improper electronic waste recycling

DID YOU KNOW?

Every year, an estimated 400 million units of obsolete electronics are scrapped
By 2010, this figure will rise to three billion units

While advances in technology continue to improve and enrich our lives, product lifecycles are getting shorter and shorter. This means an increasing amount of end-of-life electronic equipment that needs to be managed. When discarded, much of this equipment ends up in landfills in the US, or is exported to third world countries.

An average of 220 tons of electronic waste is dumped in landfills and incinerators every year in the US alone. These toxic items constitute as much as 2-5% of the US municipal solid waste stream and continues to grow rapidly.
Anywhere from 50 to 80 percent of US electronic waste collected for recycling is sent to Asia.

Why GreenCitizen?		Customer Story

E-Waste Crisis		In the News

Resource Center		Harmful Effects

CBS 60 Minutes
The Electronic Wasteland

Electronic equipment contains harmful toxins which, when released into the environment, can contaminate drinking water, soil and the atmosphere. Lead, mercury, cadmium and flame-retardants are all persistent, bio-accumulative toxins (PBTs) that cause birth defects and damage coronary, respiratory, nervous and skeletal system function.

A single computer or television monitor contains an average of 6 pounds of lead.
Monitor glass by weight contains roughly 20% lead. When this glass is crushed in a landfill, it is only a matter of time until the lead leeches out into the ground water.
Just 1/70 of a teaspoon of mercury is enough to contaminate a 20 acre lake, rendering the fish inedible
In the US, municipal incineration of electronic waste is the largest source of cancer-producing dioxins and is among the largest sources of heavy metal contamination in the atmosphere.

While there are many ways to dispose of unwanted electronics, there are few guarantees that the resulting electronic waste will be disposed of responsibly. GreenCitizen is working to change the way electronics are discarded. We provide convenient, safe and affordable options to repair reuse and recycle electronic waste in the United States.

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