E-Solutions and Environmental Stewardship
In a time where “green practices” have the spotlight and buzz words like climate change and recycling can be heard all over, its important to take a moment to focus on the reality of our global environmental state. With the footprint of landfills growing and the amount of consumable goods seeming to multiply everyday it is imperative to take strides to lessen the impact our day-to-day activities have on the environment. One of the most rapidly increasing segments for harmful waste, and waste in general, has come from the vast growth we have seen in technology over the last 20 years. With products like smart phones, tablets and laptops competing in a market place that demands newer and better, our technology is being treated like a throw-away commodity and, as a result, we are creating millions of tons of e-waste every year. According to Green Biz, in 2014 alone, United Nations University reported that we generated 42 million tons of e-waste world wide. E-waste includes items like computers, televisions, cell phones and mobile devices, and other electronic gadgets.
E-waste, much like paper waste or plastic waste, isn’t ALL waste. Some of the components of your electronics can be extracted and recycled for other use. Did you know that e-waste generates valuable materials that are causing pollution and hazardous waste at dumping sites? The UN estimated that there is over $55 Billion worth of valuable materials in various landfills, resulting from e-waste. So, what can we do to reverse the effects that our obsession with technology is having on the planet? Well, a great place to start is by looking into e-solutions and e-recycling options in your area. Did you know that Ellefson Transportation Group operates an e-solutions program? We are able to take your scrap electronics and process them for proper recycling and disposal, which means they are not going to landfills to create hazardous waste, but instead are being recycled to make new products. Wondering who might be using recycled items or where your scrap might end up? Well, Dell has a pretty great strategy to reverse the impact their technological advances may have had on the environment.
Image from Northern Recycling and Waste Company – ParadiseRecycles.com
In a recent article by Green Biz, they discussed the 2020 Legacy of Good Plan enacted by Dell which includes goals to use 50 Million pounds of recycled plastic and other materials to create new computers and to recover over 2 billion pounds of e-scrap and properly dispose of it. Programs like this one will help create a more “circular” supply chain, in which we are able to re-consume some of the waste we create, as opposed to constantly generating waste with no solution for ridding ourselves of it. While we talk a lot about the importance of proper disposal of your electronic waste for information security purposes, it’s also key to recognize the role that proper disposal can play lessening your environmental footprint. Sometimes its about environmental stewardship, not just safety!