Recycling electronics

I discovered Nextworth about a year ago. Happily I immediately recycled my old Olympus camera (circa 2004 with a generous 3.5 megapixels) using Nextworth. I got a new camera the summer before but didn't want to throw the Olympus away because it was still in very good working condition. (Not surprisingly, my brother didn't want this hand me down.) Then I found out I could get a Target gift card if I recycled it through Nextworth, therefore avoiding the landfill. I promptly shipped it (on Nextworth's dime) and received a little over $11 Target gift card. This may seem like a measly amount, but it was far better than getting nothing for an almost 6 year old camera.

My cousin sent me a Yahoo article link this morning with a list of several other similar sites. I was so excited! Now I have options and I can get the best value and impact for old electronics...although I'm not really a gadget junkie. Different sites accept different products and will reimburse (or not, if it's not reusable they just recycle the parts for you for no fee, plant a tree, or you can even get a donation to the Red Cross for Haiti) using their own policy.

I got to thinking... What are companies doing with all these old electronics? For the iPhone and other marketable electronics it seems logical that they would refurbish these and resell them. But, what about the really ancient machinery like my Olympus camera? One site sends the stuff that can be sold to a specialty electronics recycler. Okay... How does electronics recycling work? Electronics recyclers sort, test (to see if can be rebuilt/repaired), and disassemble (to the basic components) each electronic into two main categories: hazardous and non-hazardous materials.

1. Hazardous materials, include things like batteries, mercury switches, circuit boards, CRTs or cathode ray tubes (used in tvs and computers), etc. These materials are sent to "end processors," basically some other company or country. When hazardous materials are illegally sent to developing countries, they use unsafe and harmful practices to break down hazardous materials. It is illegal to ship toxic waste to developing countries. See a 12 minute video from 60 Minutes that describes this process.
2. Non-hazardous materials are further separated into metal, plastic, etc. The metals and plastics can be reused, smelted, shredded, separated, chopped, etc, in order to reuse the material.

Not all electronic recyclers are made equally and hold to the high standards we assume they should respect. Recycling is a business and the bottom line usually wins. Some issues to explore are erasing personal data, illegal shipment of hazardous electronics overseas to countries with low or non-existent environmental standards, use of federal prisoners without federally protected rights in health, safety, and labor, and false EPA-certification for recyclers (this apparently is not a real EPA program). Beware of electronic reusers/recyclers that don't explain where your item is going and what is going to happen to them.

Recycling is not perfect yet, but it's many steps above trashing things in landfills. Educating ourselves on what will happen to our trash and recycling is vital to ensuring our attempts make a difference.