Tis the Season to Recycle E-Waste

The seasons, they are a-changing. The turkeys have been eaten and holiday shopping is in full swing. The holiday season means many things to many people: time with family, the end of a school semester, holiday bonuses if you’re lucky (especially in this economy) and those gaudy Christmas sweaters that seem to be so popular for some reason or another.

For most people, this time of year also indicates the beginning of the age-old tradition of digging up the boxes of festive lights, wreaths and wintry decorative detritus. This year, when rooting around in my mom’s attic for the above-mentioned ornamentation, I noticed something that quickly became too omnipresent to ignore: a large collection of unused, old and outdated machines. While I was in the merry mood to sift through dusty crevices of an old house to find decorations for Christmas, I quickly concluded that the house was already decorated in a way I hadn’t previously noticed: with useless electronics.

Printers, old cell phones, a jumble of cords and more were all strewn across the attic like a museum display honoring the 1990s. Being a writer for a recycling website, I was understandably irked by such a collection; a hoard that served only as blight and a reminder of our nation’s typical habits of consumption and discard — out of sight, out of mind. But, according to an article in the Christian Science Monitor (of all places), the EPA has estimated that “Americans generated 3.01 million tons of electronic waste, or e-waste, in 2007, but only 13.6 percent of it was recycled… the rest went into incinerators and dumps.” Knowing that many of these products contain highly toxic materials such as lead, cadmium and mercury makes this a statistic that forces you to really stop and think. How many of us have a collection of old electronics right now? While writing this article, I can count a computer, cellular phone and MP3 music player — all of which will be outdated within the next six months, no doubt. And, while advancement in technology is by no means an evil pursuit, it certainly could be if we continue to collect and discard electronics at our current rate. But, like most good stories, the article gives us hope — and hope is a welcomed companion when sitting in an old, dark attic feeling guilty.

Policy for what to do with e-waste is being pushed through Congress as you read this. At the time of the Christian Science Monitor article’s writing, the U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson challenged Congress to keep an eye on such wasteful, dangerous materials. Thompson’s resolution includes stipulations to mandate the legislature’s participation in e-waste recycling programs by any one of the recyclers certified by the environmental watchdog organization e-Stewards. Eco-friendly ideas like this expand beyond the Capitol as many communities and municipalities are looking to start e-waste recycling and take-back programs as well. However, it’s not all smooth sailing from here on out.

Complications contend Thompson’s resolution since, according to the article, estimates of a door-to-door collection program hover around $200 million annually and arguments that recycling trucks will greatly increase air pollution and traffic trigger concerns. These disputes, nonetheless, indicate that our nation’s leaders are taking a sincere look at how to tackle the rising issue of dangerous electronics in our landfills.

Countless others must have found themselves in my same position within the last few weeks — sifting through boxes of needless e-waste. While I sat and took in the tangle of wires, forgotten toys and outdated appliances, I realized that the scene in my mom’s attic wasn’t one to make me cringe, but rather one that sheds light on how these unwanted electronics can still be salvaged in an environmentally friendly manner. If you are also looking for a way to sustainably free up some storage space this holiday season, I suggest taking a look at where your e-waste goes and your region’s list of electronic recyclers here on 1-800-RECYCLING. This way you can be sure that this season of giving includes giving your old electronics to responsible recyclers.