Think Twice Before You Toss Your Old Electronics in the Trash Can

Think twice before you toss your old electronics inthese facilities. Furthermore, these countries don't
the trash can. You may not know it but consumerhave the environmental regulations or inspections in
electronics are full of dangerous heavy metals thatplace to do anything about these toxic dumps of
don't need to wind up in landfills. In landfills theseelectronics and they pose a serious threat to the
heavy metals will leach into the soil and eventuallylocal communities in these regions.
make it into our water supply. From there it will getIn Texas the problem has gotten serious enough to
into our drinking water and cause health problems.prompt a response from the state government. The
This is a growing concern as the pace ofTexas legislature in Austin recently passed a measure
technological innovation continues to increase. Peoplethat requires computer manufactures selling products
are getting rid of their electronics faster now thanin Texas to provide free recycling for old and broken
ever before as technological advancements makecomputers. This will help decrease the amount of
better electronics available faster. At the moment itelectronic waste in Texas' landfills but is by no means
is estimated that 70% of all dangerous heavy metalsan adequate solution to the problem. The law does
in landfills come from consumer electronics evennothing to address the growing problem of TVs in
though they only make up 2-3% of our total trashlandfills sense it doesn't require TV manufactures to
and these numbers are projected to continue rising.provide free recycling of TV's. It is anticipated that
Heavy Metals aren't the only environmental problemwith the recent switch to digital TV there will be a
caused by the massive amounts of consumerlarge number of old, non-digital compatible TVs, being
electronics piling up in landfills. Most consumerdisposed of. In the absence of easy recycling, a lot
electronics also contain a lot of plastic and due to theof these TVs will end up in landfills where they will
high temperatures these plastic casing can bepollute the soil and ground water. Further
exposed to they generally have a flame retardantgovernmental action is needed to prevent this
additive in them. This is a chemical that is mixed intoproblem from getting worse.
the plastic resin during production that increases theSo next time you have electronics to get rid of, be it
melting and burning point of the plastic. The nature ofa laptop or a cell phone, think twice before dropping
this additive makes it leach out easily in hot weatherit in the garbage can. Instead take them all to your
like we experience here in Texas and across thelocal Goodwill where they will be tested and re-sold,
south. This chemical then leaches into the soil andrepaired, or recycled depending on their condition.
eventually it too makes it into our water supply.This is a great way to help out the community and
The problem also expands beyond our local landfills inkeep nasty chemicals out of our water supply. In
the US. The same heavy metals that make consumerAustin you can also drop off electronics at an
electronics harmful in landfills make them valuable toEcology Action recycling center in Downtown or the
countries that need raw materials such as China andcities landfill recycling diversion center in south Austin
India. The problem however, is that when electronicfor no charge. Most cities provide facilities like this to
waste is shipped to these areas it is shipped in bulk.help limit the amount of electronic waste that goes
Not all of the electronics shipped can actually beinto landfills, so make the extra effort to find out
recycled at the plants they are sent to overseas.where the nearest recycling drop off location is and
This leads to toxic electronic waste dumps building uptake your old electronics there instead of sending
in rural areas of countries like China and India nearthem to the landfill.