Do you recycle your old electronics?
We still see electronic waste piling up in landfills although several medias reported about the damages created by wrongly disposing of old or defective electronics.
It doesn’t make sense because most of the components: glass, steel, aluminum, copper, plastics and precious metals – can be recovered and be used again to make new merchandise. Computers are being upgraded faster than ever, cell phones frequently break and electronic is now seen as a disposable commodity instead of a permanent possession. In average, the turn-around for upgrading a personal computer is shorter than two years in North America.
The articles are not always needed; it’s not all about a real need but mostly because people just like having new stuff, with the latest gadgets and features. Electronic has become a fashion article that will not be wanted when something that looks newer will come to the market.
Is there a motive for people not recycling their electronic equipment?
Much noise has been made by associations like Greenpeace in regards to the poor practices of some recyclers having their recycling done in Asia or Africa or simply exporting e-waste towards these countries. The message from Greenpeace has awakened many individuals and I believe the result has not been exactly what was to be expected. The association demonstrated to the whole world how lots of hazardous material ends being badly recycled in China. We can then make the assumption that some individuals and organizations are holding on their e-waste, unsure if it will ends in a proper place.
It is not a good idea to put our head under the sand and send our electronic to the junk. Some associations such as CARI-ACIR are there to verify that their members are following strict rules like avoiding exports to third world countries and not sending electronic scrap to landfills. Every accredited companies are checked and customers can be sure about a proper recycling of their equipment when they ship to one of their member.
Many people are still thinking that they should get money returned for their electronic waste. Other people think that a company can go pick up the e-waste, properly sort and separate it, unscrew all the plastic pieces from the metal parts and have to pay North American salaries without charging a penny to their customer. People have to understand that recycling obsolete computers only bring back a few cents per pound of material. Those offering free pickups and free recycling are clearly doing something wrong if they are not financed directly by the authorities to do so. PC Recycle, a company established fifteen years ago still has to compete against false recyclers in the field with no physical place, literally managing their business from a cellular phone and a pickup truck. Those “recyclers†are saving what they can sell and the rest is most probably sent to landfills even though another story is being told to their clients. At least, no one can check because these false recyclers are not accredited by any associations.
Before choosing a company to recycle your electronic, look around and find who their competition is. If they offer you a free recycling, it should raise a red flag. You have to make sure that your recycler is part of an association. Make sure also that your recycler is open to show you his recycling center: an appropriate recycling will come from a recycler that is totally transparent in its activities.
Jason Mailley
PC Recycle