When I posted the recent NYT photo essay on ewaste to my facebook page, a friend immediately queried, "What?s a responsible person supposed to do?." The interactive map on www.e-stewards.org helped her find a responsible recycler near her. We can all do that. We can all talk about it so that IT's dirty little secret begins to see the light of day. You can read more about how to know if you recycler is doing the right thing at http://bit.ly/a4T1S4.
Another aspect of this nobody seems to be talking about is the rapidly diminishing rare earth elements that make a lot of electronics work. It'll be a lot easier to reclaim and re-use these compounds if they haven't been tossed into a landfill or incinerated. And it's not just abroad that improper handling of electronics poses a threat - it's here. It's our water, it's our soil, and our citizens that can be exposed to toxins without careful precautions.
I?d been using computers for decades before I first learned about e-waste when I was researching Green IT For Dummies a few years ago. I?d wager that most people who use electronics are ignorant of what happens to them, beyond the extent that their local garbage collector charges a fee or won?t collect it all. Retailers can do us all a big service by providing drop-off points and responsible recycling ? a number have, but awareness is still minimal.
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