Landfill isn't the place for your old electronics

[Thom Little]

According to the National Retail Foundation, more than 38 percent of consumers hoped to receive some type of electronic gadget this holiday season, and many of those will be replacing older models.

Nearly 100 million computers and televisions are abandoned every year, according to a government study released last month, and the turnover is projected to keep growing. What happens to the older generations of gadgets?

In an attempt to keep yesterday's technology out of the landfill, the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation collects used electronics once a month at the Central Landfill in Johnston. Each collection day, according to Mike Mesolella, recycling coordinator at the Resource Recovery Corporation, people bring between 7,000 and 10,000 pounds of computers and peripherals to be recycled.

With home, work and children's computers being replaced regularly, Mesolella said, "all of a sudden you're looking at six computers in the basement. We're offering a good, environmentally sound way to get rid of them."



http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo_20051226_erecycle.8500ab9.html

[PaulaFarrell]

1. Environmentally sound as in this?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3307815.stm

"E-waste heads to India, China and Bangladesh because computer "recycling" is a good business, with much money to be made.

Computer recycling involves employing people to strip down the computers and extract parts that can be used again in machines to be sold on the high street.

The rest is then burned or dumped, both of which are potentially highly hazardous to the environment. "

I am becoming a little uneasy about recycling - yeah, it makes us feel good, but it also stops people from actually re-using things, which should always come first. It would be so much better if we didn't feel like we always had to have the latest gadget.