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After you've browsed the 11 facts (with citations at the bottom), take action
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suck less.
1. In 2009, discarded TVs, computers,
peripherals (including printers, scanners, fax machines) mice, keyboards, and
cell phones totaled about 2.37 million short tons.
2. E-waste represents 2% of America's
trash in landfills, but it equals 70% of overall toxic waste.
3. 20 to 50 million metric tons of e-waste
are disposed worldwide every year.
4. Cell phones and other electronic items
contain high amounts of precious metals like gold or silver. Americans dump
phones containing over $60 million in gold/silver every year.
5. A large number of what is labeled as
"e-waste" is actually not waste at all, but rather whole electronic
equipment or parts that are readily marketable for reuse or can be recycled for
materials recovery.
6. Only 12.5% of e-waste is currently
recycled.
7. For every 1 million cell phones that
are recycled, 35,274 lbs of copper, 772 lbs of silver, 75 lbs of gold, and 33
lbs of palladium can be recovered.
8. Recycling 1 million laptops saves the
energy equivalent to the electricity used by 3,657 U.S. homes in a year.
9. E-waste is still the fastest growing
municipal waste stream in America, according to the EPA.
10. It takes 530 lbs of fossil fuel, 48 lbs
of chemicals, and 1.5 tons of water to manufacture one computer and monitor.
11. Electronic items that are considered to
be hazardous include, but are not limited to: Televisions and computer monitors
that contain cathode ray tubes, LCD desktop monitors, LCD televisions, Plasma
televisions, Portable DVD players with LCD screens.
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