What Are the Harmful Effects of E-Waste to the Environment?

Some human-generated waste, like food scraps or lawn trimmings, don't affect the environment when decomposing at an area landfill. Other types of garbage, such as old electronics components --- dubbed e-waste --- do have detrimental environmental effects. Because of this, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asks citizens to recycle old electronics at an area recycling center, which has the added benefit of reducing the harmful greenhouse gases created to produce new products.

Cramped Landfill Space

• Electronics have become an integral part of everyday life, from cell phones and computers to televisions and stereos. According to the EPA, e-waste makes up about 2 percent of the total waste thrown away by American households, with that percentage rising every year. Recycling or reusing these materials would free up about 2.25 million tons of landfill space every year to materials that don't create an environmental concern.

Harmful Metals

• Consumer electronics don't look dangerous on the shelf, but as soon as they start to decompose, their metallic components leach into area aquifers and waterways. Despite now-stringent regulations controlling the responsible construction of landfills, buffering materials often fail, according to the EPA. These metals include nickel, cadmium, mercury and lead, all of which contribute to varying types of environmental problems, both for aquatic life and the humans who eat them and swim in their waters.

Greenhouse Gases

• The proliferation of electronics is evident. According to the EPA, each household has an average of 23 electronic devices running on outlet or battery power. But only about 10 percent of those are currently recycled for use in future products. Because the manufacturing of plastics and metallic compounds creates greenhouse gases blamed for global warming and acid rain, the more recycling that occurs, the less greenhouse gases must be created to meet future consumer demand.

Where to Recycle

• Since the recycling of electronic waste is recommended by the federal government as well as regional waste management districts, the next step is to alleviate their harmful effects by finding a place near you where you can dispose of your e-waste responsibly. See Resources to find electronics recycling centers near you.