MARCH 17 - 23, 2010 UCW 19
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM
I work for an office equipment company selling
copiers, fax machines, computers and printers. Each
year new models come out making old ones obsolete.
As a result, we have loads of trade-ins with nowhere
to go. What can we do with this old equipment?
— Jeff P., Worcester, MA
Electronic waste, or "e-waste" as it's called, is
a growing problem in the United States and abroad,
as obsolete or broken computers and other elec-
tronic equipment are taking up increasingly precious
amounts of landfill space and potentially leaking
hazardous substances into surrounding ecosystems.
The nonprofit Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
reports that 70 percent of the heavy metals in U.S.
landfills are from discarded electronics — even
though the e-waste itself accounts for only two per-
cent of the trash by volume. The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency reports that Americans trash two
million tons of unwanted electronics each year — six times the amount they
recycle. To make matters worse, U.S. companies often ship old equipment to
poor nations whose landfills and incinerators are ill equipped, subjecting already
struggling populations to lead, cadmium, beryllium, and other contaminants.
So what can be done? If your old units still work but have merely been
eclipsed by newer models, then by all means donate them to a needy cause that
will either put them to good use or resell them to help fund their programs.
You'll earn a tax deduction for a charitable donation and, by keeping the equip-
ment alive, prevent the manufacture of new units and thus, if ever so slightly,
reduce the footprint of your operations.
But not every charity accepts old equipment, and no one wants to spend
all day calling around to find one that does. A good place to look, then, is
Goodwill, which will accept your equipment and then sell it through any one of
its 1,500 retail stores across the country. Proceeds fund programs to help the
disabled, illiterate, homeless, and those on welfar
e b
y
providing job training and placement programs. The
Salvation Army runs similar programs and also typi-
cally accepts donated old office equipment.
Another option is to donate your equipment to
needy schools, either directly or via a service like
iLoveSchools.com, which helps teachers find free
supplies and equipment for their classrooms. The
National Cristina Foundation also matches donated
technology with needy schools and nonprofits. Also,
the website GreatNonprofits.org maintains a list of
charities in need of various types of office equip-
ment. You can also offload equipment via Freecycle,
a free service that helps find homes for unwanted
stuff.
While finding a new home for your old gear is
preferable, recycling is also an option. Recyclers
harvest parts from old equipment that can be reused
or resold. Several websites, including My Green
Electronics, E-cycling Central, and Earth911, list electronics recyclers across
the U.S. Some of these vendors will charge a small fee to recycle an item for
you; others may do it for free. Also, Office Depot, Staples and some other stor
es
will take back used electronics — even if not purchased there — usually for a
small fee.
CONTACTS: Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, www.svtc.org; Goodwill,
www.goodwill.org; Salvation Army, www.salvationarmy.org; iLoveSchools.
com, www.iloveschools.com; National Cristina Foundation, www.cristina.org;
GreatNonprofits.org, www.greatnonprofits.org; Freecycle, www.freecycle.org;
E-cycling Central, www.ecyclingcentral.com; Earth911, www.earth911.org;
Office Depot, www.officedepot.com; Staples, www.staples.com.
SEND YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS TO: EarthTalk®, P.O.
Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns
at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php. EarthTalk®
E-Waste — A Growing Concern
From the Editors of Environmental Magazine
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that
Americans trash two million tons of
unwanted electronics
each year - six times the amount they recycle" Picture
courtesy of George Hotelling, via Flickr.
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