Go Green through E-Waste Recycling

When it comes to recycling, what first comes to mind is recycling plastic bottles and scraps of paper. However, electronic waste recycling is often an overlooked “go green” practice. Disposing of electronic waste without proper resources can cause the release of significant toxins in the environment, which in return affects your health. Many hazardous chemicals can potentially be released from electronic waste, which is why it is imperative that we recycle these materials. To prevent environmental hazards caused by electronic waste, it is essential to follow standardized e-waste recycling procedures. First off, e-waste constitutes any electronic device that is deemed useless due to some defect. We are often encouraged to recycle paper, bottles, and cans. However, even more, important is the recycling of electronic devices, including cell phones, computers, monitors, printers, televisions, batteries and more. Recycling e-waste is both a viable solution to eliminate dangerous pollutants significantly caused by improper e-waste disposal. Disposing e-waste outside of a recycle center may end up in a landfill and incineration, both of which contribute to severe health and environmental concerns. There are various benefits to e-waste recycling including the following:

• Environmental Advantage - Recycling is an effective way of conserving resources. E-waste recycling is a viable solution for preventing pollution and the release of carcinogens and toxic waste, like lead and mercury. Recycling e-waste can also help free up landfill space.
• Economic Growth- E-waste recycling also creates many jobs for those in recycling businesses who collect and manufacture electronic waste.
• Energy Efficiency – E-waste recycling allows you to conserve and restore useful materials like aluminum, copper, and plastics from computer monitors, laptops, printers and more. New electronic products can be produced by recycling old and even broken electronics. Although old products may seem worthless, it can help conserve resources and energy needed to make new equipment. Most, if not all electronics can be reused and refurbished. E-waste recycling promotes a cleaner and safer environment as it reduces the emission of greenhouse gases, saves energy, and conserves natural resources.

What Can You Do?

‍Take part in helping out the environment by safely and adequately disposing of electronic waste. Disposing electronic waste like monitors, laptops, cell phones, and televisions through regular trash and garbage is strongly discouraged as it can lead to potential health risks. Any electronic device you wish to recycle can be taken to a local recycling center that is preferably HIPAA compliant and NAID certified in data destruction. So the next time you discard an old cell phone or computer, think about where it might be going and how it can affect your health, the environment, and the future. For more information on e-waste recycling and the disposal process, you can visit Los Angeles E-waste Recycling.