Don't Throw That Old PC Away!
Most folks don't give a second thought to dumping their old TVs, small electronics and computer equipment in the trash.
They should.
Old equipment like monitors and computers contain heavy metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic in them which, when thrown away, leech into the ground water poisoning us in the process.
Fortunately many states (like Illinois) have developed laws outlawing the dumping of CRTs and other electronics containing toxic substances but they haven't done anything to make it EASY for us to be responsible cititzens. At work I have piles of old electronic equipment (some still good) which I can't dispose of because there's simply no easy way to do so.
Last week I read about a new effort spearheaded by eBay that puts all the information needed to dispose of your equipment in one, easy-to-access site -- the Rethink Initiative.
Here is a description of the site in their own words:
"The Rethink Initiative brings together industry, government and environmental organizations to offer a fresh perspective and new answers to the challenge of e-waste.
They should.
Old equipment like monitors and computers contain heavy metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic in them which, when thrown away, leech into the ground water poisoning us in the process.
Fortunately many states (like Illinois) have developed laws outlawing the dumping of CRTs and other electronics containing toxic substances but they haven't done anything to make it EASY for us to be responsible cititzens. At work I have piles of old electronic equipment (some still good) which I can't dispose of because there's simply no easy way to do so.
Last week I read about a new effort spearheaded by eBay that puts all the information needed to dispose of your equipment in one, easy-to-access site -- the Rethink Initiative.
Here is a description of the site in their own words:
"The Rethink Initiative brings together industry, government and environmental organizations to offer a fresh perspective and new answers to the challenge of e-waste.
"On this site you can find information, tools and solutions that make it easy – and even profitable – to find new users for idle computers and electronics, and responsibly recycle unwanted products."
Using this site, I can easily locate companies in my area that can help dispose of my broken equipment as well as use tools to perhaps make a little money selling the still usable stuff.
If you would like to learn more about their efforts, please visit:
http://pages.ebay.com/rethink/index.html
1 Comments:
Wow! I had no idea 'heavy metals' were in old PC's. I've always like Motley Crue and Metallica. Snicker... Can't we just, like, haul them all out to the parking lot and beat 'em with baseball bats? That could very well be the 'entertainment' for the next company holiday party.
By
Michael Guy, at 10:02 PM
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