Is All Electronics Recycling the Same?
Most people believe recycling their old electronics devices is the most sustainable and economical option - but are they right?
Learn about the process of actually building the electronics we use everyday, what happens when devices are recycled, and what better options are available to safely dispose of used electronics.
So you’ve decided it’s time to purchase a new electronics device. Maybe your current device just isn’t cutting it anymore. With so many issues plaguing devices like network or Wi-Fi disruptions, lagging, or manufacturers no longer supporting updates, it’s a tough selling point to not make the switch to something that will better support your needs. So the question now is what should you do with your used equipment that is no longer needed?
If you’re like the majority of people living in the US, you most likely throw your electronics equipment out with the trash where it will be incinerated or end up in a landfill. According to the United Nations, less than a quarter of all US electronic waste is actually recycled! This leaves electronics devices to deteriorate, leaking harmful materials like mercury, cadmium, lead and nickel into the soil and water table which can impact the health and wellbeing for millions of people.
So the clear option is to recycle your used electronics, right? Not necessarily – what we fail to see is what happens to devices after they are received by the various trade-in and recycling programs offered by distributors, manufacturers, and town recyclers.
The Electronics Recycling Process in a Nutshell
For most traditional electronics recyclers, business is booming with the value of component metals like gold, silver and copper continuing to increase each year. Electronics recyclers are able to extract these metals through the use of large industrial shredders that crush and tear apart the electronics devices reducing them to no more than the size of a quarter. After shredding the devices, these quarter-sized bits of metal are sold to a smelter where sophisticated technology is used to separate the different metals from one another. Smelters then re-sell the separated metals to manufacturers for re-use.
That doesn’t sound all that bad, right? If you’re thinking the device was properly recycled and its components will eventually be reused to make new things, you would be correct – it’s not all that bad of an option compared to sending the electronic device to a landfill. But is it the best option for the environment and overall consumer marketplace? To better understand how recycling electronics devices impact the environment and marketplace, lets first look at the impact new devices have through their lifecycle.
The Environmental Impact of Manufacturing New Computer Electronics Devices is Greater than it Seems
Apple 2022 Environmental Reporting - Mac Includes the most commonly purchased Mac devices by consumers in 2022, iMac 24-inch, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and Mac Pro
When a computer or smart device is manufactured, a large amount of time and energy is used to get the product from start to finish. From the mining of minerals, transportation of minerals and component parts to factories, factory production of equipment, and transportation of a completed product to distribution centers and retail stores, each leg of the production process has a significant impact on our environment.
To understand the impacts of purchasing new computer and smart devices, let’s review the carbon emissions produced from Apple’s largest product lines from 2022, Macs, iPads and iPhones over their product lifecycles. For the non-Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions experts, lets also look at the number of trees you would have to plant and grow over a 10 year period to negate the effects of purchasing and using each type of device.
Even with Apple’s strides to reduce its environmental footprint of its devices, it still cannot prevent the inevitable increase of emissions generated from the production of its new devices. On average, the production and transportation of new Apple products accounts for over 80% of the total lifetime emissions produced by new devices, with the remaining 20% related to the actual use of equipment. If we want to make the largest impact, the place to start is by extending the life of our used products.
The Negative Effects of New Computer Electronics in the Marketplace
With new devices seemingly coming out every few months, we as consumers have developed an addiction to continuously wanting the newest device instead of using the perfectly good device we already have. The purchase of new devices may give you the boost of serotonin you are looking for but will only hurt you in the end. Consistent purchasing habits of new devices provide manufacturers complete power over the market, forcing consumers to overspend on items they don’t need and draining further resources from our environment.
An Alternative to Recycling
So you may be asking yourself “if recycling my old computer device is not the best option for the environment, what should I do instead?”
The answer is to find a professional computer refurbishing business who will have the capability to repair and resell the equipment for future use. With data security as the leading concern held among businesses and consumers, it is important to always use a reputable professional computer refurbishing company that is capable of wiping devices using sophisticated software adhering to industry-leading data-erasure standards (NIST SP 800-88).
Every used electronic device refurbished and resold reduces the emissions footprint for that device by 80%. More than that, each device has the potential to support somebody in the world who really needs it by connecting them to resources that they wouldn’t otherwise have.
So next time you are looking to recycle or dispose of a used computer or other electronic device, make the choice to send it to a refurbisher instead of to a recycler. You may not be able to directly see the impact your decision has, but you will be one of many who have positively impacted our world by supporting the wellbeing of our environment and society for generations to come.
At Computer Systems Asset Disposal, we are professional refurbishers and resellers of a wide range of electronics equipment. Utilizing the highest level of data security policies and procedures, we combine industry leading software with our own internal data security policies and procedures to meet or exceed data security and erasure standards listed in NIST 800-88 R1 - Guidelines for Media Sanitization. If you are looking to switch to a electronics refurbisher and recycler you can trust, give us a call or submit a response through our website and our dedicated team will get in touch!