25 January 2016

The problem of e-waste is as wide as the world and as close as individual choice

The Altamont Enterprise Opinion 20 Janbuary 2016: The United States produces more electronic waste than any county on Earth yet has no national laws on how to dispose of it and no plants to recycle it.

The average American uses 24 electronic products, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. This can include cell phones, e-readers, computers, televisions, video games, and even hearing aids. In 2010 — and the amount is increasing rapidly every year — the United Sates generated 2.44 million tons of electronic waste, known as e-waste, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency. But less than a quarter of it was recycled.

Recycling e-waste is essential for two reasons — it contains toxic substances like mercury, lead, cadmium, and beryllium. It also contains precious and special metals like gold, silver, platinum, and...read on.