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WHY RECYCLE YOUR
COMPUTER EQUIPMENT?
Most computers and monitors contain significant
quantities of lead and some quantities of other hazardous materials such as
barium. As new and improved computers and electronic devices are designed
and built, older obsolete equipment is quickly becoming part of the waste
stream. The good news about electronic equipment waste is that there need
not be any. Most of the metals do not biodegrade, and all products not
recycled will end up in landfills.
There are three primary parts that make up a
personal computer. The computer is the large box which contains the disk
drive, power supply, and the processor. The computer may also contain other
components such as the sound and video cards, and internal modems. The
monitor is the screen, or the part of the computer that looks like a
television (also referred to as a cathode ray tube or CRT ). The keyboard is
the part which, not surprisingly, looks like a typewriter keyboard. In some
older models, the computer may be housed in the same case as the monitor or
the keyboard.
Virtually an entire computer can be recycled.
From the glass in the monitor, to the plastic in the case, the copper in the
power supply, and the precious metals used in the circuitry. Companies are
making new and innovative products out of old computers. Many computers can
be revitalized and sold to schools in economically challenged urban and
rural areas. Some vocational schools use old computers to teach electronic
repair and analysis techniques. Non-functioning computers may also have
salvageable components such as modems or power supplies that could be used
to refurbish other computers. |
