At GadgetVenue we have noticed over this last year or so that there has been a slight change to what gadget makers are doing in their companies and how they are creating their goods. The emphasis is shifting over to a more “green” approach by thinking about what is being made and how it is being made. We have seen shifts in materials used, processes used but what we haven’t really looked at is what we do with our gadgets after we have finished with them. All of us enjoy getting a new flat panel LCD monitor or 2 for our desktop and a nice new upgrade to our PC… but what about the old stuff? Does it just get crushed and pushed in a landfill somewhere? Lets take a look.
The BBC reported back in 2005 that laws in the UK were changing where it has now become illegal to throw electronics away in the regular bins and at the time, 84% of those surveyed had not heard about that law and only 10% surveyed actually disposed of gadgets the legal way. Obviously room for improvement. An article over on the Washingtonpost website mentioned that 1.5 – 1.9 Million Tons of electronic waste went in to landfills a few years ago back in 2005. The article finishes off saying that gadgets must go greener. However, this is not an easy task. We are in 2009 now and there are no gadgets that spring to mind that can be just thrown away due to being green enough to do so.
Obsessable points out that a number of companies such as Apple offer to dispose of gadgets for you and some of the US larger chains of stores offer a program to buy gadgets back in return for vouchers. Sites such as Freecycle can be used to freely get rid of gadgets, or to make something out of them they can be sold on eBay.
Another option in the UK is to pay a company to collect your old gadgets and monitors. A quick search shows companies like Wastecare Waste Management are readily available to collect old goods and dispose of them the correct way by recycling them. What you need to make sure of is that the company you choose is following the WEEE Compliance guidelines.
Reading up on this subject today has made me think it’s time to be more active about the problem of waste. Considering the law has been in place in the UK since July 2007 that Computer recycling must be done I am surprised that it’s still common to see things getting sneaked through the cracks.
What are your thoughts on recycling? Is enough being done and who should be the ones making this happen?
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
its a good practice and you can take some benefit of it
“Good practice” you are right there. I think for a lot of people they just dont realise though. Hopefully the message is moving around and one day people will all be converted
I agree, a good practice. Practical? Nope, not enough recycling places to take the stuff and dispose of properly. Some companies have stepped up to the plate and taken the challenge. However, manufacturers have not.
@Linda.. Good practice indeed but it requires all people switch. Naturally people take the easy route and that’s just to throw it in the bin. If they could work out how to get around that problem (some kind of enforcement) then recycling would happen more often.