Have you completed a summer garage cleanout and discovered some electronics that are in need of recycling? You are not alone, as some estimates indicate 400 million units of consumer electronics are “retired” each year. Hopefully, this retirement is responsible, and items are not left on the roadside or casually tossed into the trash. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, electronics are made from valuable resources and materials, which use energy to produce.
When upgrading to newer technology, households must decide to either dispose of working older, obsolete electronics, or store them. Obsolete electronics are items that are no longer wanted even though they may still be in good working order, and are referred to as e-waste. E-waste includes TVs, microwaves, computers, computer monitors, fax machines, copiers, stereo and audio equipment, personal digital assistants, game consoles, cellphones and all the cords that go with each device.
The EPA website indicates that recycling 1 million laptops saves the energy equivalent of the electricity used by over 3,500 homes in a year, and for every million cellphones recycled, 35,000 pounds of copper, 772 pounds of silver, 75 pounds of gold and 33 pounds of palladium can be recovered.
There are many benefits to recycling unwanted electronics — the 2020 Tokyo Olympic medals were made from recycled electronics!
Have you ever considered what went into the manufacturing of a TV? According to the website madehow.com there are four basic parts, which are: the exterior, made of injection molded plastic; the speaker system, made of metals and plastic; the picture screen; and finally a complicated mass of electronics. Should the TV be an older-style picture tube TV, the glass has a chemical coating containing lead, while newer flat-screen TVs have liquid crystal materials between two glass plates. The internal electronic components, which we see as “input” and “output” connections, are made of various metals, solder and silicon.
Through recycling, potentially hazardous materials are kept out of the waste stream that eventually ends up in landfills. Recycling also conserves natural resources, such as water and raw minerals mined from the ground, plus it avoids air and water pollution associated with the need to collect raw materials. Additionally, there are connections in all steps to greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global climate change.
Older-style computer monitors and televisions with picture tubes contain 4 to 8 pounds of lead in addition to other toxic materials. Newer flat-screen TVs and monitors contain less lead but more mercury. According to the Electronics TakeBack Coalition website, 40% of heavy metals like lead, mercury and cadmium in landfills comes from e-waste.
Various sources indicate that approximately 25% of the generated e-waste is recycled properly, with the remaining 75% going to landfills or incinerated. When old-style picture tube monitors and TVs are improperly disposed, toxic materials can cause a problem for the environment. For over a decade, Cayuga County has offered a fall electronics recycling event for county residents to responsibly dispose of their accumulated e-waste.
Cayuga County’s Fall Electronics Recycling Plus event is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 1, for Cayuga County residents only. Registration is required. Once registered, you will receive confirmation of the location. Registration is now available online at https://blogs.cornell.edu/ccecayuga using the "Upcoming Events" tab or, for those without internet access, by calling Cayuga County Cornell Cooperative Extension at (315) 255-1183 ext. 2876.
