Lovely cool spring morning, clear sky.
E-Waste, short for electronic waste, includes our every day gadgets, which most of us find now necessary, such as cell phones, ipods,and computers. I suppose most anything electric beyond the simple toaster. In case you are having a hard time imagining what does happen to your E-Waste, 60 Minutes came to the rescue with a graphic depiction of e-waste reality. And yes, it is graphic, appalling and disgusting.
60 Minutes - Electronic Waste
It's like most things - what's under the hood? What's behind the scenes? What's in the ingredients? These are questions we do not ask often enough, nor do we take the time to search for the answers. Because sometimes we don't want to know the answer.
Electronics are usually filled with lots of toxic chemicals that come with fairly substantial carbon footprints to boot. Apple is at the forefront of tackling this huge problem. This topic is for another blog. Watching this 60 Minutes video will give you the basics of the toxic ticking chemicals that makes things work.
Spring cleaning is often used by many as a time to purge their homes, get ready for yard sales or clean out closets. During this time of setting yourself free, please remember that your "stuff" doesn't just "go away", vaporize or head to Pluto. Something happens to it. Right now there are 2 options - your e-waste gets truly recycled and the toxic chemicals are reused or disposed of properly or... it goes to places like China or Africa where it is dumped, burned and leaches into the water ways (and remember, that all goes down stream eventually into our oceans and circulates around the world)
So please be responsible about your e-waste. Ask the questions and investigate the facilities. Search www.earth911.com for a recycling center near you. You can also make do with what you have, repair it or... go without? Okay, maybe too drastic for some of you. But...
Please watch the video... Electronic Waste
No comments:
Post a Comment