With technology improving each year, we as consumers have a lot of electronics in our possession. Many of us even have the newer phone model each year, and forget our old phones. However, do we really think about what we are doing with our dated electronics, and how it affects the planet by merely throwing them away?
E-Waste stands for Electronic Waste. It broadly refers to a consumer’s electronic equipment and/or device from being unusable and prone to be discarded. Mostly, these discarded electronics are being thrown away in the trash. However there are many disadvantages as E-waste contains toxic materials which include mercury and lead. If these devices are disposed incorrectly, the chemicals can cause harm to the environment as they spread without notice. Due to this, they can affect the air, soil, and even water sources, which affects all life on Earth. We might not have enough water, food, or breathable air if we keep on disposing our electronics incorrectly.
However we can prevent this ordeal if we recycle electronics correctly. Not only will it safeguard our planet, it could safeguard jobs as well. For example, if more electronics are recycled, then there would be more people in demand to run processing plants, which creates new jobs for the community. In addition, by recycling old computers or phones, they can be refurbished and then utilized by schools, low-income families, and charitable organizations who could not afford a new computer. As a result, we would be able to help people by providing technology and jobs throughout our community which would aid in their lives and futures.
Most importantly by recycling our old electronics, we would be saving on materials. According to the United Nations, metal deposits in e-waste are up to 40-50 times richer than ore extracted from mines. Consequently, if we keep on throwing away our electronics rather than recycling, we would be depleting our resources which would take hundreds of years to recover back. Therefore by recycling, we would be able to conserve earth’s materials, and have a more efficient way to obtain and reuse them to produce new technological items.
By recycling our old electronics, we gain a lot of advantages to the environment and to each other. We would be helping out each other by providing each other with jobs and giving your old electronics to each other that will build our economy more. By the same token, we would be able to preserve Earth and live off of it in better terms. Our actions now determine the world that we want to live in. So why don’t we recycle to make our world a better place?
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