Where does most electronics waste go once it is recycled?



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    Most recycled electronic waste is shipped out to other countries, and the unusable parts still ending up in landfills. Only about eight states in America have required manufacturers to recycle their old electronics. 

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    A lot of electronics recyclers ship their products overseas, where they can be dismantled and recycled for a cheaper price. This also pollutes foreign countries air and water sources, though. Other companies make sure that products are dismantled in the US. A lot of waste ends up in their environment. However, in the US, we try and reuse as many parts of the electronics as possible. Precious metals are kept for jewelry. Lead is shipped out to make bullets and batteries. Wood is used to make bio fuel. Plastic and glass is shipped to other recycling plants.

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    The EPA says that more than 4.6 million tons of e-waste ended up in landfills in 2000. Most of the e-waste is sent to developing countries for reuse by them. 

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    Unfortunately, a lot of e-waste ends up in landfills or is shipped overseas to developing countries (look up Guiyu, China… some pretty horrible stuff there).I seem to recall something like 80% of e-waste isn’t disposed of properly in the U.S.

    24 U.S. states currently have some kind of electronics recycling law (and about 60% of U.S. citizens are covered by one).

    There are some responsible recyclers. One company, All Green Electronics Recycling (based in California) does its best to keep e-waste out of landfills by refurbishing and reselling equipment/ parts whenever possible, and breaking down the rest into some sort of item that can be reused. If something can’t be reused, it is disposed of properly. It’s good to check out!


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