Recycling The First World, in the Third 609
simoncito writes "Ever wondered where that old useless printer ended up? BBC has a photo report about chinese villagers building ramshackle systems out of used and discarded first world computer parts. The effects on their surroundings are drastic - I never knew hardware was so poisonous." Worth a look if you aren't desensitized to suffering.
Anyone know the proper way to dispose of a monitor?
Recycling old computer (and other) gear (Score:3, Informative)
If you can't find the answer under "Recycling" in your local yellow pages, drop the folks at Eco Cycle [eco-cycle.org] of Boulder a line and see if they can hook you up to a network in your area.
Re:Proper way to dispose of a monitor... (Score:5, Informative)
1. If you can't use the monitor, then first look into local schools. I know that in Ontario, Canada, you can get a tax credit for donating used computer equipment to schools. My high school (according to my brother who still goes there) has about 4 computer labs for ~P100-266 machines from this program which still word process and surf fairly nicely.
2. If the monitor is broken and the cost of repair is more than a comprable new monitor, then there will be specialised safe disposal facilities at must garbage dumps. Chances are you have to drive there and drop it off yourself, but it's worth it in preventing the Lead, Arsenic, etc from getting into the water.
3. When getting a new CRT montior, make sure it conforms to at least TCO99 (there is a sticker) because these have environmentally conscious amounts of harmful chemicals in them, but should still be disposed of safely in the end.
Re:Proper way to dispose of a monitor (Score:3, Informative)
TechTV. (Score:5, Informative)
Check it out here. [techtv.com]
A co-worker of mine has a friend in China, and it is something that he really takes seriously. He actually wrote an article in our IT newsletter a few months ago, talking about the waste that we dump into Asia. All sorts of countries are doing this. Companies are paying to dump this junk off to the cheapest landfill. It is sick. It is something that we need to take seriously. Large ships take this stuff to Asia every day.
I also read that there are start-up companies that are trying to take this stuff and dismantle it properly. Recycling this stuff, and appropriately preventing serious toxic hazards.
The first way to start is simple... Don't throw this stuff into the trash. Landfills are becoming full of this stuff. Donate working computer stuff, or try to find a suitable recycling facility. It is important to realize that this can be done with all electronics. [recycle.net]
ComputerRecycle.com. [computerecycle.com]
Here's Info on IBM's Recycling Service (Score:5, Informative)
[ibm.com]
http://www.ibm.com/ibm/environment/products/pcr
Cancer me this. (Score:4, Informative)
Sure, saying "asbestos causes cancer" is FUD, if by FUD you mean "Fear," "Uncertainty," and "Doubt".
In this case, however, FUD does not mean "unverifiable myth."
If you're curious about the level of toxicity of asbestos, try going here. [cancer.org]
The upshot of that site reads as follows:
Furthermore, many kinds of toner are listed as possible human carcinogens. One of the reasons for this may be that conclusive evidence has not yet been gathered (read: powerful lobby to defund government studies).
The first 5 pages of this Google search [google.com] yields results you might find handy.
Give it back to the manufacturer (Score:5, Informative)
Try HP Product Recycling Services [hp.com]
In the US, it costs $13-34, including shipping. There are cheaper solutions, but you risk having your monitor end up in somebody's backyard in China. HP at least operates 2 recycling plants in Roseville, CA, and Nashville, TN.
Paper doesn't come from rainforests!! (Score:5, Informative)
I want to go completely paperless, because I don't like the idea of killing the rainforest for paper.
God dammit!! Why do people keep saying this?!? Paper comes from trees specifically planted to produce paper! It doesn't come from the trees in the rainforests! The rainforests are being cut down because space is needed for agricultural development in 3rd world countries. Do you really think trees are falling in South America and then being shipped to the USA to make paper??
Your post (which someone modded as 'Insightful') seems to ask what you can do for the environment. Here's my suggestion: make sure you really understand the issues. Because when you start spouting things like "killing the rainforest for paper" you make ALL of us look like idiots. It's too easy for the pro-big-business, anti-environment forces to point to someone like you and paint all concerned people as morons who want to save the rainforests "because Sting said so".
GMD
Then be pro-active. (Score:5, Informative)
Fine, you feel bad. So what are you gonna do about it? Short term? Long term?
Short term- you could buy your food from local farmers markets and buy organic in supermarkets.
(remember: Organic means poop!)
Don't buy soaps and shampoos from companies that test on animals (you can get a list from peta.com- my wife does this and you can still buy producst from Target... just not all of 'em.)
Don't buy products from companies who "pollute" the environment.
For the mid term- the next car you buy should be a hybrid. Get in touch with people who have gone completely off the grid (hydro, wind, solar, etc.)
and see how they made the transition.
Marry someone who can sew and make your own clothes. (or do it yrself!)
Make a plan, and DO IT. Its gonna cost you more money, its gonna take up more time and effort to do what everyone else does; but no one said character building was easy.
If you can dream it, you can do it. If you whine about it, you'll get the smack-down you deserve.
If you do it and whine about it, then yr just like me!
Seattle's county ahead of the game on this (Score:4, Informative)
For instance, monitors are disassembled, and the tubes sent to Pennsylvania, where the glass is smelted, and the lead separate for reuse. (The poster who mentioned that LCDs change this equation are right: no new smelters for recycling are being built because CRTs will no longer exist outside specialized uses, so existing smelters will handle the tens of millions of discards.)
Likewise, circuits and other components are sent to companies that often offer job retraining and are nonprofits to safely, under OSHA rules, extract useful materials. One outfit in the SF Bay Area can even get usable epoxy out of circuit boards which can be reused.
The real problem with computing as with white goods (appliances) and other products like cars is that the manufacturers are only required to use safe techniques in building them. Disposal is not part of the price tag. This is changing gradually in Europe, and it's clear to all concerned that if there were a federal mandate, we'd all see savings over the lifecycle of the product: we wouldn't have surprise billion-dollar cleanup funds, and would stop poisoning the rest of the world.
HP and other companies have taken some great steps with toner cartridges and some other limited products that they build in such a way that they can be easily disassembled and much of the parts reused or refashioned.
See how wasteful you are (Score:2, Informative)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_dept
If everyone lived like me we'd need 3.7 planets. I'm sure this is pretty alarmist but we're definately screwing up this planet. I mean it 50 degrees outside in the Bay Area during the middle of August, WTF?
Re:I feel bad some days. (Score:1, Informative)
Human activity is now effecting the planet's ecology at levels never seen before NYTIMES: Forget Nature. Even Eden is Engineered. [nytimes.com].
The total world-wide human environmental footprint is now so large that we use up resources at a rate faster than the biosphere can regenerate. The original report at the PNAS is here (you need a subscription to read the entire text) Tracking the Ecological Overshoot of the human economy [pnas.org]. The story was summarized in news papers about a month or so ago (sorry, can't find now) but the basic message is that overall we are annually using up 120% of what the earth can regenerate. The typical American is using up 22 acres of resources, topping the list by far. If everyone on the planet lived like an American, we would need a biosphere at least 5 times as large. For comparison, there are only 4.5 acres per person for use given our *current* population.
To learn more about sustainable living, check out Redifining Progress [redefiningprogress.org].
Glaciers and large meteors are also forces of nature and look what they have done. I personally can make choices and so can you. I'm in the process of a massive yet completely doable and non-ascetic lifestyle change by selling my oversized mansion of a house, moving onto a bus line and close to an in-city farmer's market. According to the Ecological Footprint Quiz [earthday.org] at earthday.org [earthday.org], the differences between my old and new dwelling, my car vs. bus use and shopping habits will have me reduce my footprint from 33 (!!) acres to 14. (I probably still fly too much on airplanes).
Re:Proper way to dispose of a monitor... (Score:2, Informative)
I work for local government IT support and I'd like to add that, while schools will welcome decent old kit, please don't use them as a dumping ground for old junk.
I constantly have to remind schools that old, barely working, equipment will often cost more to repair than it would to replace. I've lost count of the number of times I've been asked whether a donated computer can be made to run their CDs only to find that it's a 486 or worse. As for the number of flickering, faint 14" monitors that are stacked in classroom cupboards the less said the better.
The bottom line is that, while schools can use old equipment, they really need stuff that can at least run their software. What they don't need is the cost of disposing of other people's junk garnered because they don't want to say 'no' to someone who means well.
Re:Odd statistic (Score:3, Informative)
This is literally not true, but it's close. CRTs do contain lead to block the low-level radiation that they produce. See the Electronic Industries Alliance's information page on lead use in CRTs [eiae.org], along with a handy PDF [eiae.org]. Examples range from 1.7 lbs in a 14" CRT to 2.3 in a 21" one. Add that to whatever amounts may be present in other system peripherals, and 3 lbs probably isn't too far a stretch. Remember, most people in this world consider a "computer" to be not only that box with the retractable coffee-cup holder, but the entire system (including monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc.).