Most people probably don’t spend a lot of time pondering the things that end up in landfills and what they are doing once they are there. While many people, and businesses, are sure to recycle, not everyone does and not everyone knows what can and can’t, and what should, be recycled.
One of the most important things that people should be recycling, especially businesses, is e-waste. This includes your computers, VCRs, televisions, copiers, stereos, fax machines, cell phones, and even any other common electronic products. Some of these items can be reused, as parts, or even refurbished. Others simply need to be recycled for scrap, but they definitely shouldn’t just be tossed in the trash.
Take time to recycle your e-waste and you could be protecting your business from at least a couple of headaches.
You Could Get Fined
You could end up spending as much as $10,000 a day for tossing your e-waste and having it end up in landfills. That’s a pretty high fine, and could be enough to put you out of business. Aside from the fines, you are just being better to the earth by properly disposing of these items.
There are risks to people’s lives when these types of items are just tossed into the environment, from harmful gasses to things seeping into the earth and water systems. So, not only will you save money, but you’ll save the Earth, by recycling.
You may think that your one cell phone in the trash is no big deal, but hopefully these statistics from Money Crashers will have you seeing things differently:
– Wirefly.org reported that the average cell phone user replaces their phone every 18 months.
– Just in the U.S. alone people toss over 100 million cell phones into the trash every single year. According to the EPA, more than 112,000 computers are thrown out each day in the U.S. That equals 41.1 million desktops and laptop computers a year.
– There are 20 million TVs tossed in U.S. trash cans every year.
– A mere 13 percent of electronic waste is actually disposed of and recycled properly.
Protect Your Information
By responsibly recycling your electronics you are also working more towards protecting your information, your business’ information, and the information of your clients. Throwing a computer in the trash doesn’t guarantee it will make it to a landfill and stay there, and if you didn’t wipe the memory clean who knows where all the information will end up.
By taking it someplace professional for recycling you can feel safer about the fact that your sensitive information will be wiped out and not end up someplace bad.
Take the time to properly dispose of your e-waste and save time, money, and headaches, all just for doing something good for the environment!