subject: Laptop Recycling – Environmental reasons why you should dispose of your laptop correctly [print this page] With technological advances at the rate they are nowadays many people may be looking to replace their laptop every 2 years. Laptops and notebooks are also being given away as part of a new mobile phone contract so some people may even be receiving a new laptop every year.
The average person in a lifetime will produce around 3.3 tonnes of e-waste. With the amount of electronic products people now own and the rate at which these products are replaced this problem is only going to get worse as time goes on.
The levels of general waste in society is an ever-growing problem. Current projections state that all the landfill sites in the UK will be full as soon as 2012.
Laptops in particular can be extremely harmful. Besides the amount of resources that it takes to build a laptop there are severe environmental implications to disposing of these on a landfill site.
Laptops contain a lot of toxic chemicals and heavy metals. These chemicals can leak into the soil and groundwater. The worst side-effect of this is that it can kill small animals and pollute water supplies. The heavy metals can also take literally hundreds of years to fully break down.
E-waste is an ever growing problem. In the UK alone it is estimated that there are around 1.2 million tonnes of new electronic waste generated annually. This is enough waste to fill 6 football stadiums. This is also increasing at a rate of about 5% per year.
The good news is that there are websites that will happily take your old laptop off your hands so that it is refurbished or disposed of properly. What's even better is that they will pay you for the privilege. Even if your laptop no longer works you can still receive some money.
Recycling websites such as Mirror Go Green can give you a quote in minutes. They will even provide a free courier service and erase any of your personal data. You can also receive some money for other old gadgets such as mobile phone, sat navs and ipods.
Laptop Recycling Environmental reasons why you should dispose of your laptop correctly
