Environmental Impact From Electronic Component Disposal
Dougwoody puts a priority on reducing the toxic and destructive impact on our environment from electronic waste.
Electronics and computers contain many toxic and harmful substances such as lead and mercury. We practice and encourage reuse, rebuild and recycling. We believe every discarded, outdated, or decommissioned laptop or desktop computer, at the very least, yields many reusable parts or raw materials. Computers can be responsibly and efficiently rebuilt and reused, extending their life and reducing environmental damage. Machines too old or broken to be reused can be broken down to the core components, and the raw components like steel and plastic reclaimed.
Computer Reuse, Rebuild & Recycling
More than 250 million computers in the U.S. may become obsolete in the next five years, and those machines, along with televisions, DVD players & cell phones are flooding the nation's landfills. As a result, substances such as lead, mercury, chromium and cadmium are seeping into the environment at more than alarming rates.
Discarded electronic equipment is one of the fastest growing waste streams in the industrialized world and has become a national, and international, concern as the volume of “e-waste” continues to expand exponentially. Without effective and considered phase-outs of hazardous chemicals, as well as the development of effective collection, reuse and recycling systems, highly toxic chemicals found in “e-waste” will continue to contaminate soil and groundwater, threatening the environment even further.
More than 63 million tons of computer equipment is taken out of service each year, and 85% of it will end up in the landfills, according to the National Safety Council.
Startlingly, more than 50% of computers being thrown away today are in good working order or could be easily be repaired, according to the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition.
Don't throw your old electronic waste in a dump or stick it in the garbage. Please bring your old computers and cell phones to Dougwoody or your nearest recycling facility.
Reuse or Rebuild: Better Than Recycling
According to the EPA, reusing just one computer with a CRT monitor saves:
- 30 lbs of hazardous waste
- 77 lbs of solid waste
- 147 lbs (17.5 gallons) of water from being polluted
- 32 tons of air from being polluted
- 1,333 lbs of CO2 from being emitted
- 7,719 kilowatts of energy
Dougwoody gives your old computer a second life,
while creating an opportunity for someone else.
Call Dougwoody Today!