Importance of Recycling E-Waste

Recycling E-Waste

The importance of recycling e-waste has become critical to preserving the environment as mobile technology continues to grow. E-waste includes all types of electronic devices nearing their end of life or are no longer useful to the end-user. Recycling e-waste benefits the environment by reducing waste that goes to landfills. According to a recent report by the World Economic Forum (WEF), there are 50 million tons of e-waste worldwide. This report highlights the importance of e-waste recycling and why businesses cannot afford to ignore the e-waste problem.

The Impact of E-waste Across the Globe

E-waste has had a devastating effect on the environment and communities worldwide. Below are some highlights of the negative impact:

Most electronics contain toxic materials like mercury, nickel, zinc, lead, chromium, and barium. Lead causes kidney damage, human blood contamination, and damage to the nervous system.
Burning e-waste releases toxic chemicals that damage the air quality resulting in respiratory problems in human beings and animals.
E-waste discarded in landfills and is not recycled correctly releases toxic chemicals in water and soil, affecting land and sea animals and reducing crop quality. This also affects communities living close to landfills.
Canadians generate more than 725,000 tonnes of electronic waste per year, and only 20 percent of that is recycled. In the US, most Americans buy new mobile phones every 18 months, and only 10 percent are recycled in the country., Such trends create more e-waste in landfills and contribute to health and environmental issues across the globe.
Guiyu, China, has about 150,000 residents and is known for being the world’s largest electronic waste disposal site. Guiyu is the world’s largest recipient of toxic e-waste from all around the world. Due to such amounts of e-waste, the residents suffer health problems such as stomach illnesses, neurological, respiratory, and bone frailty due to the toxic chemicals in e-waste landfills.

Important Reasons to Recycle E-waste

There five main reasons to recycle e-waste:

To protect our health

Materials used to manufacture electronics are harmful to our environment if not disposed of properly. Materials such as lead or mercury leak through soil and water, affecting animals and human beings. Recycling e-waste keeps toxic materials out of landfills, hence protecting the health of human beings and wildlife.

To protect natural resources

To reduce the amount of e-waste in landfills

With 50 million tons of electronics produced yearly, recycling minimizes the need to use vast tracts of land as a dumpsite. With recycling, this land can be put to better use, such as creating more green areas.

E-waste recycling can create thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the US, demonstrating the importance of recycling e-waste to the economy. As more devices are manufactured every year, jobs will continue to grow, cementing the importance of e-waste recycling.

E-waste recycling creates jobs

Recycle e-waste for money

Another Importance of recycling e-waste is revenue generation. E-waste recycling is a profitable industry that has created jobs and afforded millions of people a decent livelihood. E-waste contains an abundance of precious metals such as copper, gold, and silver. In terms of extracting valuable materials, one tonne of e-waste from old computers contains more gold than the amount of gold extracted from 17 tonnes of ore. There are plenty of opportunities and revenue to be made from recycling e-waste.

E-waste continues to pose a challenge for countries across the globe. As countries produce more electronics each year, used electronics also end up in underdeveloped countries that may not have the infrastructure or capacity to recycle e-waste. Exporting used electronics poses risks such as soil and water contamination, abnormalities in children born close to contaminated areas, and contamination of food chains. These problems affect all other countries across the globe due to imports and exports.

Having strict policies about e-waste recycling ensures water, soil, and food are free from toxins and harmful metals and ensures we have good air quality.

Advantage of Working with TechReset (A Computer Recycling Company)

Recycling e-waste benefits individuals, the environment, and countries across the globe. It is crucial to work with a certified e-waste recycling company with high-quality standards and years of experience in recycling e-waste.

TechReset is the leading electronic recycling company in Canada. We offer a wide range of IT asset disposal services that include:

On-Site Removal

We de-install, collect and remove your UT assets with minimal disruption.

Product Auditing

Product auditing determines the IT assets that need recycling and disposal. It also ensures hardware optimization and ethical business standards.

Secure Data Erasure and Hard Drive Shredding

Often, IT equipment contains confidential data that may damage the organization if it fell into the wrong hands. We erase data and shred storage media using our state-of-the-art equipment and technology. We ensure no sensitive data remains on your storage devices, and all this is done at your premises to protect the integrity of the process.

Zero Landfill Initiative

As an ISO 14001 Environmental and R2:2013 certified institution - for responsible recycling practices, we are proud to have a zero-landfill initiative policy. This is proof that we recycle e-waste while following rigorous environmental management standards.

Redeployment

We turn older IT assets into usable equipment. We essentially update, upgrade, and reinstall software and hardware parts in IT assets.

Value-Added Resellers

TechReset works with resellers to offer our clients end-of-life IT solutions. To estimate how much you can make with reselling, check out our ROI calculator. We help you identify electronics for resale, calculate the Return on Investment you stand to gain with our ROI calculator to help you recover the investment made.

Our e-waste recycling factory has high-quality, automated machinery that recycles while minimizing pollution. We will recycle your e-waste according to certified standards while also supporting your business needs through value-added IT solutions. For more information on what TechReset can do for your organization, contact us today.

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