So let’s suppose you were lucky enough to get a new PC or cell phone or some other gadget this holiday season. What are you going to do with the old stuff?
That’s an increasingly important and vexing question. As our technology gets replaced, we’re generating mountains of obsolete gear that needs to be disposed of.
In the five years between 2000 and 2005, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that as many as 250 million PCs will be junked.
Don’t forget cell phones. Experts predict that new laws allowing consumers to keep their existing phone numbers when switching wireless carriers could prompt a wave of changes. Those consumers who do switch carriers are likely to switch phones, too, ditching millions of cell phones in the process.
Trouble is, much of that stuff contains hazardous materials that shouldn’t just be thrown in the trash along with your food packaging and used napkins. Hazardous substances, such as lead, mercury, cadmium and barium, are common in computer equipment and other electronics.
Unfortunately, recycling programs are few and often expensive.
Those of you who are determined to recycle can visit Electronics Recycling at www.electronicsrecycling. net for information on where and how to dispose of old gadgets.
Perhaps an even better solution is to find your stuff a new home. Identifying someone who can still use equipment that no longer suits you has a double benefit. Not only do you avoid polluting the environment, but you give someone else a chance to enjoy technology that otherwise would go to waste.
Some nonprofit organizations have taken this approach, though their challenge is difficult. By the time some people upgrade their computer equipment, the old stuff isn’t good for much. Still, the National Cristina Foundation (www.cristina.org) does a fine job of getting used technology to people who can use it.
These alternatives, however, are Band-Aids on a festering problem. What’s needed is a comprehensive, cradle-to-grave solution for technology and the hazardous substances associated with it.
A white Christmas is fine, but when it comes to technology, let’s make it a green new year.
