Did you know that Americans throw away approximately 9.4 million tons of electronic waste annually? That’s more than any other country.
It feels like every year we have new electronic products being introduced, making our ones from last year obsolete. That’s a lot of electronics being thrown out every year in exchange for a newer model. Not only is the constant purchasing of new products putting a hefty weight on your wallet, but it is also affecting the environment. E-waste (electronic waste) isn’t just your cell phones either. Televisions, old VCRs, DVD players, stereos, copiers, fax machines, tablets, computers, and plenty more electronic devices all become e-waste as soon as they are not wanted anymore.
The Facts
According to the EPA, only about 12.5% of e-waste is recycled. However, for every one million cell phones recycled, the EPA says that 35,274 lbs of copper, 772 lbs of silver, 75 lbs of golds and 33 lbs of palladium can be recovered. One circuit board is estimated to contain 40-800 times more gold than one metric ton of ore. You are not just throwing out your old electronics. You’re throwing out precious metals! Then there are the environmental effects. Old television sets can contain approximately 4-8 pounds of lead, a neurotoxin. These harmful chemicals can leak into the ground, affecting the soil quality.
But how do you recycle e-waste?
Take it to someone who accepts electronic recycling, like Zimmerman TV. The plastic in e-waste can be recycled into things like garden furniture and the batteries can be used to make other batteries. Those precious metals can be used for jewelry. Recycling one million laptops will save the energy equivalent to the electricity used by 3,657 U.S homes in one year. Most major electronic retailers will also accept your electronics and will send them to be recycled for you.
Bring your electronics to Zimmerman TV!
At Zimmerman TV, we offer our customers, in partnership with Regional Computer Recycling & Recovery, an environmentally friendly way to dispose of electronics that have exceeded their useful lives. Zimmerman TV can recycle most types of electronics at no charge. To find out what we are able to accept, please call us before you bring your items in. We accept items for recycling during normal business hours only.
