT's extensive recycling and processing facilities provide the electronics industry with an all-encompassing solution to a wide variety of asset recovery and disposal needs.