UN Report: Up to 90 Percent of E-Waste is Disposed of Illegally
By Robert Jennings May 13, 2015 A recent report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), between 60 and 90 percent of all e-waste is disposed of illegally. That means that of the 41.8 million tons of e-waste generated globally last year, anywhere from 25 to 37 million tons were just dumped. But how? There are strict controls in place for […]
How to Donate or Send Your Old Device for Reuse
By Veena Clay May 12, 2015 As a recent United Nations University (UNU) study shows, America still struggles with a growing electronic waste problem, leading the world in e-waste. It is easy to ponder a number of reasons for this, but it is even easier to present a number of practical methods for safely discarding […]
E-Waste Alchemy: Perfecting the Process of Recovering Gold from E-waste
By Veena Clay May 7, 2015 Did you know that gold, actual gold, is contained in some, if not most, of your electronics? Retrieve enough of it and you may have a solid fortune on your hands. All around the world it seems that everyone, from industrial companies to uncertified trash recyclers, are vying to […]
What Effect Does E-waste Have on Groundwater?
By Veena Clay May 4, 2015 Groundwater is one of the most precious resources on Earth. Its yields supply water to nearly every community in the country, and without it, most of us would be driven to drastic measures to accommodate drought conditions. In fact, that very situation is happening in communities across the nation. As […]
Hazardous Antics: Illegal E-Waste Dumping Hits the Corporate World
By Veena Clay April 21, 2015 You’d think a company the size of AT&T would get it right when it comes to properly disposing its e-waste. Wrong. Last year, the telecom giant was sued for illegal e-waste dumping and ended up settling for $52 million. The case brings up the issue of illegal e-waste dumping, […]
3 Reason Why the U.S. is Losing the e-Waste Battle
By Veena Clay April 8, 2015 Not enough can be written about the current e-waste crisis. Not only in the U.S. but all over the world, the amount of electronic waste is increasing. The sheer volume of waste in some areas is outdoing efforts to curb these increases, meaning that many countries, including the U.S., […]
What is the SMM Electronics Challenge?
By Veena Clay March 17, 2015 Introduced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in September 2012, the Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Challenge was designed to address electronics recycling from a manufacturer’s standpoint. The program focuses on the manufacture and design of electronics, bringing awareness about how these processes could increase the toxic effect that improperly […]
The Cautious Process of Light Bulb Recycling: What You Should Know
By Veena Clay March 10, 2015 When it comes to household items, it is hard to find something more common or familiar than a light bulb. However, the light bulb is no longer the common incandescent light source first invented for widespread commercial use by Thomas Edison. It has evolved in ways its creator never […]
Four Reasons Why You Should Definitely Recycle Your Desktop
By Veena Clay March 5, 2015 Hoarding electronics may not be everyone’s bad habit, but its prevalence in households and offices across the country cannot be denied. With desktops, it happens with particular frequency, often because we just don’t know what to do with an old computer. Most states employ landfill bans to prevent residents […]
New Electronics Recycling Bill Aims to Support Programs in Illinois
By Veena Clay March 3, 2015 E-waste diversion from landfills is quickly becoming a growing trend among states, and rightly so. As electronics production increases in response to growing demand for each new iteration of technology, e-waste has begun to pile up. Numbers and statistics for both production and obsolescence have skyrocketed, not just here […]