Recycling e-waste during ‘computer month’
By Bill Knight | 11th June 2008
June should be Computer Month, and it’s a fine time to starting recycling common materials most folks may not even see as waste.
Or as toxic.
Computer scientists Howard Engstrom and Maurice V. Wilkes were born in June (on June 21, 1902, and June 23, 1913, respectively).
The first commercial electronic computer, UNIVAC 1, was dedicated at the U.S. Census Bureau on June 14, 1951. Three years earlier, on June 21, a computer used a stored program for the first time at the University of Manchester in England.
More recently, the personal computer was given a boost on June 10, 1977, when Apple shipped its first Apple II models. And on June 8, 1979, the first computer information service, The Source, went online.
Finally, the woman recognized as the first computer programmer, Lord Byron’s daughter, Ada Lovelace, on June 5, 1833, met British mathematician and engineer Charles Babbage, who’d invent the first mechanical computer.
June is more than a time for brides, then.
This June is a good time to realize that computers eventually make up a huge part of the stream of electronic waste – “e-waste” – that threatens people and communities’ landfills.
“Electronic waste is something that a lot of people don’t really know much about,” says Karen Raithel, recycling director for Peoria County. “There are computer components and parts of TVs and other devices we just don’t associate with batteries and oil and so on.”
The public response to May 3rd’s Hazardous Waste Day shows that the community is more educated about everyday hazards.
“That was great,” Raithel says. “We had about 1,500 patient people waiting in line – compared to 800 in past years. So there’s a great opportunity to get people involved and aware.”
Computers and TVs, cell phones and printers and more, e-waste is a fast-growing type of municipal solid waste – with millions of tons generated annually, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. E-waste stems from the popularity of consumer electronics and the speed at which it’s replaced. On average, 9 of 10 consumers own a computer, and 8 of 10 own a cell phone, according to Consumer Reports magazine, which also notes that, on average, each American owns 3.5 TVs.
However, more than 13 million TVs are thrown away in the United States each year, according to the Consumer Electronics Association; 130 million cell phones are discarded annually, adds the nonprofit environmental research group INFORM, based in New York.
Less than 20% of the devices are recycled, the U.S. EPA says.
Still, e-waste can be recycled at various Peoria-area locations, from retailers such as Best Buy and Staples to charities such as Goodwill Industries and the Salvation Army to specialty operators such as Recycling for Illinois, Inc. and M&M Recycling, according to Raithel and the earth911.org web site, where the State of Illinois refers consumers.
(Some sites are limited to certain devices or have residential restrictions, so call first.)
Why bother?
Computers’ circuit boards, batteries and plastics can be dangerous as solid waste leaking from landfills. Those parts, plus TVs’ and monitors’ cathode ray tubes, and various relays, switches and liquid crystal displays (LCDs) can contain dangerous levels of toxins such as lead, nickel, zinc, cadmium, chromium and mercury. Nevertheless, computers, monitors, cell phones and other electronic goods and their parts can be recycled, too.
But only nine states have passed e-waste measures, so much of the solution must be consumer-driven.
There’s some progress in Springfield, where the Electronic Product Recycling and Reuse Act (SB 2313) passed the state Senate on April 17, with 52 ayes, 0 nays, 2 present and 5 not voting. With cosponsors including Democrats Dave Koehler of Peoria and John Sullivan of Rushville and Republicans Dan Rutherford of Pontiac and Kirk Dillard of Hinsdale, the bipartisan measure in mid-May was unanimously passed out of the House Environment and Energy Committee 23-0 for consideration by the full House.
“The economic impact of an e-waste recycling industry in Illinois is substantial,” says Jill M. Geiger of the Environmental Law & Policy Center in Chicago. “A recent study estimated the creation of nearly 2,000 jobs and $417 million in business revenue throughout the state.”
Besides benefits, e-waste represents expensive problems if nothing is done, she added.
“The environmental cost is huge,” Geiger continues. “TVs, computers, monitors and other electronic equipment contain lead, mercury, cadmium and other toxic materials. The U.S. EPA has reported that even the smallest amount of toxins leaking from our landfill can pollute our drinking water supply.
“There are hidden costs as well,” she adds. “All too often e-waste is dumped abroad in poor cities and villages where scavengers climb the toxic mountains of high-tech trash, only to poison their health while attempting to find pieces of metal that can maybe pay for a meal.”
Some quarters of Big Business object to state laws because they can vary from states to state, but there are no federal laws regulating e-waste disposal (compared to Europe, where manufacturers are responsible). Elsewhere, though some manufacturers have recycling programs or cooperate with charities to arrange for e-waste drop-offs, including Dell and Hewlett-Packard.
Illinois’ Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity’s Bureau of Energy and Recycling offers more information, including an e-waste reuse-recycling locator map at http://www2.illinoisbiz.biz/ENR/locs/index.htm.
Other useful links are www.peoriacounty.org/recycle/files/get/RecyclingLocations.pdf (listing Peoria recycling sites) and earth911.org/electronics/ (for other locations that accept e-waste).
From Flag Day to Father’s Day, June can be patriotic or paternal. But if you plan to recycle the e-waste everyone accumulates, June will be smart and safe, too.
Bill Knight is an award-winning journalist who teaches at Western Illinois University. Contact him at bill.knight@hotmail.com.