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Hazards of Recycling Electronic Gadgets

With the short lifespan that computers have now, and the constant proliferation of trendy new electronic gadgets, electronic recycling has become a reality in the United States. There's even a word for our tech discards: "e-waste." Recycling monitors, computer towers and laptops is the right thing to do, but there are unintended consequences. While the leaded cathode ray tubes in TVs and older monitors used to be of greatest concern to environmentalists, now they worry about the release of mercury and brominated flame retardants in the recycling process.

  1. Recycling Figures

    • A startling amount of e-waste is dumped every year. The San Francisco-based Electronics TakeBack Coalition, a group that lobbies for greater consumer-electronics recycling efforts, reports that in 2007 48.2 million units of computer products were recycled -- and that is only 18 percent of the total number of discarded computer products. In fact, the coalition estimated that about 400 million units of e-waste, including TVs and DVD players, will have been discarded annually over the remainder of the decade.

    Mercury

    • Recycling an electronic product means separating the plastic shell from some of the components inside. This "taking apart" process has to be done very carefully because in the case of monitors, for example, both LCD and plasma screens are lit by fluorescent lamps, which contain mercury. The lamps are numerous, hard to remove, and fragile, and if broken release toxic mercury into the environment. Mercury affects the brains of developing fetuses, causing neurological impairments. Exposed adults may suffer from memory loss and muscle weakness. Computer manufacturer Dell, which tends to be ahead of the curve on making products with fewer toxic materials, sells notebooks with LED screens that don't contain mercury.

    Flame Retardants

    • Flame retardants are another matter. Packed into our computers to prevent them from exploding when exposed to fire, these chemicals are now considered to be very dangerous, as they release carcinogenic dioxins and furans (a highly toxic and flammable liquid) when burned. To pay for the laborious process of training staff to dispose of these toxic materials safely, responsible electronics recyclers charge a fee to the public for handling their e-waste. The European Union has strictly regulated these products, and Dell began phasing them out as early as 1996.

    Overseas Hazards and Public Health

    • Unfortunately, about 50 to 80 percent of computer products recycled in the United States are sent overseas to Africa or Asia, which are treated as repositories for precious heavy metals without regard to the safety risks of working with them. Women and children, many of whom do this delicate, dangerous work, are particularly affected. Pressure is now being put on computer manufacturers by the federal government to design cleaner products in the first place, while local governments are spearheading efforts to keep toxic electronics out of landfills by implementing mandatory recycling programs. The hope is that as products get cleaner and greener, recycling programs will be more effective and comprehensive, and the risks to public health will diminish.

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